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Bob Hope is in top form in this Technicolor parody of pirate pictures, doing his best vaudeville shtick as an inept performer trying to save princess Virginia Mayo from the evil clutches of governor Walter Slezak and pirate Victor McLaglen. It's all ridiculous fun, of course, but if you're a fan of Hope, you never tire of his self-effacing gags and double-entendres. His out-of-place show biz jabs were always clever, and they're all the funnier in this period setting--particularly the Bing Crosby jokes. But Walter Brennan nearly steals the film as a wacky pirate scheming to steal buried treasure, and tattooing the map on Hope's chest. Yet the two best routines are when Hope tries to conceal his chest while taking a bath with Slezak, and when he tries to impersonate McLaglen as "the Hook." --Bill Desowitz ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Bob Hope as the classic cowardly pirate
"The Princess and the Pirate" is one of my favourite Bob Hope comedies right up there with "My Favourite Blonde" and "The Ghost Breakers". During the war years escapism was high on peoples wish list and the period saw an influx of top grade pirate adventures set in far off lands on screen such as "The Sea Hawk", and "The Black Swan". Bob Hope, ever quick to pick up on the latest popular trends created his own mini classic here in "The Princess and the Pirate", with a roushing send up of the whole Pirate genre that suited his comic talents to a tee.

This film has it all, from cut throat pirates to beautiful maidens in distress, fantastic galleons filled with treasure, beautiful technicolour, swashbuckling sword play and at the centre the comic Hope in one of his famous coward roles filled with hilarious one liners. Of course no Hope film would be complete without a few Bing Crosby jokes and they are laid on in abundance here. Even San Goldwyn who produced this film comes in for a comic slaying! Bob Hope playsSylvester the Great a second rate performing act who unknowingly gets involved with a group of cut throat pirates headed bythe notorious "The Hook' played superbly by Victor Mclaglen. In a plot too convoluted to lay out here Hope unknowingly gets a rare treasure map tatooed onto his chest and thus becomes the target for the greedy pirates bent on retreiving the treasure. Along the way Sylvester becomes involved with the Princess Margaret (played by the lovely Virginia Mayo)who is being held as a captive by the pirates and who in a surprise twist at the finale, after romancing Hope throughout the entire film suddenly runs into the arms of a well known rival of Hope's whos name I wont mention here!!

The film is full of wonderful scenes and performances. Walter Brennan in a distinct change of pace literally steals the show as the wacky featherhead, the giggling pirate who tattoes the map onto Hope's chest. Bob Hope's quip upon hearing him giggling to "hurry up and lay that egg" is probably one of the funniest lines in the whole film. Virginia Mayo while perhaps not the best leading lady that Bob Hope had in his films is cooly beautiful as Princess Margaret but does perhaps lack a bit of the fire that a Maureen O'Hara type would have brought to the role. Bob Hope I feel has one of his very best roles here. Whether he is playing the wisecracking Sylvester ducking from cut throat killers or dressed as a cackling old gypsy womanto avoid detection on the pirate ship, romancing the Princess or deceiving the dreaded Hook and the govenor, he is in fine form full of the lovable quips and Crosby insults that were his stock in trade. Hilarious scenes abound throughout "The Princess and the Pirate". Stand outs are the priceless scene where Hope and the princess arrive at the boarding house in port to find a room for the night and find that the previous occupant had mysteriously "checked out" while leaving all his clothes! and the absolute rib tickler where Bob ends up sharing a bath with the corrupt governer La Roche (Walter Slezak in another funny performance) and tries to hide the tattoo of the treasure map from him, that one is guaranteed to have you laughing till you drop!.

The overall look of this production is lavish and no expenses was ever spared on Bob Hope films around this time. The colour is beautiful and the costumes, sets, and period flavour are top notch. For a fun filled, hour and a half of pure mayhem and Hope madness "The Princess and the Pirate", is unsurpassed. If you are a Hope fan like I am you cannot miss this one to see him at the absolute peak of his abilities and comic timing. Enjoy a rousing time on the high seas with Bob Hope at his cowardly best!!

a great and beautiful film!
This film is very good, so entertaining and colorful.It's packed, with glamoour, romance, comedy, and adventure.A little of everything.Virginia Mayo is wonderful in it and so is Bob Hope.

Classic Gut-buster
My siblings and I caught this movie on Sunday afternoon TV once, and laughed until we cried.Very silly gags interspersed with hilarious one-liners make this oldie stay fresh.I'm not someone who generally likes classic comedy, and I LOVE this movie!

Good, simple pic
Everytime Bob Hope made a picture in a costume, people would cringe.It doesn't have to be that way, as this movie is heads and tails above "Cassanova's Big Night".This is a fun, silly pirate movie that I loved as a kid, and still love now as a twenty-something unemployed male unable to graduate from a state college.

