Product Details

• Actors: Bob Hope, Anita Ekberg, Edie Adams, Lionel Jeffries, Percy Herbert
• Directors: Gordon Douglas
• Writers: Bill Larkin, Johanna Harwood, Mort Lachman, Nate Monaster
• Producers: Albert R. Broccoli, Harry Saltzman, Stanley Sopel
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
• VHS Release Date: March 2, 1994
• Run Time: 93 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302946573
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #254,429 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First came Allan Quatermain (King Solomon's Mines) now Bwana, September 26, 2002

By 

bernie "xyzzy" (Arlington, Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Call Me Bwana [VHS] (VHS Tape)

An U.S. Capsule has returned from the moon and inadvertently landed in Africa. Naturally the president only wants the most knowledgeable and brave explorer to retrieve it before others claim salvage rights, Matthew Merriweather (Bob Hope).

The other leader banging a shoe on the table also wants the capsule and sends a noted anthropologist (Anita Ekberg) to use Merriweather to obtain the prize.

In reality Matthew has never been to Africa. His book is a rehash of his uncle's adventures.
You get the idea. Beautiful women, rough elephants, wild natives, and Arnold Palmer.
Gordon Douglas also directed "Them!" (1954) [ASIN: 6300269477] so he is no stranger to wild creatures. And from the rich backgrounds of the driving scenes you would never guess that it was filmed in Pinewood studios.

Them (1954)James Whitmore

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very few actors could pull off this movie the way Bob Hope does, July 9, 2011

By 

DVD Verdict (Santa Monica, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Call Me Bwana (DVD)

Judge Gordon Sullivan, DVD Verdict- I was somewhat pleased to read that Bob Hope was notorious in Hollywood for cheating on his wives. It's not that I condone or appreciate adultery; I'm just glad to hear that Hope had at least one chink in his armor. Otherwise, he'd be simply too perfect--wholesome humor, countless USO shows, all the honors, living to 100--and there's something suspicious about a man who's too perfect. Part of the reason Hope seems so perfect is his well-crafted public image, wholesome to the extreme, and it's that totally wholesome image that makes a film like Call Me Bwana work at all. Although not as famous as his collaborations with Bing Crosby, Call Me Bwana should please Hope fans.

Call Me Bwana is making its DVD debut thanks to MGM's Limited Edition Collection, which is a series of Manufactured On Demand (MOD) discs. They claim that the transfer is sourced "from the best materials available," but this flick has obviously not received lavish restoration treatment. The color transfer looks a bit flat, with only so-so saturation. However, for a film catalog title of its age it looks remarkably good, with little print damage. Grain is generally kept in check, and I didn't notice any significant compression problems. The mono soundtrack is fine, with dialogue clearly audible. Some of the effects on the soundtrack are obviously canned, but for a film that's nearing its fiftieth anniversary, it sounds fine. As with other MOD titles, Call Me Bwana contains no subtitles or extras.

For Hope fans, Call Me Bwana fills a long-running gap in his filmography on DVD, and it's for his fans that this DVD has probably been released. Perhaps Anita Ekberg or Edie Adams completists will appreciate the film is as well, but for everyone else the film is a dated farce that feels more like a collection of "funny" scenes than a coherent story. Although the lack of extras may be disappointing, this MOD DVD has a strong enough audiovisual presentation to satisfy fans.
Full review at dvdverdict.com

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Features A Great Spoof Of A "DR. NO" Scene, March 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Call Me Bwana [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Though the film is typical of Bob's later 60's comedies there is a brilliant shot-for-shot spoof of the "deadly spider" scene from "DR. NO" (The film was produced by Salzman & Brocolli, the creators of the James Bond series)