I am only a mild fan of the films of Bob Hope. But one thing I noticed is that in general, his older films tend to very enjoyable and the newer ones seem tired at best. Comsidering this was Hope's last starring role, you can pretty much guess that I did not enjoy the picture...though I was hoping it would be more watchable.
When the story begins, Dan and Sheila Bartlett (Bob Hope and Eva Marie Saint) are a married couple who do a daily talk show. According to the script, Dan is 42...which is utterly ridiculous as Hope was pushing 70 at the time! Well, the pair are at each other's throats and Dan needs a break--so he takes a vacation on his own in the middle of no where in Arizona. Soon after arriving at his rental, he finds a body....and only moments later the body disappears. So he goes to find the police...and the police find this same body in his car! Now he's suspected of killing this lady, though the police let him go. That night, when he goes to bed, he kinds a goofy young lady (Anne Archer) naked in his bed. She apparently thought the house was unoccupied. Whatever.
Soon, Mrs. Bartlett arrives to try to help her husband....and soon more bodies start piling up and the couple do the smart thing. She breaks him out of prison and they set about trying to solve the murders!
So does any of this sound funny? Nope...and it looks as if they writers weren't even trying to make a comedy. Apart from Hope's incessant asides (none of which are funny), it's like there was no attempt to make the audience laugh. The overall effect looks like a bad made for TV mystery movie and the film is simply tiresome. Nothing to recommend it.
When the story begins, Dan and Sheila Bartlett (Bob Hope and Eva Marie Saint) are a married couple who do a daily talk show. According to the script, Dan is 42...which is utterly ridiculous as Hope was pushing 70 at the time! Well, the pair are at each other's throats and Dan needs a break--so he takes a vacation on his own in the middle of no where in Arizona. Soon after arriving at his rental, he finds a body....and only moments later the body disappears. So he goes to find the police...and the police find this same body in his car! Now he's suspected of killing this lady, though the police let him go. That night, when he goes to bed, he kinds a goofy young lady (Anne Archer) naked in his bed. She apparently thought the house was unoccupied. Whatever.
Soon, Mrs. Bartlett arrives to try to help her husband....and soon more bodies start piling up and the couple do the smart thing. She breaks him out of prison and they set about trying to solve the murders!
So does any of this sound funny? Nope...and it looks as if they writers weren't even trying to make a comedy. Apart from Hope's incessant asides (none of which are funny), it's like there was no attempt to make the audience laugh. The overall effect looks like a bad made for TV mystery movie and the film is simply tiresome. Nothing to recommend it.