Good, simple pic
Everytime Bob Hope made a picture in a costume, people would cringe.It doesn't have to be that way, as this movie is heads and tails above "Cassanova's Big Night".This is a fun, silly pirate movie that I loved as a kid, and still love now as a twenty-something unemployed male unable to graduate from a state college. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce star in this 1939 adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's frequently filmed novel, and the result is one of the most atmospheric and purely enjoyable versions of The Hound of the Baskervilles. Except for minor changes, the script is true to Doyle's enthralling mystery about a centuries-long curse against heirs to the Baskerville estate, situated within the haunting and deadly Grimpen Moor in northern England. With the arrival of a new master, Canadian Henry Baskerville (Richard Greene), Sherlock Holmes (Rathbone) and Dr. Watson (Bruce) are called upon to solve the strange case of the "gigantic hound" that may be readying to savage the poor fellow. Wonderful sets, crisp performances, and Rathbone's accessible but no-nonsense take on the Great Detective make this a real delight. Typical of the 20th Century Fox Holmes pictures, there's an in-joke, a final line of censor-defying dialogue alluding to Holmes's little problem with cocaine. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (23)

Avoid the "moor," but don't miss this classic tale!
Finally a pristine version of the 1939 Twentieth Century Fox classic, "The Hound of the Baskervilles," has been released on DVD -- fully restored, with unsurpassed audio and video quality.
No contemporary film comes close to the suspense you will encounter in this Darryl Zanuck production. Life-long friends Basil Rathbone (Sherlock Holmes) and Nigel Bruce (Dr. Watson) play off each other to perfection in "Hound." What is amazing is that, in actuality, Bruce was three years younger than Rathbone!
There are myriad twists and turns in this thrilling tale. From the opening scene of Sir Charles Baskerville's death to the moment when Holmes reveals the name of Sir Charles' murderer, this classic film will not disappoint.
A stellar supporting cast, lead by horror villains Lionel Atwill (Dr. Mortimer) and John Carradine (Barryman), delights for the entire 80-minutes. In fact, Atwill's Dr. Mortimer is so innately menacing, that it is almost a disappointment that he is not found to be Sir Charles' murderer at film's end. Alas, Holmes' fans are well aware that Atwill returns in the 1942 Universal film, "The Secret Weapon," as Professor Moriarty. As a side note, Atwill was blacklisted by the major studios (Fox, Warners, MGM, and Paramount) after it was made public that he conducted an "orgy" at his Brentwood estate in 1941; thus only the studio known for horror films, Universal, would give him work in the 40s -- a waste of tremendous talent.
Do yourself a favor and purchase "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes," (also on MPI DVD) in addition to this classic tale of suspense.

Watson's finest hour on film
Many actors have tried, but none has surpassed Basil Rathbone's embodiment of Sherlock Holmes. The razor-sharp profile, hawk nose and cocaine eyes seem torn straight from the pages of Arthur Conan Doyle. This is, undeniably, one of the great pairings of actor and character in film history.

Odd to think, then, that the first Holmes film with Rathbone and his faithful Dr. Watson, Nigel Bruce, gave neither man starring credit. That honor on "The Hound of the Baskervilles" went to the romantic leading man, Richard Greene.

The lapse in logic was quickly corrected, with Rathbone and Bruce going on to top-bill 13 famed Holmes movies from 1939-46.

The UCLA Film and TV Archive has rescued the films from public domain hell, in a restoration that aims to return them to 35mm theatrical condition using original elements and acetate copies. The results as seen on MPI's DVDs are indeed impressive, with shadows and light elegant and edgy. Wear is within reason, and the audio suffices.

Film historians' commentaries have been added to some of the feature films, explaining, for instance, just how the 19th century detectives ended up battling Nazis in WWII.

The MPI collection -- whose titles are available separately and in sets -- started rolling out in the fall. The series concludes at the beginning, with "Baskervilles" and "Adventures," both made by Fox before Universal took over and "modernized" the Doyle stories. The Uni films have their moments -- "Woman in Green," for example, is grand and grisly entertainment -- but there's no topping these initial releases, set in Victorian times.

"Baskervilles" remains one of the most famous and fondly remembered Holmes films, but it is largely Dr. Watson's tale. Nigel Bruce's Watson quickly became a buffoon in the series, but here he is not to be trifled with. (Rathbone later defended his friend and co-star against critics, saying a "less lovable" actor would have ruined the series.)

The restoration puts Fox's amazing sets on full display, including the fog-engulfed moor where the hound fillets his victims. The commentator, chipper British author David Stuart Davies, churns out minutiae and unmasks plot inconsistencies.

HOUND: A Child's Memory
I first saw this movie on TV when I was 9 or 10 in 1963-64. We lived in Los Angeles, and local channel 9 would run the SAME movie, Monday through Friday, for one week at 7:00 or 8:00 on its "Million Dollar Movie" program (a ridiculous title nowadays). Anyway, I watched it all five times in one week and adored it. I didn't see it again until its special, limited re-release to theaters in 1975; by then, I was a dyed-in-the-wool Sherlockian. Remarkably, my 10-year-old mind hadn't exaggerated the greatness of Rathbone or this film. It remained marvelous!

Now it's available on DVD...and what a wonderful transfer. And the commentary is superb. I haven't yet watched it five nights in a row, but it certainly deserves that kind of attention. Highly recommended!

