DVD/Blu Ray Review: Two New Bob Hope Films from Kino Lorber
Kino Lorber has been releasing great Paramount features on blu ray, including several with Bob Hope. Their latest Hope comedies to hit blu ray are the movies that were chiefly instrumental in making him a top star: The Cat and the Canary and The Ghost Breakers.
Bob Hope had succeeded in vaudeville, on radio, even on the Broadway stage by the time he first started making movies. His film debut was inauspicious, with a few two-reelers that barely hold up as historically interesting. After making his first film, Hope was interviewed and referred to Going Spanish by saying “when they finally catch John Dillinger they’re going to make him sit through it twice!”
His feature film debut was in the Paramount ensemble musical The Big Broadcast of 1938 featuring W.C. Fields and Martha Raye. Hope’s song duet with Shirley Ross, Thanks for the Memories, became his theme song for the remainder of his career. This led to other movie appearances, including the films we’re discussing here.
THE CAT AND THE CANARY
A delightfully authentic haunted house melodrama with a wonderful assortment of creepy characters is enhanced by breezy Bob who is filled with wisecracks while playing a role in the ensemble. The story deals with a will reading in an old dark house ten years after a man’s death. His remaining relatives assemble and a woman is the sole heir. There is insanity in the family, so a second will has been drawn in case the recipient of the first falls victim to the family curse. This leads to mysterious dangers in the house overnight. Paulette Goddard is beautiful and appealing as the leading lady, with jittery Elizabeth Patterson (Mrs. Trumble on I Love Lucy), and authentic creepy character people like Gale Sondergaard and George Zucco who specialized in such roles. It is an amusing irony that the lawyer Zucco plays is named Crosby, because Hope and Bing Crosby would embark on the wonderful series of Road pictures, the first of which was filmed the following year. The name is a coincidence, though, as the character exists in earlier versions of the film. This was the film that truly established the character that Hope would maintain, and hone, for pretty much the remainder of his career. It would be especially popular during the 1940s when Hope made some of his best films (many of which are available on blu ray from Kino Lorber, including the Road series). This is a remake of the 1927 silent classic, but restructured as a vehicle for Hope, whose character was created for this version. It was a huge hit, causing Hope to achieve the beginnings of his stardom. Paramount then teamed Hope and Goddard in another spooky comedy to capitalize on their popularity.
THE GHOST BREAKERS
This one has Bob Hope as the star of the narrative, not part of an ensemble, and Paulette Goddard returning has his co-star, both of them receiving billing above the title. Hope is a radio star who joins and heiress on a trip to Cuba where she has inherited a home on an island that is said to be haunted. Willie Best is added as a quivering companion to Hope, and the cast is rounded out with welcome supporting players like Richard Carlson, Paul Lukas, Lloyd Corrigan, and a young Anthony Quinn. This was later remade by Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, with Dino taking the Hope role and a new part written for Jerry’s antics. The remake was good unto itself but the Hope original is superior. The direction by George Marshall, who worked well with comedians, does a nice job of using the camera and the darkness to make the horror part of the narrative effective against the comedy. The humor stems from Hope’s wisecracks once again, but, only a year after The Cat and the Canary, Bob was now an established star so his comedy was central to the film, not merely an enhancement. Thus, his character is part of the story, so he carries the lead role as an actor, and quite well. Paulette Goddard is once again an attractive and appealing presence, and an actress who worked quite well in comedy (she was married to Charlie Chaplin at the time, had appeared in his classic Modern Times and had just finished filming his talkie debut The Great Dictator).
The significance of these movies is twofold in that they are historically important as establishing Hope’s starring career in movies, and being among his most appealing features. They are compelling for their mystery element, and filled with solid laughs with Bob’s dialog. Kino Lorber’s prints of each film is outstanding, and both blu rays feature a commentary track by the always interesting and enlightening Lee Gambin.
Here are links where to purchase each of these blu rays: