Cancel My Reservation

Cancel My Reservation
September 21, 1972
Naho/Warner Bros.
Comedy, Mystery
VHS
C

Louis L'Amour wrote the novel that this Southwest mystery was based on, with the less Hope-ful title of The Broken Gun.  I can only imagine what Dominic Frontiere would've done with that, since he sings the Jackson-5ish "Cancel My Reservation" over both opening and closing credits.  Bob H was pushing 70 at this point, but his character is supposed to be 42, and he's paired with 48-year-old Eva Marie Saint, who looks stunning.  (And she shows off a lot of skin for a middle-aged woman, including in hot pants.)  The two of them are unhappily married because she's a women's libber whose "own thing" is becoming co-star on his talk show.  (They interview a pre-Happy-Days Pat Morita as a karate expert.)  Even though he doesn't seem to like children (he says that two rude autograph-seekers, one played by the director's daughter, at the airport are a good argument for the Pill), she blames herself that they haven't had any kids.  The happy ending, after he's several times arrested and they both come close to dying, before he finally solves the mystery, is she's pregnant and can leave the show.  Even though she told "Crazy" (Anne Archer) that she hated being stuck at home while her husband went off to work, she seems pleased about this.

As for the mystery, it includes Forrest Tucker and Ralph Bellamy as villains, some Indian land rights, and a few murders.  Keenan Wynn plays the local sheriff, and Chief Dan George a really old Indian.  I haven't read the book, so I don't know how much of this was added by co-adapters Bob Fisher and Arthur Marx, who'd teamed up for I'll Take Sweden.  I am fairly sure though that the joke, "I'll come back for my stomach later," when Bob is on the back of a motorcycle is a direct self-steal from Sweden.  And I suspect L'Amour did not include a rape joke.  (Eva MS, upon finding out that the Indian girl Bob H is accused of killing wasn't raped, says, "And that gets you off the hook with me.")  The movie is of course sexist and racist, although I suppose it could be worse.  It's incredibly dated, even for its time (the Twiggy joke for instance), and the cameos of Bing, John Wayne, Johnny Carson, and Flip Wilson are only slightly better than those in Birds Do It.  (At least they're given lines, although not good ones.)  Oh, and this time Herb Vigran plays Roscoe Snagby.

The movie isn't dreadful but it doesn't even have the camp appeal of Hope's '60s comedies.  It's just sort of there.  I guess see it if you're curious and/or a completist.

This is somewhat the chronological midpoint of this project, since I started with 1929 and I'm unlikely to finish before next year.  At the moment, I don't own any movies from after 2012, but that will probably change before I'm through.

Points for correct use of "whom"

Road to Morocco

Road to Morocco
April 8, 1943
Paramount
Comedy, Musical
DVD
B-

While this isn't as funny as I remember, it still has its moments.  Yes, it's probably as politically incorrect as Road to Zanzibar, but it has a much lighter touch, and at least there's no cannibalism.  David Butler also directed Playmates, and he's good at blending silly music with a silly plot, as well as lots of then-topical references, e.g. Here Comes Mr. Jordan.  The title song is one of my favorites ever, and even as a kid I delighted in these lyrics:  "Like a complete set of Shakespeare that you buy in the corner drugstore for a dollar ninety-eight/ We're Morocco bound/ Or/ Like a volume of Omar Khayyam that you buy in the department store at Christmas time for your cousin Julia/ We're Morocco bound."

There's more fourth-wall-breaking than in Zanzibar, with that title song referencing Dorothy Lamour and Paramount.   Bing's solos are very good, too, and I like the reprise of "Moonlight Becomes You" done by the trio, with shifting voices!  We've got the usual romantic triangle, but this time Bob gets a great alternate girl: cute, affectionate, and brave Dona Drake.  There's also Anthony Quinn as Lamour's rejected fiance.  And Bob & Bing have a bromance that involves accidental kissing.  There are moments that I'm surprised got past the censors, like Bob saying the word "reefers," and Dorothy's kisses uncurling the toes of Bob's shoes.  (Bing suggests she try kissing his nose and straightening that.)  I really like the sets and costumes.  So why not a higher grade?  Well, there is that political incorrectness, not just about Arabs (much more than in Casablanca) but about "village idiots."  Some of the other jokes bomb, too.  Still, the movie is worth seeing.

Harry Woods, who was gangster Alky Briggs in Monkey Business, is unconfirmed as being in this movie.  Leo Belasco, Monte Blue, Dick Botiller, and Jamiel Hasson were all in Casablanca, which is fitting since Casablanca is in Morocco.  Vivian Dandridge sang in A Day at the Races, and she plays a servant here.  (She's also the voice of "So White" in 1943's infamous cartoon Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs, talk about politically incorrect!)  James Dime was in Go West.  Suzanne Ridgeway was in Citizen Kane and would go on to It's a Wonderful Life.

Road to Zanzibar

Road to Zanzibar
April 11, 1941
Paramount
Comedy, Musical
VHS
C

I used to watch the Road to... movies on TV a lot as a kid, but I never owned any until a few months ago, when I saw this tape for less than $1.  This is the first I've watched the movie as an adult and, well, it hasn't aged well.  It starts out all right, with Bob & Bing bantering.  But I didn't like that everyone in the movie is immoral, with Bing manipulating best friend Bob, and Dorothy Lamour (as Donna Latour) tricking both of them, while planning to marry for money, and lots of other scheming going on throughout, including Donna's pal Julia tricking "the boys" when Donna seems to be sold in the slave market.  If this was meant to be a dark comedy, I mean a black comedy-- Oh dear.  The other big problem is this is set in Africa (they never actually get to Zanzibar), and the "natives" are stereotyped, especially the cannibal tribe that Bob & Bing meet.  Yes, it's possible this is all a parody, but it's not a funny one.  The wall-breaking jokes are better, as when the pattycake routine is anticipated and Bob says, "They must've seen the picture," i.e. Road to Singapore, the first in the series.  This one isn't terrible, but I can recommend it just to Hope and/or Crosby completists.  (Lamour fans will like the scene where she's wearing only leaves.)  That said, when I got this tape, I decided to spring for the Road to Morocco DVD.  It was my favorite of the series when I was a kid, and when I saw it as an adult a few years ago, I still enjoyed it.  (Not that it's not without its own problems, but we'll get to that.)

Eric Blore was headwaiter in Flying Down to Rio, and often played servants, so it's odd to see him as a rich man here.  Paul Porcasi was also in Flying Down, and would soon appear in Casablanca, as would Norma Varden. Joan Marsh, who plays Dimples, the Human Cannonball act assistant, was Pauline Bisbee in You're Telling Me.  Another of Fields's onscreen daughters, Una Merkel from the recent The Bank Dick, has a much larger role, as Julia.  Buck Woods, who portrays jungle guide Thonga, was a singer in A Day at the Races, which also featured Robert Middlemass.  Charles Gemora was often a gorilla, as in At the Circus.  Georges Renavent was Mr. Ram in Turnabout.  Ed Bridge would go on to The Miracle of Morgan's Creek.  Iris Adrian was recently in Go West and would much later appear in Freaky Friday.