See where Scooby and Shaggy got their Inspiration!
This film isn't perfect: the production values are a bit low and the supporting cast weak; it looks and feels like an early talkie. But that said, The Hound of the Baskervilles is great fun for the whole family. If you have kids in the 7-15 year old range, watching old movies like this is a great alternative to most of the garbage put out today. Basil Rathborne is wonderful in the lead role, and this is one of the finer screen adaptations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous literary character. I would definitely recommend adding this to your DVD collection.

Not Perfect, But Excellent DVD
You will read dozens of reviews of the movie, I'm sure, so I'll leave my review of the movie to two words: "LOVED IT."

DVD quality is really quite good; of course, leaps and bounds beyond ANYTHING available to the home market EVER before. Nice, clean packaging with a thin-looking but richly written booklet included inside. The disc has the photo from the front imprinted, with almost a purple tint... for nighttime I suppose.

As I understand, this restoration was done a number of years ago, and was not digital... I believe it, although I will say I believe the restorers squeezed every square inch of detail out of their source material possible in the analog domain.

First, the flaws: there are still occasional nicks and scratches, although not many more than I see in my DVD of "It's A Wonderful Life."

The sound has some low-level hiss, and there is occasional pop and crackle, only occasionally (once? Twice?) of any significant volume.

About 18 minutes in there appears to be some minor damage, possibly the degrading of the nitrate print they were working from?

Additionally, there are about three places in the film where a single frame appears to be warped, creating a "blip" in the flow of the motion on the screen.

Also odd was my first playing: when it came to the end of the 9th chapter, instead of going on to the 10th it jumped back to the beginning of the 9th! This might have been my player, as I was unable to reproduce this either by scanning back or by playing through the movie from the beginning.

One other oddity is that in multiple places the background seems to "pulse," usually getting slightly darker, and it appears to be two "pulses" per second. Perhaps the processor was averaging contrasts, or perhaps it was the DVD compression, slowly filling in the right computations... I am not sure, I have never seen it before, and it seemed to not at ALL affect the main action / elements on the screen. I also was not aware of it when the camera was in motion, only when we were stationary observing somebody or something.

A minor annoyance was the darkness of the train before we go "inside" to see Holmes & Watson... I'm guessing this was stock footage, a condition of the original print and not something from a historical standpoint that you would WANT to correct.. But the train looks like it's going at night yet the window in Holmes & Watson's car shows a midday countryside passing by. Just odd.

Now, the plusses: this print is beautiful! The detail makes it look like a high-quality print from the 50s or 60s, from Holmes' clothes to the lace on the headrest of the train seats. This is not an easy film to reproduce, with filming having started at the end of '38. The blackest blacks to the whitest whites are there, almost always perfectly balanced. Some shots with the right combination of light and shadow truly are breathtaking. So much fog, combined with pipe smoke and low lighting... an ultimate stress test for DVD compression to reproduce, yet it looks very good here. I cannot imagine you have EVER seen this film look this good, seriously.

The soundtrack, despite its minor low-level noise, is amazing for the time, with the noise present being so low, apparently without any artificial-sounding noise gates or expanders. Crank up the volume in quiet scenes and you will hear the papers being rustled, or the crickets in the distance, of the rustling of clothes. 30s soundtracks often sound HORRIBLE on music, and while the opening 20th Century Fox fanfare sounds like a copy of a copy, the music in the body of the movie itself appears to be clean and undistorted. I noticed it most on the closing credits, which genuinely surprised me with its lack of harshness or square waves. The ending music is downright enjoyable to listen to!

The dialog is both crisp, clear, and with respectable lower tones. You are not going to get earth shattering bass here, but if you are expecting typical thin 30s audio, you are in for a pleasant surprise. Every word is perfectly audible and in balance... I did not feel like I had to turn the volume up and down, nor did it sound "squashed." No "pull-up" of the noise floor, either, indicating no automatic gain controls! VERY nice.

For you audio nuts, I didn't put a spectrum analyzer on it, but to my ears, I was hearing undistorted highs over 5KHz, likely over 6K, maybe over 7, and it MIGHT be making it to 8K. I think it's gone by 10K, but STILL... I was amazed to hear the high frequency harmonics on paper rustling, metallic objects rattling together... and crisp "ch"s and "Th"s and the like!

One more comment, on the audio commentary: outstanding. Really, really good and absolutely worth the time to listen to and watch. A good balance of history, biography, and literary info. Hats off to Mr. Davies! You did a great job.

IN CLOSING: if you have ever wanted to own this movie, even if you already own another copy of it, BUY THIS ONE (from MPI Home Video). I cannot imagine you being disappointed.

