Caught in the Draft (1941) User Reviews (18)

It's A Bit Drafty for Hope

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 27 September 2007]

Caught in the Draft finds Bob Hope as an egotistical movie star who may be subject to the draft so he's going to do the unthinkable, get married and get a deferment. But you'd think the last person he'd try that with is a daughter from a military family. Yet Hope pursues Dorothy Lamour in his usual wolfish Hope way, but the net result is he winds up still single and actually enlisting in the army when a Sting like con game backfires on him.

But I will say Hope has loyal friends, his agent Lynne Overman and general factotum Eddie Bracken also enlist. To say they don't exactly have the makings of Audie Murphy is to put it mildly. Still what they won't do for a pal. I know I didn't have friends like that back in the day.

Caught in the Draft has the usual run of service comedy situations and Hope while not as hopeless a soldier as Lou Costello, still he gets his usual laughs. It's a dated film in the sense we haven't had a draft in this country for almost 40 years, but I still think audiences can appreciate it today.

Look for good supporting performances by Clarence Kolb as Lamour's father and Hope's commanding officer and Paul Hurst as the eternal tough training sergeant.

"She looks like Dorothy Lamour with clothes on."

[utgard14 · 6/10 · 11 March 2014]

Bob Hope plays a cowardly movie star who is afraid of being drafted. So he concocts a scheme to marry pretty Dorothy Lamour, in hopes of avoiding the draft. But general's daughter Dorothy figures him out and is disgusted by his cowardice. Having actually fallen for her, he comes up with another scheme to pretend to join the army to impress her, but it backfires and he finds himself actually enlisted. You can pretty much guess what will happen next. Decent WW2 comedy with the usual likable performances of Hope and Lamour. Eddie Bracken plays Bob's sidekick. It's a pleasant time-passer but nothing exceptional. It's fun to see Hope and Lamour in a movie without Bing Crosby. I kept expecting Bing to pop up and steal Dorothy away, as Bob rarely got the girl in their movies together.

Good cast saves amusing if unsurprising military comedy

[csteidler · 6/10 · 18 February 2012]

Movie star Bob Hope is sensitive to loud noises—when shooting a war movie scene he expects the director to stage the battle silently and then put in the shooting sounds later. And so talk of the impending military draft soon has Bob and his agents Eddie Bracken and Lynne Overton discussing…marriage? Yes—avoiding the draft seems highly desirable, and a marriage deferment seems a likely strategy.

Alas, having fallen for a colonel's daughter, a best-laid scheme to fake his enlistment goes awry and he finds himself a private after all. The bulk of the picture follows Hope's efforts to adapt to army life—and his continuing efforts to woo the girl he had originally hoped to marry as a means to deferment.

Dorothy Lamour is quite lovely as the object of Hope's attentions; she's easy to root for as she tries to balance her affection for Bob with her loyalty to her military father, who understandably thinks Hope is an idiot. Clarence Kolb is excellent as the colonel—crusty and acerbic, he nevertheless displays love and grudging patience as well. Eddie Bracken is super as always as the buddy; Lynne Overman is good, too, as the agent who never quite forgets that Hope's safety is his own livelihood.

There's plenty of typical Hope humor—"Of course I'm not a coward. I'm just allergic to bullets"—mixed in with doses of real patriotism from Dorothy: "How do you know? You can be scared and still be a hero. You know, some of the bravest men have been scared to death going over the top. But they kept on going."

It would be a rare Hope movie without at least one winking reference signaling to the audience that we all know it's just a movie; here it's his comment when first glimpsing Lamour through a window: "Mmm, that's a bundle. She looks like Dorothy Lamour with clothes on."

No, it's not as riotously funny as Buck Privates or as wisecrack-packed as My Favorite Brunette, but it's nevertheless a very pleasant and solid little picture.

Pre-war military recruitment ad/comedy

[AlsExGal · 7/10 · 10 January 2023]

Bob Hope starred as cowardly movie star Don Bolton. When he reads that the government is going to increase the military draft age to include 21-to-35 year olds, he panics at the prospect of being conscripted. He comes up with the idea of getting married, which at the time removed him from draft eligibility, and so he woos army brat Antoinette (Dorothy Lamour). In his haste to get her to marry him, he inadvertently signs up for the Army anyway. He and his pals (Eddie Bracken and Lynne Overman), who join up as well, try to survive basic training.

