Customer Reviews

The Great Lover [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The dvd of this is a real let-down.The picture quality is really washed out.If you can put up with this,Hope is on good form,the story is above average and Jack Benny's brief appearance is a hoot.Shame about the transfer,though...

Mr. Hope stars as Freddie Hunter, a reporter who is chaperoning a troop of scouts aboard a ocean liner. The scouts see it as their duty to save Freddie from himself by making sure he doesn't smoke, drink or enjoy the hug of a woman "other than his Mom". The fact that the head boy of the troop is the son of Freddie's boss doesn't help Freddie when he decides to flirt with the Duchess Alexandria. But women are the least of Freddie's troubles. There is a killer on board. This killer decides to frame Freddie for his murderous deeds. Fortunately, there is a detective on board, hot on the trail of the true murderer, but wait, Freddie discovers the body of the murdered detective. How will Freddie prove his innocence? This is an entertaining film for the whole family. It also stars Rhonda Fleming, George Reeves, Jim Backus and Roland Young. So grab the popcorn, dim the lights and enjoy this wonderful movie!.

The Brentwood version is of very poor quality. I love Bob Hope movies, but I'm sorry I spent the money on this one!

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!

The title of my review says it all, I love Bob Hope and this is one of his best films, lots of fun and a little campy mystery on a foggy ocean voyage. HOWEVER this transfer looks like (and sounds like) it was taken straight from a bad SLP VHS copy... from TV. I've seen a clean version of this film brobcast on AMC so I know a good print exists. If this is the only DVD, it will have to do, but look for another version if there is one.

Alas, Bob Hope's reputation suffered towards the end of his career due to too many unfunny TV specials and lackluster films. But back in his heyday (the 1940's and 50's), he really was one of the great film funnymen.

This almost forgotten little black & white comedy from 1949 is a great case in point.

Hope plays his classic character, the vain coward with delusions of adequacy mixed up with some serious bad guys out to do serious damage. Specifically, he is a very reluctant scout master to a troop of gung-ho junior explorer types returning from an overseas trip on a big ocean liner. He quickly becomes embroiled with a serial killer when he tries to put the make on co-star Rhonda Fleming.

While this doesn't hit the comedic high spots of his best films, like "The Paleface" and the Hope/Crosby Road Pictures, it is still a solidly entertaining film in the same vein that the best of the TV sit-coms fill today.

A word of warning: The DVD's packaging is a bit deceptive. It lists George Reeves as a co-star, but if you are a fan of the Baby Boomer's #1 "Man of Steel," you'll have to look quick. His part is really just a brief cameo that serves to get the action started.

All in all, a solid comic adventure well worth it for Hope fans or those who enjoy black and white films from the mid-20th Century.

"The Great Lover" has Bob Hope back in top form, tossing out funny one-liners against a backdrop of menace, a premise which worked well for his vein & cowardly comic character. As a scout master getting involved with the lovely Rhonda Fleming--and murder--Hope gets hilariously in way over his head on board a ship sailing across Europe. Most of the fun is watching Hope trying to match wits with his troup of pint-sized scouts (guess who's smarter?), struggling to stay one step ahead of them while romancing Fleming & evading authorities when he is framed for murder.
While TGL is a fun & entertaining Hope romp, I'm disappointed that the distributors didn't take the time to remaster the film for DVD; quite often, it looks scratched up & dark.

A great Bob Hope film featuring Roland Young. Unfortunately, these Brentwood Hope Collection films are just mostly beat-up TV prints with splices, etc. Whoever has the orignal prints of these films should put out a set. Then these Brentwood disasters could just disappear.

I liked this movie, and received it in the mail in a timely manner.
tom

Bob Hope is wonderful in this delightful movie. I recomend it to everyone!