For me, this is my first purchase... if the first movie from 1939 looks and sounds this good without the advantages of digital restoration... what do the others look like! Wow, I can't wait to order them!!! :) ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Double feature - double pleasure
"Monsieur Beaucaire" (1946), this is Bob Hope at a top performance for a Costume Comedy at the style of "The princess & the pirate". The action occurs in the courts of France and Spain, nations on the verge of war. Bob Hope is Monsieur Beaucaire, the King Louis XV's barber forced to impersonate a duc named Le Chandre, or lose his head. At the same time, in Madrid, the traitorus Don Francisco commander of the spanish Army, wants to prevent the upcoming marriage of Le Chandre with Maria (a Spanish princess) and plans eliminate a Bob Hope, in order to destabilize the crown, unleashing a war between the countries. At the end, we see a Bob avoid the homicidal plans with lots of comic situations and gags. Very very Funny!

"Where There's Life" (1947), a year later Bob had a royal performance, when he is convinced by the General Katrina Grimovitch (Signe Hasso) that he is the heir of Barovia, and must ascend to the throne in order to let organized the fist democratic election in the country avoiding that an evil organization take the control. Of course this is a good excuse
for persecutions and gags of all kind. Very funny (only?).

This double feature disc represents a good value for Hope's fans and for all who want an inexpesive laugh now or later.

GREAT movie and DVD
Because I was only looking for "Monsieur Beaucaire", I was reluctant to buy this disc (it is only one disc not two) but I did and was pleasantly surprised by the hidden treasure "Where There's Life."

"Monsieur Beaucaire" is often seen on TV and is Bob Hope at his best. If you liked "Princess and The Pirate" then you will enjoy this title.

"Where There's Life" rarely shows on TV and is one of those movies you remember seeing, enjoying but just can't remember the title. It is a Hope "GEM" with an ensemble cast that delievers a wonderful movie. ... Read more

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Bob Hope plays a small-time con artist with a fondness for lemon candyin this film based on a Damon Runyon story. When the Lemon Drop Kid accidentallycheats gangster Moose Moran (Fred Clark) out of his track winnings, the Kidpromises to repay Moose the money by Christmas. Creating a fake charity for"Apple Annie" Nellie Thursday, the Kid tricks his gang into donning Santa suitsand "collecting dough for old dolls" like Nellie who have nowhere to live. Radiopersonality Marilyn Maxwell assists as the Kid's girlfriend, while WilliamFrawley and Jay C. Flippen play the lovable, gruff crooks that fall for theKid's Santa scam.

Hope is great as the fast-talking sharpster, and the comical gangsters are wellworth the price of admission. Music by Ray Evans and Jay Livingston (includingthe classic Christmas song "Silver Bells") makes The Lemon Drop Kid thatmuch sweeter. --Mark Savary ... Read more

Reviews (17)

A fun Hope Christmas flick
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this lesser-known Bob Hope Christmas film. Bob Hope plays a shifty race track con man who finds himself with only the few remaining weeks to Christmas to procure the $10,000 he accidentally scammed a mobster out of. The Lemon Drop Kid flees to New York where he rounds up his old friends to help him in a scheme that involves a shelter for old ladies and a lot of sidewalk Santa Clauses.

Even when he was playing a lout, Hope was still somehow sweet and loveable. No matter how dirty his deeds, he never crosses a line that you can't forgive, and he always redeems himself in the end.

The disc,as was to be expected, was pretty barebones. Unfortuntely, not a lot of effort is put into the releases of these older films unless they're universally-recognized classics like "Casablanca". Still, the film is enough fun to get this DVD even without the extras that make the format so worthwhile.

"The Lemon Drop Kid" is one of Hope's best !!!
I love this movie! I have seen it so many times and will never tire of watching it. Bob Hope is a riot and the whole Christmas storyline makes it probably my all time favorite holiday movie. I love all Damon Runyon adaptions and this and "Pocketful of Miracles" are just great classic films. My other fave Hope/Runyon film is of course "Sorrowful Jones" with the Queen of Comedy Lucille Ball. If you haven't seen "The Lemon Drop Kid" then I strongly suggest you see it because you will fall in love instantly with this great Bob Hope classic.

One of the best Christmas movies ever made
The Lemon Drop Kid is one of the lesser known Christmas movies probably because, in a sense, it doesn't try to be a traditional Christmas movie.
Bob Hope plays a con artist who is run out of Florida and winds up in New York City during a very bad cold snap. He is in hock to the mob and desperately needs to raise some cash.
He comes up with a fiendish plan, he sets up a home for old ladies and funds it Santa's ringing bells a la the Salvation Army. The problem is that he intends to take all the money and leave the old ladies stranded on December 26th.
Of course, being a Christmas movie, that doesn't happen, the kid has a change of heart, and along the way the movie provides Bob Hope in his prime as the ever loveable wise guy.
This movie also introduced the wonderful "Silver Bells" which is more famous than the movie itself.
If you're looking to add a movie for Holiday viewing, or really to watch anytime, this is a delightful addition.

ONE OF MY FAVORITE HOPE MOVIES
An this is also overlooked as a Christmas movie. Hope plays the Lemon Drop Kid. A race horse tout in Florida who unknowingly gives the wrong tip to gangster Moose Moran and costs him $10,000. Moose give him until Christmas to come up with the money or else.