This agreeable-though-not-groundbreaking comedy ended up being one of the biggest hits of 1941. Hope is fun as the weasly Bolton, and Eddie Bracken is fun as his young assistant. Dorothy Lamour is beautiful, and when her character is first spotted by Hope's, he remarks, "She looks like Dorothy Lamour with clothes on." She has a few lines that were directed at the audience as much as Hope's character about how the military needs soldiers even during peacetime, since no one knows how long that peace will last. The movie premiered about five months before the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Cute wartime comedy

[cherold · 7/10 · 16 August 2014]

I saw this movie 30 years or more ago and recall it being quite funny, and while it's not as funny as I remember it being, it's still an enjoyable romp with typical Bob Hope comedy.

It's also a movie that portrays a pretty accommodating military. This makes sense within the context of a wartime movie - they didn't want to scare anyone away from the army - but the way Hope casually wanders off base and does various shenanigans without ever getting locked up strains credulity.

As I watched this, I found myself wondering why Hope made so many movies with Dorothy Lamour. They don't have any discernible chemistry, although to be fair, Hope was such a non leading man that I'm not sure he ever had on screen chemistry with any woman. I feel like checking out some more Hope movies just to try and figure that out.

Rare Hope/Lamour Pairing - Caught in the Draft

[arthur_tafero · 7/10 · 4 April 2022]

This is the first pairing of Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour without Bing Crosby. It is funny, but the comedy is better when Bing is part of the equation. The Army takes the place of Bing in this one, and the Army can be pretty funny at times. I like the gag that Hope cannot stand loud noises and is in the military. There were three great comedy teams during this time period; Laurel and Hardy (who were close to the end of the great run), Abbott and Costello (who were just beginning their great run) and Bob Hope and Bing Crosby with their wonderful road pictures). What made Bob Hope films at this time, different from the other two comedy teams was his dominance with one-liners; no one could match Hope with one-liners. The other two teams did better physical comedy, but the Hope films had better scripts and situations. Be sure to catch this one with the whole family for an hour of fun.

What is the variation of 21-31 when the leading man is closer to 41?

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 9 December 2015]

The year prior to the American declaration of war saw preparation with a draft and even movie stars were not excluded from being forced to enlist. For romantic movie idol Bob Hope, military service is the last thing on his mind, and in order to avoid the draft, he tries all sorts of maneuvers to keep out. But when colonel's daughter Dorothy Lamour encounters him, romance brings on patriotism and the results would make Hirohito laugh!

Insincerity as a recruit gets him into all sorts of funny antics as the American army becomes his worst enemy as they strive to make him into a soldier. Joining in on Hope's antics is rising funny man Eddie Bracken as Hope's agent. Veteran character actor Clarence Kolb offers droll straight man slow burns as Lamour's pop. One of the potential recruits reminded me of a heavy set version of Red Skeleton. This was one of several comedies about funny men in boot camp, the most popular being Abbott and Costello's "Buck Privates".

I'm surprised by some of the comedy here which the Hays code seems to have missed. In one sequence where Hope sees Lamour for the first time in a bathing suit, he squeezes his hot dog so hard that the wiener actually shoots out of the bun! Most of Hope's comedy is of the cowardly and verbal kind but when the visual takes over, make sure you aren't drinking a beverage at that time.

Ironically, in one scene where Hope goes through a batch of unseen pictures, he comes across one which he identifies as Lucille the vivacious redhead. This was two years before the famous red-headed Lucille had changed her hair color! Within a year, Hope would be preparing for his own stint in the service, traveling the world to entertain the real troops!

Quite enjoyable.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 1 May 2017]

Back in the late 30s and early 40s, just about all the comedians and comedy teams made war films...and they were quite popular. Films like Abbott & Costello's "Buck Privates", Laurel & Hardy's "Great Guns" and Bob Hope's "Caught in the Draft" are just a few of the many films designed to encourage Americans to do the patriotic thing and enlist. And, with a few exceptions ("Great Guns"), the films were very enjoyable.

