Bob Hope Tribute Collection - Caught in the Draft / Give Me a Sailor Double Feature
by David Butler, Elliott Nugent
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DVD details
Actor: Bob Hope, Clarence Kolb, Dorothy Lamour, Eddie Bracken, Lynne OvermanDirector: David Butler, Elliott Nugent
Brand: Universal Studios
Producer: Buddy G. DeSylva
Writer: Anne Nichols
Writer: Doris Anderson
Writer: Frank Butler
Writer: Harry Tugend
Writer: Wilkie C. Mahoney
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 160 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-10-08
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Universal Studios
DVD Reviews of Bob Hope Tribute Collection - Caught in the Draft / Give Me a Sailor Double Feature
DVD Review: "It's really a picture of her yum-yums."
Summary: 4 Stars
This is another very good double feature dvd in the Bob Hope Tribute Collection and offers two more of his earlier, lesser known films: CAUGHT IN THE DRAFT (1941) and GIVE ME A SAILOR (1938). CAUGHT IN THE DRAFT is a wacky wartime comedy which co-stars Dorothy Lamour, the actress most often associated with him in features while GIVE ME A SAILOR again co-stars the zany Martha Raye and is one film removed from his film debut THE BIG BROADCAST OF 1938, the musical-comedy that made people sit up and take notice of Old Ski-nose. It's pretty interesting to note that, even in these shorter, inaugural efforts, Bob's trademark shifty and wiseacre screen persona was already in full bloom. Even though his best works would still lie ahead of him, it really is often a treat (for me, anyway) to sample his early resume.
CAUGHT IN THE DRAFT: Lily-livered Hollywood movie star Don Bolton (Hope) tries his darndest to avoid the draft but, nevertheless, ends up in the military. Somehow, along with his agent Steve (the sometimes squeaky voiced Lynne Overman) and his clueless aide Bert (Eddie Bracken), who both have loyally signed up with him, Don must now survive the hardy rigors of Army life. But, he and his hapless cronies can't seem to avoid getting caught up in wacky shenanigans which inevitably places them in endless potato-peeling punishment. Along the way, Don does his best to court the gruff Colonel's daughter, the gorgeous Antoinette "Tony" Fairbanks (Dorothy Lamour), of which first appearance so captivates Don that it elicits this response from him: "She looks like Dorothy Lamour with clothes on." Can a skittish actor who can't stand loud noises somehow earn his stripes, win the girl, and also avoid ingesting castor oil?
It's a curious fact that YOU'LL NEVER GET RICH, the wonderful Fred Astaire/Rita Hayworth vehicle, came out two months after CAUGHT IN THE DRAFT and bears an eerie plot similarity to Bob's flick. If you were even mildly entertained by CAUGHT IN THE DRAFT, then I guarantee you'll get a kick out of Astaire, who plays a celebrated entertainer forced to join the army and then finds himself working overtime to get Hayworth's attention. It actually improves on CAUGHT IN THE DRAFT.
When GIVE ME A SAILOR was released in 1938, Bob Hope hadn't yet achieved definite star status, although he was well on his way; here, Martha Raye gets top billing over him, although Bob's name does pop up before the film title. In this one, Bob Hope and Jack Whiting play Jim and Walter Brewster, two Navy officers who also happen to be brothers. Both have a hankering for the same girl, the luscious Nancy Larkin (Betty Grable), with Walter seemingly having the inside track on her. He's about to propose to Nancy - which sets Jim to frantically conniving. Since childhood, Jim and Nancy's long-suffering, ugly duckling sister Letty (Martha Raye) have had a "secrit pact" to ensure that Walter and Nancy don't end up together. Letty, you see, fancies Walter. Watch Bob and Martha as they put their noggins together and, by hook or by crook, attempt to land their respective sweethearts.
Bob Hope is his usual self, which has always been good enough for me. Martha Raye co-starred with Bob in a total of four movies, and it's in this feature that I find her the most likable as she reveals a sweetly vulnerable side in her role of Letty. Then up-and-coming starlet Betty Grable does well as the beautiful, initially shallow and domestically inept sister ("Why, Nancy, how did you cook this? With a blowtorch?"). Jack Whiting does a nice job of blending in with the woodwork as he only stood out in the movie's one dance sequence. Meanwhile, Clarence Kolb, who played Dorothy Lamour's Colonel dad in CAUGHT IN THE DRAFT has a tiny role here as the Brewster brothers' commanding officer.
Nice songs in this one, too, with the then up-and-coming starlet Betty Grable ably singing "What Goes On Here?" and Martha Raye belting out "One Sweet Moment With You" (I think that was the title). As half-heartedly mentioned above, Whiting and Grable do a nice turn of dancing. On the comedy side, I find Martha Raye's face cream dilemma to be a piece of guffaw-filled goodness, as well as the fashion in which Bob resolves that dilemma. Another scene that's particularly amusing involves Letty and a motel bed...
Crafted in an era when on-screen profanity doesn't get more venomous than "Oh, spittle!", CAUGHT IN THE DRAFT and GIVE ME A SAILOR are two tiny Bob Hope nuggets mined from the vaults of Paramount which deserve more exposure to new generations. Bob Hope is my all-time favorite comedian of ANY era and, to me, these are two little film treasures which I can come back to time and again. I don't know how many Bob Hope fans are left in this world and I don't expect people to like these flicks as much as I do, but, even to the casual viewer, I do give both films a hearty recommendation. Four stars from me.
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Description of Bob Hope Tribute Collection - Caught in the Draft / Give Me a Sailor Double Feature
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