Kid goes to New York to see his girl played ny Marilyn Maxwell and to cook up a scheme to collect money for a bogus home for old ladies to pay off his debt.

he enlists local crooks and con men to dress up as Santas and collect money on steet corners for the phony charity.

Hope is at his best as the fast-talking and wise cracking Lemon Drop Kid. The movie is notable for Hope and Maxwell's singing Silver Bells, which would become a staple of Hopes annual Christmas specials.

Look for William Frawley of I Love Lucy as one of Hopes con man friends. Funny movie!

"Kid" avoids pitfalls, delivers rare holiday gem
Bob Hope's movies generally make me squirm with their heavy-handed comedy schtick, even "classics" -- those Hope-Crosby road movies -- don't live up to their reputations. And then, of course, there's the Hope plus Phyllis Diller equals pain movies of the 60's... BUT...

This movie is a gem. Its puns still work, it features a deep cast of character actors that fill small moments, and surprisingly, gives Hope a role that even his hamming doesn't get the best of. Definitely a perennial holiday favorite for me (as a kid I watched this every year between the gazillion forgettable Christmas Carol remakes).

Usually I cringe during the inevitable musical numbers in the movies of this period (made in 1950, released in 51), but the two numbers here are not forced, nor prolonged, and -- geez -- fun? Yeah, fun. I'm an avowed musical hater, to give you some perspective.

There might be a few moments that are pure camp, but if you're looking for a funny movie that's got sentimental elements that aren't saccharine, your kids will enjoy, and is worthy of a viewing or two or three, look no further. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Another double dose of Hope!
Here's another disc in the very nicely done Bob Hope Tribute Collection. Again we have trailers and production notes, plus cast and crew bios. Two features for the price of one is always a good deal, and this installment in the set does not disappoint, with two classic Hope pictures, "Sorrowful Jones" and "The Paleface".

Of the two (believe it or not), "Sorrowful Jones" is the real keeper. "The Paleface" is certainly more famous, and pretty funny in its own right as Bob plays a cowardly correspondance school dentist making his way across the Old West. However, the other feature hits the mark every time, while "The Paleface" tends be a bit uneven.

On the other hand, "The Paleface" is pure farce, and introduces the song "Buttons and Bows" (sung here by Bob), that became a smash hit for Dinah Shore. Film fans should be on the lookout for an appearance by Iron Eyes Coty, forever famous as the Native American who sheds a tear in that classic environmental awareness ad from the 1970's. Jane "Cross Your Heart Bra" Russell plays Calamity Jane, who marries Bob so she can get a lead on some gun runners. The film spawned a sequel four years later ("Son of Paleface"), and was later remade with Don Knotts as "The Shakiest Gun in the West".

"The Paleface" is also available as a stand-alone disc in the set, albeit with more bonus features. Frankly, I don't understand why Universal put the film on two discs when one would do, but there it is, anyway.

"Sorrowful Jones" is the second film version of "Little Miss Marker", a Damon Runyon story. The original film made Shirley Temple a star. Taking over the role in this one is Mary Jane Saunders (playing Martha Jane Smith), who all but steals the film from Bob Hope! Lucille Ball is along for the ride, playing a nightclub singer who helps Bob in caring for the kid. Meanwhile, the bad guy (Bruce Cabot), is trying to fix a big horse race, and kills off the kid's father in order to keep the secret.

"Sorrowful Jones" is the better picture here probably because it's a bit more serious and/or sentimental. An incredible scene has Bob instructing Martha Jane on how to pray, and I can't remember seeing a scene that more clearly defines the cultural differences in films of yesterday from those of today. Talk about old fashioned values! Bob lays it all out for the kid in a simple and affecting way that's sure to stay with you.

Like the other discs in the set, this one is a good bargain, and a disc you'll be glad to own. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

You'll never get rich
The best of two pairings of Astaire and Hayworth on film. Though Astaire and Rogers claim primacy amongst dancing partners, it is hard to imagine any actress who generates more heat and incandescent charm onscreen than Hayworth. As lovely as he is talented, she holds her own surprisingly well in a film that finds Astaire spending most of his time in a stockade for going AWOL or somnabulent mishaps and mayhem. His centerpiece number "since I kissed my baby goodbye" by Cole Porter might be his greatest solo number of the 40's, beginning as a sly and ingenious bit of improvisation. The film also benefits from a superb supporting cast with Robert Benchley as Astaire's unctuous boss who attempts to pursue Hayworth while covering his adultery by passing off an unwilling (bold plot device for the breathing world) Astaire as her boyfriend. Astair e was eager to work with Hayworth due to his friendship with her father (a fellow choreographer) and it's not at all hard to discover why. A goofy mid-war comedy well worth using to stave off any rainy day.

Definitely worth a look or two
I'm one of those for whom a second tier Fred Astaire film is still more enjoyable than just about anything without him. And there is no question that Fred is at his best in this one. Unfortunately, he just isn't given first-rate musical material around which to wrap his massive dancing abilities. His partner is the extraordinarily capable Rita Hayworth, who spent her teenage years as her father's dance partner in the years when she was both abused by him and when she looked completely Hispanic (plastic surgery, skin lightening, and dying her hair transformed Rita Cansino into Rita Hayworth). They really do make a nice couple, though Fred had the rare ability to make almost anyone look like they were born to dance with him.