When "Caught in the Draft" begins, Don Bolton (Bob Hope) is a famous and very self-absorbed Hollywood star. He's also quite the coward. So when he learns that there is going to be a draft, he's worried he might be chosen and looks for a way out. And, his way out might be getting married. But his choice is odd...be wants to marry a woman who wants nothing to do with him AND is a colonel's daughter! Antoinette (Dorothy Lamour) sees right through Don and his schemes and instead of being honest, he just creates more and more complicated schemes...one which accidentally gets him to enlist in the Army...and guess who Don's commanding officer is? Along with Don are his lowly gofer (Eddie Bracken) and his agent (Lynne Overman--who is in his mid-50s!).

This film is very enjoyable...and perhaps more than "Buck Privates" because it does NOT have any singing! Clever and enjoyable from start to finish, though I wonder why at the end Eddie Bracken's character got a commendation? Watch the film and you'll understand what I mean.

war is brewing... bob h gets drafted

[ksf-2 · 6/10 · 25 January 2023]

Hope and lamour had already worked together on a couple projects, so they were already old pals. With war already brewing in europe, this was released still five months before the U. S. was pulled into war. And that's a twenty five year old song and dance man eddie bracken as bert. Don likes tony, and when he meets her father the colonel, just everything goes wrong. When he ends up in the army, it gets even worse. They try don in lots of different army jobs, but he always seems to screw it up. It's good, ol fashioned bob hope humor. One-liners and slapstick, with some story thrown in. Bing must have been busy when this was cast. It's a little more serious, since the war clouds were circling, and we were still deep deep in the film code. The colonel was played by clarence kolb... always the serious, dour older gentleman, complaining of something. He was great in "merrily we live" and "his girl friday". Caught in the draft is at least a double pun, directed by david butler. He and bob hope worked together numerous times. Story by harry tugend.

SCARCELY A TRACE OF WIT

[rsoonsa · 2/10 · 20 May 2001]

Not even Bob Hope, escorted by a raft of fine character actors, can save this poorly written attempt at wartime comedy, as his patented timing has little which which to work. The plot involves a Hollywood film star named Don Bolton (Hope), and his attempt to evade military service at the beginning of World War II, followed by his enlistment by mistake in a confused attempt to court a colonel's daughter (Dorothy Lamour). Bolton's agent, played by Lynne Overman, and his assistant, portrayed by Eddie Bracken, enlist with him and the three are involved in various escapades regarding training exercises, filmed in the Malibu, California, hills. Paramount budgeted handsomely for this effort, employing some of its top specialists, but direction by the usually reliable David Butler was flaccid, and this must be attributed to a missing comedic element in the scenario. A shift toward the end of the film to create an opportunity for heroism by Bolton is still-born with poor stunt work and camera action in evidence. Oddly, Lynne Overman is given the best lines and this veteran master of the sneer does very well by them. Dorothy Lamour looks lovely and acts nicely, as well, and it is ever a delight to see and hear Clarence Kolb, as her father, whose voice is unique on screen or radio, but there is little they can do to save this film, cursed as it is with an error in script assignment.

Yes, But I'm Over 31!

[GoonerAl · 9/10 · 5 February 2003]

Although very well written, I think the previous review of this relatively early Bob Hope picture is a little harsh. Perhaps it is written from a professional viewpoint.

As an ordinary punter that happens to be a Bob Hope fan, there are more than enough good quips and comical situations here to keep me chuckling throughout.

I would class this as a picture that is simply meant to be enjoyed, rather than dissected and analysed in intimate detail. In fact, good "old-fashioned" entertainment that will provide more than a fair share of laughs on a winter's afternoon.

Past on this one

[finetunes · 3/10 · 31 August 2021]

Minor spoilers - but can a review spoil a movie that is already spoiled? I try to like Bob Hope but this is one more movie that disappoints. His character has no redeeming qualities - he whines and snivels his way through the whole picture. I see why his hard hard-nosed future father-in-law despises him and the only reason "Tony" likes him is, one - she is flattered that he keeps proposing to her and two, he continuously is begging for forgiveness for his constant screw-ups, which aren't funny screw-ups but rather they're stupid ones. There is no chemistry, no courtship.

There are a few mildly humorous scenes, the tank he drives looks like fun to drive, but on the whole, the movie is dull.

Bobby Hope vehicle to brighten the darkest of days.

