Review of My Favorite Brunette (1947) by Allan C — 02 Jun 2018

Probably my favorite Bob Hope movie has Bob as a photographer who gets mixed up with gangsters in what is basically a serious film noir plot except you get Bob Hope instead of Phillip Marlowe. Hope's rapid fire one-liners are the main attraction of this film, but that's bolstered by a better than average supporting cast which includes Peter Lorre and Lon Chaney as one of the many villains.

Hope calling Lorre "Cuddles" is one of my all-time favorite things. There's also a very funny cameo early in the film by Alan Ladd and another funny cameo by a famous partner of Hope's at the end of the film.

Whenever I watch a Hope film, I always think about how Woody Allen once said how Hope was one of his favorite comedians and how much he was influence he was. Re-watching "My Favorite Brunette" reminded me of this even more because just about every line out of Hope's mouth could just as easily been delivered by Allen's nervous-little-fellow on-screen persona.

Overall, I think this is probably Hope's best solo film and a must see for fans of classic Hollywood comedies. It's also probably worth checking out for fans of Woody Allen's early comedies.