The plot is fairly silly, but anyone who loves thirties and forties movies knows when to cut a film a bit of slack. The cast is not outstanding beyond Fred and Rita, with the notable exception of Robert Benchley. This was actually a crucial point in Benchley's career. He had throughout the thirties maintained a dual movie career as the star of a string of hysterically funny one reelers, in which Benchley instructed the public on "How to" do things, such as "How to Vote" or "How to Read." He actually made one of the first talking shorts still to be seen occasionally, "The Sex Life of a Polyp" (1928, a short that obviously couldn't have been made after 1934 and the imposition of the Code). Benchley also made a host of appearances in rather unimportant films during the decade. Starting with Hitchcock's FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT, however, Benchley began appearing in much higher quality films, including such gems as THE MAJOR AND THE MINOR (in which he plays Ginger Rogers's nemesis) and I MARRIED A WITCH. Unfortunately, he died in 1945.

The film was also extremely crucial for the career of Fred Astaire. He had ended his mythic partnership with Ginger Rogers only two years earlier, and his two following films were both disappointments. SECOND CHORUS was probably the worst film in Astaire's career, and BROADWAY MELODY OF 1940, while containing many wonderful moments, teamed him with legendary tap dancer Eleanor Powell. Emending my statement above, these two did not mesh as dance partners. Powell was too individual a performer, and excelled as a solo dancer, not as part of a team. They also failed to generate any romantic chemistry. YOU'LL NEVER GET RICH, while not a massive success, nonetheless reestablished him as a romantic dance star, and made six more films before his "retirement" in 1946 (he broke it as a favor to Gene Kelly in 1948 when Kelly broke his leg and was unable to film EASTER PARADE--the film "unretired" Astaire and he went on to make ten more musicals before retiring as a dancer).

So, this won't be the greatest musical anyone has ever seen, but it certainly won't be the worst. No Astaire fan would dare to miss it.

BETTER LOOKING THAN A LOT OF COLUMBIA "CLASSICS"!
"You'll Never Get Rich" is the first of two musicals Fred Astaire made with Columbia's resident bombshell - Rita Hayworth and although it's light, breezy and brimming to the ceiling with comedy and music - ironically, there's not much for the lovely Ms. Hayworth to do, except tap one solo and dance all too briefly in a contrived song with Astaire. The plot focuses on Astaire's employer - Robert Benchley, whose roving eye gets him in perpetual hot water with his wife. Currently, his eye is on Sheila (Hayworth). But an unlikely affair begins, then stops, then starts up again when Sheila realizes she's falling in love - not with Benchley, but Astaire. How's it end? - with music, fun and good humor; all main staples of the Hollywood film musical at its zenith.
TRANSFER: Well, considering the pure garbage Columbia has been giving classic film buffs of late (Talk of the Town, You Can't Take It With You, The Awful Truth) this DVD is looking pretty snappy! The gray scale is accurately rendered - though several scenes look as though second or third generation film elements were used instead of an original camera negative. There is a definite grain structure to this presentation. Apart from that, the usual aliasing, edge enhancement and pixelization that has accompanied many Columbia titles is thankfully absent herein. The audio is MONO but very nicely balanced and - for its vintage - natural sounding.
EXTRAS: ONLY A COUPLE OF THEATRICAL TRAILERS!!!
BOTTOM LINE: The follow up to this movie (You Were Never Lovelier) is far more engaging musical entertainment but this film showcases Astaire's tapping at some of its very best and it's refreshing to see the lovely Ms. Hayworth in fine comedic and dancing form! Recommended.

The first A-H movie is worth a second look.
YNGR is the first of two films which paired Astaire and Hayworth as dancers, and I initially thought it was the lesser of the two pairings. But I have to admit this film- which puts its audience squarely into the start of World War II- is quite sharp, script-wise, and quite lyrical, music-wise. Astaire's dance director shows an early but distant attraction to chorus dancer Hayworth (and vice-versa), but is drafted into the Army (not to mention repeatedly banished to the guardhouse for various insubordinations) before they can live happily ever after. They were a sweet coupling (despite their 19-year age difference) and Hayworth, as others have mentioned, was quite a revelation as a tap and ballroom dancer. All of their dances are performances only, not love scenes (which are the duets I have always preferred), but they are sensational. The requisite 'big number' is the finale, the "Wedding Cake Walk" (you'll do a double-take at the last image of the tank-shaped wedding cake), and there is an ensemble dance at the start of the film called "Boogie Barcarolle." But two numbers stand out: Astaire's solo dance in the guardhouse, sung by a black jazz chorus (uncredited, but I believe called the Delta Rhythm Boys) and entitled "Since I Kissed My Baby Goodbye." It has a marvelous grace and elegance, not to mention a sensational vocal by lead Delta man Lucius Brooks. The other number is Astaire and Hayworth's dress rehearsal "So Near and Yet So Far," a stunning rhumba which shows off Hayworth in a sheer black gown and expands into intricate layers of choreography. This is one of the last films to show Ms. Hayworth as a brunette; shortly after this outing she began doing Technicolor films, and her tresses went red forever after. Their follow-up film, "You Were Never Lovelier," had more of the standard romantic shenanigans and more lyrical dance numbers, but this first one was more screwball comedy and, in a sense, more of a challenge to pull off. See. Buy.