[hitchcockthelegend · 8/10 · 30 May 2012]

Caught in the Draft is directed by David Butler and written by Wilkie C. Mahoney and Harry Tugend. It stars Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Lynne Overman, Eddie Bracken and Clarence Kolb. Music is by Victor Young and cinematography by Karl Struss.

It's an old saying, but comedy "is" very subjective, something that makes recommending or writing reviews about comedy films troublesome. Bob Hope movies are a mixed bunch, suffice to say that for every fan prepared to stand up and say that "such and such" is a great and funny Hope movie, another will say it's a lame effort. Caught in the Draft, to my Hope fan mind, is one of his best films. The "forces comedy" has many entries in the cinema drawer, from Bud and Lou to Martin & Lewis, and into the modern era with Stripes et al, it's a well farmed premise. Caught in the Draft, however, is up with the best of them.

Film finds Hope as Don Bolton, a movie star who is so cowardly he can't even stand loud noises. To dodge the draft, he plots to marry Dorothy Lamour's Antoinette 'Tony' Fairbanks, who happens to be a Colonel's daughter. But sure enough, Don and his two crony side-kicks enlist by mistake. Cue mishaps and chaos during basic training. Don's incentive is that if he by some miracle achieves the rank of Corporal, then the Colonel will let him stay on base and continue his relationship with Antoinette.

It was tailored as an ensemble piece, with Bracken etc slotted in alongside Hope as the big sell, but Hope, as his subsequent career bares out, didn't need help because he dominates the comedy and steals every scene he is in. And this in spite of Bracken, Overman and Kolb also doing fine work as well. The gag quota is high, visually and orally, a one liner or a brisk set piece is never far away, and Lamour continues to be the perfect lady foil for Hope's ebullient japery. Whether it's the cowardly comedy antics or fluke bravado, it's a film showcasing the best of Bob Hope and a character persona that served him so well over the years. If only for a tank sequence this deserves a chance to lift your blues, as it is, it's all good, even now, never mind in 1941! 8/10

Parade Rest.

[rmax304823 · 5/10 · 10 January 2008]

For Bob Hope, in the 1940s, this is pretty routine stuff. Hope pretends to enlist in order to impress his girl friend, Dorothy Lamour, and winds up in the army by mistake. I don't know why this isn't funnier than it is. It has a cast of seasoned comedy actors, of which Lynn Overman is the best, with his dry Edgar-Buchanan wisecracks. The problem is with the script. It has a ground-out quality. Abbott and Costello, Laurel and Hardy, Mickey Rooney -- everyone seemed to be making the same movie, and this role could have been handed over to anyone. Hope is an extremely funny guy in the right context but this isn't the context. The script is unimaginative. The direction by David Butler is leaden. There are long pauses after a gag, before the dissolve, while the audience is supposed to be laughing. It seems at times that eons come and go, dynasties rise and fall, geological epochs pass, while we wait for the dissolve to the next scene in a silent room. Hope was a lot better later on, especially in the Road movies with Bing Crosby to play off. And he would be much better by himself too, in such outings as "My Favorite Spy." This one is worth watching and at times is engaging fun, but, for Hope, strictly by the book.

No Bing popup to steal Dorothy from Hope

[weezeralfalfa · 8/10 · 6 December 2016]

Finally, a film were there's no Bing Crosby to steal Dorothy Lamour from Bob Hope in the last segment, as was the usual case in the famous "Road" series. Even in "The Princess and the Pauper", where Virginia Mayo substituted for Dorothy in a raucous farce, Bing showed up at the end to steal the fair damsel away from Hope. David Butler directed that film, as well as the present one. Bing's substitutes in this film: Eddie Bracken and Lynne Overman, were no substitute for the presence of Der Bingle as a foil for Hope, as well as a little singing and dancing. Hope's obstacles to marrying Dorothy included his own cowardice and incompetence, his persistent trickery, and the opposition of Dorothy's father, Colonel Fairbanks, unless he could qualify to be at least a corporal and show evidence of adequate bravery. During his basic training , he lived in fear that Col. Fairbanks would make good his threat to transfer him to another base, if he didn't stop pestering Dorothy, and start showing some competence as a potential soldier.

Hope has frequent access to the Colonel's residence during his training, where Dorothy is also residing. We certainly have to wonder how he managed that, and why Dorothy put up with his repetitive bumbling and trickery to chose him as a potential husband. Must be that he is a famous movie actor when not in the army, despite his various phobias and clumsiness.

