Reviews for My Favorite Spy
Review - My Favorite Spy
Why I saw it: I'm on a Hedy Lamarr kick right now, plus I enjoy Bob Hope movies. He always plays the same character, and the plots are all stupid, but he's the best there's ever been at this style of comedy. This movie isn't available on DVD, so when I saw it was on Turner Classic Movies, I planned my evening around it.
Brief Summary: Eric Augustine, the deadly double agent, is wounded in a gun battle. The Feds need him to buy a secret microfilm from a gangster in Tangiers. Enter Peanuts White, a burlesque comic who looks just like Augustine. Peanuts is a coward, but when he gets a personal phone call from the President asking for his help, Peanuts agrees to impersonate Augustine.
After a quick course in spycraft, Peanuts heads for Tangiers. He soon meets up with Lily, Augustine's girlfriend, who (unbeknownst to Peanuts) is also a double agent. Pandemonium ensues with misunderstandings and confusion. In the end, Lily realizes that Peanuts isn't Augustine. She also realizes that she's fallen in love and distracts the bad guys so Peanuts can escape. Peanuts, with a mix of cowardice and luck, actually manages to get the microfilm to the Feds.
What I liked about it: It was clever and funny in a typical Bob Hope fashion, and kept me amused for the 93 minutes it lasted. Hope even managed to take his usual dig at Bing Crosby.
What I didn't like about it: The final chase scene, with firetrucks, didn't fit in at all with the Tangiers setting. The plot was minimal, but that was to be expected.
Quotes:
Lily Dalbray: The closer I get to death the more I realize that I love you.
Peanuts White: The closer I get to death the more I realize I love me, too.
Recommendation: I gave it a 7. If you don't like the slapstick humor of Bob Hope, you won't like it. But if you occasionally enjoy the cleaner, profanity-free humor of an earlier generation, it will entertain you. You can see a trailer and find out a bunch of other information on Turner Classic Movies web site.
Other Comments: The "world premiere" of the film took place in Bellaire, Ohio, in the living room of Anne Kuchinka, an Ohio housewife who won a letter writing contest sponsored by Hope's radio show in which participants gave reasons why the premiere should be held in their home. Prior to the screening, a star-studded parade and radio broadcast were held in the town.
Hedy Lamarr never achieved the level of stardom in movies that she desired, but it is as an actress that everyone knows her. However, the thing she should perhaps be most famous for is her invention of the technology used in cell phones.
Brief Summary: Eric Augustine, the deadly double agent, is wounded in a gun battle. The Feds need him to buy a secret microfilm from a gangster in Tangiers. Enter Peanuts White, a burlesque comic who looks just like Augustine. Peanuts is a coward, but when he gets a personal phone call from the President asking for his help, Peanuts agrees to impersonate Augustine.
After a quick course in spycraft, Peanuts heads for Tangiers. He soon meets up with Lily, Augustine's girlfriend, who (unbeknownst to Peanuts) is also a double agent. Pandemonium ensues with misunderstandings and confusion. In the end, Lily realizes that Peanuts isn't Augustine. She also realizes that she's fallen in love and distracts the bad guys so Peanuts can escape. Peanuts, with a mix of cowardice and luck, actually manages to get the microfilm to the Feds.
What I liked about it: It was clever and funny in a typical Bob Hope fashion, and kept me amused for the 93 minutes it lasted. Hope even managed to take his usual dig at Bing Crosby.
What I didn't like about it: The final chase scene, with firetrucks, didn't fit in at all with the Tangiers setting. The plot was minimal, but that was to be expected.
Quotes:
Lily Dalbray: The closer I get to death the more I realize that I love you.
Peanuts White: The closer I get to death the more I realize I love me, too.
Recommendation: I gave it a 7. If you don't like the slapstick humor of Bob Hope, you won't like it. But if you occasionally enjoy the cleaner, profanity-free humor of an earlier generation, it will entertain you. You can see a trailer and find out a bunch of other information on Turner Classic Movies web site.
Other Comments: The "world premiere" of the film took place in Bellaire, Ohio, in the living room of Anne Kuchinka, an Ohio housewife who won a letter writing contest sponsored by Hope's radio show in which participants gave reasons why the premiere should be held in their home. Prior to the screening, a star-studded parade and radio broadcast were held in the town.
Hedy Lamarr never achieved the level of stardom in movies that she desired, but it is as an actress that everyone knows her. However, the thing she should perhaps be most famous for is her invention of the technology used in cell phones.
Reviewed by Roger on 2008-08-06 14:43:23