A fun, fast-paced and slightly risque comedy
Fred Astaire meets the draft in this pre-war comedy, featuring Rita Hayworth as a chorine who capures his heart, although she naturally already has a beau, presenting Fred with a challenge he must overcome between stints in the stockade for going AWOL and various other infractions of military law. This tart, well-scripted comedy is a little light on the dancing, but features some of the best, briskest dialogue that came Astaire's way, and a fine supporting cast, including the famous Hollywood "double-talker," Cliff Nazarro, going through his routine in numerous scenes. Hayworth dazzles, as usual, and Fred is in top form. Cole Porter's compositions for this film are not his best work (in fact, I don't think a single tune stuck in my head after watching this one), but they don't detract from the overall charm of this super-fun, class act classic film. Definitely recommended! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Two Good Paramount films of the 1940s
Both of these films represent the type of film Paramount was famous for in the 1940s: brash, energetic, we're-all-in-on-the-joke type comedies that appealed to young men and women of that era.

My favorite of the two is "Star Spangled Rhythm." Make no mistake, this is no more a Bob Hope film than it was a Bing Crosby film when it was marketed as one on VHS in the 1990s. This is more an Eddie Bracken-Betty Hutton film, but also features every star on the Paramount lot during World War Two. This is by far one of the most bizzare films anyone will ever see, with a convoluted plot featuring a Navy man who thinks his dad runs Paramount, but who, in reality, is the security guard at the front gate. So.... the first half of the film deals with trying to keep that secret from Eddie Bracken, while at the same time trying to convince the Paramount stars to perform in a show for the Navy. Along the way, there are plenty of breezy and brash musical numbers that totally epitomize the Paramount musical comedy of the war era. Then, the second half of the film is the actual show they put on, while trying to hide everyone from the "real" head of Paramount. These skits are hit and miss. Some work, others don't. But the kicker is the patriotic finale featuring Bing.

As noted before, this is the most bizarre film I've ever seen, but it's one that I really love despite, or maybe because of its unbelievably strange nature.

Breakthrough Hope Classics...
Bob Hope had for some time said on his radio show that Madeleine Carroll was his "favorite blonde". The actress called to thank him, and a movie pairing soon followed. A parody of spy films (most notably "The 39 Steps"), the film delivers the laughs as British agent Carroll evades the Nazi bad guys with unwilling help from a penguin-toting vadevillian performer played by Hope.

Gale Sondergaard plays the spy chief with a prerequisite dose of iciness. Sadly, she isn't featured as much as one could wish, but her henchmen fit the bill as the heavies.

"Star Spangled Rhythm" is a welcome, but odd inclusion on the disc. The story is a classic screwball comedy mixed with a dose of "Stage Door Canteen". Unfortunately, the numbers in the big show not only defy logic (the size and scope of the production is rediculously larger than believability can allow), but on top of that, they are mostly dull, overlong, and uninspiring.

The majority of the big names touted in the credits are more or less confined to appearing in the big morale show, save for two nice turns by Cecil B. DeMille and Preston Sturges. Bing Crosby is limited to what amounts to an extended cameo, while Bob Hope fares little better. Only two numbers really stand out from the show. One is a nice number with Paulette Goddard, Dorothy Lamour, and Veronica Lake in "A Sweater, A Sarong, and a Peek-a-boo Bang". The title refers to the famous trademarks of each star (Goddard's sexy sweaters, Lamour's island-movie sarongs, and Lake's vision-obscuring hairdoo). The other number is the balletic winter dance sequence in which a GI dreams about his girl back home.

"If Men Played Cards As Women Do" is a Vadevillian piece that was first performed back in 1929, and unfortunately, shows its dated quality. By today's standards, the characters come off as simply "femme" given the subtlety of the act. The point of the skit is similar to that commercial where burly men say things like, "Do these jeans make me look fat?" Of course Ray Milland and Fred MacMurry, et al, are lots of fun, but the skit just doesn't hold up.

Back on the Paramount lot, however, there's a fun number about defense workers called "Swing Shift". And then there's an interesting scene where Betty Hutton tries to gain access to the Paramount lot by literally going over the wall, with next to no help whatsoever from a pair of helpful passerbys.

While Bob does emcee the big event, and helps Betty with some of her scheming, he isn't really the star here. As such, the film, while nice to have, is kind of out of place in the Bob Hope Tribute Collection.