In the beginning, the two things Hope most feared were being drafted and being suckered into a marriage to hopefully avoid being drafted. "That's like cutting your throat to cure laryngitis". Dorothy seemed to be an exception to his fear. Thus, he aggressively pursued marriage to her to hopefully avoid the draft. As you might expect, he ended up married, and in the army, as an involuntary volunteer, we might say.

The film begins with Hope, among others, mired in a very muddy trench in WWI. This turns out to be a film shoot. Strangely, Hope is rattled by loud noises, even from a pistol shot, and faints at the sight of his blood. His first meeting with Dorothy and her father, on the movie set, is a disaster, as he mistakes her father for one of the actors, and sprays him with mud. Next, he lands in a gooey mud pit, totally immersed except for his eyes, exclaiming "Mami!", as if he was in blackface.

Most of you will probably consider the segment where Hope has to drive a tank the most hilarious. Narrowly missing various disasters, he ends up grazing the side of the Colonel's car, knocking the door off its hinges, after having picked up a pretty nurse along the way... Hope fails miserably as a paratrooper and on the target range....Then, there's the segment where Hope is hiding and being chased around the base hospital. The last segment has Hope and buddies participating in a war game. They become heroes in averting a disaster, are promoted to corporal, and Hope is judged now to be fit to marry Dorothy.

Unlike the "Road" series, there is no singing or dancing. Thus, this film totally relies on one liners and physical comedy for its interest

Hope and Dorothy made another film during the war without Bing: "They Got Me Covered": a combination comedy and spy thriller, relating to the war. I haven't seen it.

Seen in Australia

[tedthomasson · 9/10 · 13 June 2006]

I saw this movie when it was re-released as a supporting feature at a cinema here in Melbourne about 1951. Don't remember much about it, except the scene where the hero (Hope) loses control of a tank and runs it into the side of the colonel's Cadillac limo (it might have been a Chrysler) but the audience was appalled, as I was, because luxury cars like this were rarely seen here in those years. It wasn't faked either, as I recall. Can someone advise what the car was? I'm compiling a list of cars used in the movies. Apart from that I thought it was a quite passable comedy and I'm hoping it might come up on late-nite TV sometime as they have occasionally shown other Paramount movies of the era. TT.

Early Army training film that's very funny

[SimonJack · 8/10 · 22 October 2016]

The U.S. wasn't at war yet when this film came out on July 4, 1941. But, the war in Europe had begun nearly two years earlier when Germany invaded Poland (September 1939). America soon began providing aid to England and it was only a matter of time before the U.S. would enter the fighting. Of course, no one knew how that would happen when in just five months the Japanese would bomb Pearl Harbor.

So, what's this history got to do with "Caught in the Draft?" This film, and others like it were being made in Hollywood in anticipation of America's entry into the war. This is one of a handful of films that treated induction and enlistment in the Armed Forces with humor. Just six months earlier, Abbott and Costello's "Buck Privates" debuted. It poked fun at some of the training and Army life in boot camp, with Lou as a hilarious misfit. Others of theirs would follow with the boys in the Navy and the Army Air Corps (which would become the U.S. Air Force after WWII).

This film with Bob Hope is an unusual comedy piece for him. Hope's trademark comedy developed around dialog and funny scenes. But here, he shows some zaniness of antics not unlike those of the Marx Brothers, or even the Three Stooges. Bob is not the bumbling fool or inept soldier that Costello and others portrayed. He has a head on his shoulders, and is cunning with an eye on the Colonel's daughter. Dorothy Lamour plays Tony Fairbanks, daughter of Col. Peter Fairbanks, played by Clarence Kolb. But Hope's Don Bolton has a couple of buddies whose miscues often wind him up in trouble. Lynne Overman plays Steve Riggs and Eddie Bracken plays Bert Sparks.

Bolton goes through a series of situations and encounters that have funny mishap results. Aside from the KP duty and GIs standing watch, this film has little else that could be considered realistic about boot camp, training or the Army – even way back then. The incongruous things are part of what makes this film so funny. Bolton enters basic training and is able to get leave or take time to visit the Colonel's daughter on post. He becomes a driver in boot camp. He drives a tank in some very hilarious scenes. And he even goes up in an airplane to train for the new parachutist units. All of this is far-reached.

