Search - The Great Lover on DVD

"Observed in Embrace With Female-Not His Mother!"

Bobby Underwood | Manly NSW, Australia | 10/10/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This very funny film is great entertainment for the entire family, as Bob Hope tries to romance Rhonda Fleming on board a cruise while not getting caught by the very clean and upright boy scout type troop of young men he's leading called the Foresters. Having a suave killer on board who thinks Bob is the perfect patsy for a con doesn't help his chances much and before this one is over Bob will be, quite literally, in the doghouse!

Alexander Hall directed the shenanigans from a screenplay by Edmund Beloin, Melville Shavelson and Jack Rose. Beloin doubled as producer for this fun romp that has a nice score from Joseph J. Lilley and a couple of good songs by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans. Roland Yong plays the con man and killer with a real flair and Rhonda Fleming is a nice partner for Hope this time out.

Freddy Hunter (Hope) is leading a troop of Foresters on the boat back from Paris. He works for a newspaper in North Zainesville, Ohio, where the Foresters, one of whom's dad owns the paper, have won a contest with the prize being a trip to Paris. Freddy thought it would be a blast in Paris because he has a little black book he won in a raffle, but the constant eagle eye of the Forester's young leader, Stanley (Richard Lyon), has prevented him from enjoying a number of vices on the trip. By the time they're ready to board the ship for home, Freddy is ready to ditch them.

That is, until the Dutchess Alexandria (Rhonda Fleming) comes on board, prompting Freddy to throw his little black book overboard at the sight of her. She is traveling with her father, Grand Duke Maximillian (Roland Culver), and the two plan to parlay a valuable necklace into a more substantial fortune they can take back to their country, as theirs is gone. C. J. Dabney (Roland Young) spots them as a rich mark, ripe for the picking, and pegs Freddy as his new partner. Dabney never lets any of his partners in on what's going on, however, and they seem to all get strangled shortly after he's done with them!

Jim Backus is Higgins, the cop who's been on Dabney's trail for some time, but knows the only way to get the goods on the slippery and dangerous con is to catch him in the act. Freddy, who has been pretending to be rich at his new pal Dabney's suggestion, ends up fleecing the Grand Duke while he's romancing his daughter Alex. Once he realizes what's going on, and comes into contact with Higgins, he know's he's safe, at least as long as there is one person who knows he's innocent. But what will Freddy do when Higgins turns up strangled too?!

This is just a lot of fun for the entire family. Watching Hope attempt to thread a needle while a very amorous Fleming is all over him is a lot of laughs. Fleming had a nice voice and gets to sing a gypsy song to Hope that has him sweating bullets. He does, after all, have in his charge those Foresters, who would not approve of his tardiness for taps. Only little Tommy (Gary Gray) has any sympathy for Freddy and his vices. He is the only Forester who believes it wasn't Freddy who killed Higgins and brings him some food while he's hiding in a doghouse!

One of the funniest moments in the film comes when Stanley reads a list of charges directed at Freddy, whose behavior has not conformed to the code of the Foresters. Another sparkling moment stems from an encounter on board between Bob and the greatest comedian radio ever had, Jack Benny. Bob needs change for a 100 dollar bill, and if you know anything about Benny, you can guess the rest! It is a brief cameo but squeezes in a hilarious toupee joke and a funny swipe at Benny's thrifty ways.

There is a very funny ending that works out great for everyone, making this one of Bob's most enjoyable films. The same writers responsible for "Road to Rio," "My Favorite Brunette," and "The Prince and the Pirate" gave Hope another good story he made the most of. Don't miss Bob and his fun excursion with the Whippoorwill Patrol!"