Either way, it's a good disc for Bob fans. Production notes and trailers are included for each picture. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Bob Hope is in top form in this Technicolor parody of pirate pictures, doing his best vaudeville shtick as an inept performer trying to save princess Virginia Mayo from the evil clutches of governor Walter Slezak and pirate Victor McLaglen. It's all ridiculous fun, of course, but if you're a fan of Hope, you never tire of his self-effacing gags and double-entendres. His out-of-place show biz jabs were always clever, and they're all the funnier in this period setting--particularly the Bing Crosby jokes. But Walter Brennan nearly steals the film as a wacky pirate scheming to steal buried treasure, and tattooing the map on Hope's chest. Yet the two best routines are when Hope tries to conceal his chest while taking a bath with Slezak, and when he tries to impersonate McLaglen as "the Hook." Unfortunately, the film element used for this DVD edition shows signs of color fading, but it doesn't detract from Bob Hope's distinct brand of entertainment. --Bill Desowitz ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Bob Hope as the classic cowardly pirate
"The Princess and the Pirate" is one of my favourite Bob Hope comedies right up there with "My Favourite Blonde" and "The Ghost Breakers". During the war years escapism was high on peoples wish list and the period saw an influx of top grade pirate adventures set in far off lands on screen such as "The Sea Hawk", and "The Black Swan". Bob Hope, ever quick to pick up on the latest popular trends created his own mini classic here in "The Princess and the Pirate", with a roushing send up of the whole Pirate genre that suited his comic talents to a tee.

This film has it all, from cut throat pirates to beautiful maidens in distress, fantastic galleons filled with treasure, beautiful technicolour, swashbuckling sword play and at the centre the comic Hope in one of his famous coward roles filled with hilarious one liners. Of course no Hope film would be complete without a few Bing Crosby jokes and they are laid on in abundance here. Even San Goldwyn who produced this film comes in for a comic slaying! Bob Hope plays Sylvester the Great a second rate performing act who unknowingly gets involved with a group of cut throat pirates headed by the notorious "The Hook' played superbly by Victor Mclaglen. In a plot too convoluted to lay out here Hope unknowingly gets a rare treasure map tatooed onto his chest and thus becomes the target for the greedy pirates bent on retreiving the treasure. Along the way Sylvester becomes involved with the Princess Margaret (played by the lovely Virginia Mayo)who is being held as a captive by the pirates and who in a surprise twist at the finale, after romancing Hope throughout the entire film suddenly runs into the arms of a well known rival of Hope's whos name I wont mention here!!

The film is full of wonderful scenes and performances. Walter Brennan in a distinct change of pace literally steals the show as the wacky featherhead, the giggling pirate who tattoes the map onto Hope's chest. Bob Hope's quip upon hearing him giggling to "hurry up and lay that egg" is probably one of the funniest lines in the whole film. Virginia Mayo while perhaps not the best leading lady that Bob Hope had in his films is cooly beautiful as Princess Margaret but does perhaps lack a bit of the fire that a Maureen O'Hara type would have brought to the role. Bob Hope I feel has one of his very best roles here. Whether he is playing the wisecracking Sylvester ducking from cut throat killers or dressed as a cackling old gypsy woman to avoid detection on the pirate ship, romancing the Princess or deceiving the dreaded Hook and the govenor, he is in fine form full of the lovable quips and Crosby insults that were his stock in trade. Hilarious scenes abound throughout "The Princess and the Pirate". Stand outs are the priceless scene where Hope and the princess arrive at the boarding house in port to find a room for the night and find that the previous occupant had mysteriously "checked out" while leaving all his clothes! and the absolute rib tickler where Bob ends up sharing a bath with the corrupt governer La Roche (Walter Slezak in another funny performance) and tries to hide the tattoo of the treasure map from him, that one is guaranteed to have you laughing till you drop!.

The overall look of this production is lavish and no expenses was ever spared on Bob Hope films around this time. The colour is beautiful and the costumes, sets, and period flavour are top notch. For a fun filled, hour and a half of pure mayhem and Hope madness "The Princess and the Pirate", is unsurpassed. If you are a Hope fan like I am you cannot miss this one to see him at the absolute peak of his abilities and comic timing. Enjoy a rousing time on the high seas with Bob Hope at his cowardly best!!

a great and beautiful film!
This film is very good, so entertaining and colorful. It's packed, with glamoour, romance, comedy, and adventure. A little of everything. Virginia Mayo is wonderful in it and so is Bob Hope.

Classic Gut-buster
My siblings and I caught this movie on Sunday afternoon TV once, and laughed until we cried. Very silly gags interspersed with hilarious one-liners make this oldie stay fresh. I'm not someone who generally likes classic comedy, and I LOVE this movie!

Good, simple pic
Everytime Bob Hope made a picture in a costume, people would cringe. It doesn't have to be that way, as this movie is heads and tails above "Cassanova's Big Night". This is a fun, silly pirate movie that I loved as a kid, and still love now as a twenty-something unemployed male unable to graduate from a state college.

Total Brilliance!
This, in my opinion, is by far the best Bob Hope film I've seen. I have watched it repeatedly, and it never fails to make me laugh hysterically. I just love this film and would recommend it to anyone of any age. Just brilliant! ... Read more