No Army base had all of those types of units, nor did boot camp ever expose men to those fields. The American parachute forces were just being formed for training in the summer of 1941 at Ft. Benning, GA. But these various types of Army units and training for them are the basis of a wacky plot that is filled with humor.

No doubt this and similar films helped prepare the public, and many men, for military service. And, the light and funny treatment of military training may have helped ease tensions and the apprehensions the public otherwise may have had about preparing for war. But today, many decades later, we can look at dated films like this and appreciate them for the time and culture they represented. And, we should also enjoy the comedy. It's a type that never becomes outdated.

I enjoy this film more than any of the seven "Road" films that Hope and Bing Crosby made together, beginning in 1940 and into 1962. This is a nice look at Bob Hope's early film comedy that was refreshing and original, before the Road movies and other later films used the technique of the actors talking to the audience at times. I think modern audiences today should enjoy this film, and the kids should get a kick out of some of the funny antics.

What Next, Private Bolton?

[lugonian · 8/10 · 29 January 2023]

CAUGHT IN THE DRAFT (Paramount, 1941), directed by David Butler, stars resident funny man, Bob Hope, in one of his most popular comedies of the 1940s. Borrowing the formula made famous with the timely theme of being caught in the draft made famous the same year by Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in BUCK PRIVATES (Universal), and later Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy in GREAT GUNS (20th Century-Fox), rather than casting Hope opposite Bing Crosby, his partner from the then popular "Road" comedy series that started with ROAD TO SINGAPORE (1940), Hope gets to work with Dorothy Lamour, his frequent co-star of both the "Road" series and later comedies as THEY GOT ME COVERED (Samuel Goldwyn, 1943 and MY FAVORITE BRUNETTE (Paramount, 1947). While Hope gets the male support of Eddie Bracken and Lynne Overman, not becoming a trio of half-wits as "The Three Stooges," CAUGHT IN THE DRAFT is relatively Bob Hope's movie from start to finish.

The story opens in the movie studio where production for a war movie is being filmed starring Don Bolton (Bob Hope). Bolton's biggest fear is loud noises such as rifle shots used for the battle scenes, and being drafted. During production, Colonel Peter Fairbanks (Clarence Kolb), consultant for the war movie, comes to visit accompanied by his daughter, Antoinette, better known as Toni (Dorothy Lamour). Don's egotistical personality towards women turns off Toni, especially after he mistakes her father for one of the actors. When it is learned that Don may have to register in the Army, he is told the one way out is to get married, He selects Toni as his bride-to-be. When she realizes Don's real intention of marrying her, she leaves him. However, love conquers all as Don, who wants to marry Toni but still wants out of the draft, schemes to get both. Dan's plot for draft rejection fails, having him, along with his assistant, Bert (Eddie Bracken), and manager, Steve (Lynne Overman), to accompany him as privates for training camp and trying to prove themselves worthy under the tough leadership of Sergeant Burns (Paul Hurst). What next, Private Bolton? Co-starring Ferike Boro (Yetta); Phyllis Ruth (Margie); Edgar Dearing (The Recruiting Officer), Irving Bacon and Arthur Loft.

Regardless of some hits and misses in running gags during much of its 82 minutes, CAUGHT IN THE DRAFT is typically amusing. With Hope known for in-humor for his comedies, his one description for the Toni character is described as "looking like Dorothy Lamour with clothes on." The best scenes, however, take place during training camp, featuring Hope and his cohorts (Overman and Bracken) doing kitchen duty cleaning smelly fish or peeling potatoes, their involvement in a wild Army tank drive, parachute jumping, guard duty and mock battle training. What next, Private Bolton? Dorothy Lamour shows her enjoyment working opposite Hope as the serious-minded woman involved with his comedic shortcomings.

Once frequently shown on late night television during the 1960s and 1970s, CAUGHT IN THE DRAFT is nearly forgotten and overlooked today. Its availability on video cassette and DVD, along with cable television broadcasts as American Movie Classics (1994-1998) and Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere: January 14, 2022), should assure rediscovery for younger viewers and how harmless old-style comedies such as this amused audiences at that time and how Bob Hope's popularity lasted for decades to come. What's next, Mr. Hope? (***1/2)