My Favorite Brunette (1947)

My Favorite Brunette
Starring: Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Peter Lorre, Lon Chaney Jr.
Genre: Comedy
Year: 1947
My rating: 

MY FAVORITE BRUNETTE (1947) is a funny send-up of the film noir genre that was so popular at the time. Bob Hope's character works next door to the classic, hard-drinking, tough-talking detective that Raymond Chandler placed into all of his thrillers. Of course, while the neighbor displays all the strong qualities needed by a man of action, Bob Hope himself is playing his usual bumbler -- tempted only by the life of excitement and convinced he has what it takes to be no-nonsense private eye because he can drink bourbon and owns his own gun.

Ironically, the film's success comes by placing Bob Hope in settings and situations which were already clichés by the time the film was made: mistaken identity, misplaced photograph negatives, damsels in distress, a lost map and an innocent man fighting to clear his name. In fact, you could imagine this film with only slight changes being made as a slightly unimaginative straight drama. The comedy comes from playing it very close to the sources and then launching into the mocking at just the right moment. The dialog is quite good, too, with Bob Hope getting lots of tough talk to say, but never quite getting it out right.

You'll notice Peter Lorre in the cast list, and he plays a knife-throwing, sleazy villain -- the type of role he usually portrayed in conventional noir films. He plays it completely straight, which is why he never fails at provoking laughter. He's one of the anchors for this film, providing the weight that allows the jokes to work.

That said, this still isn't nearly the funniest parody I've ever seen. Some sections of the movie drag. More than a few jokes drop with a clang and many of them are far too predictable. Lon Cheney Jr.'s character is a bit too stereotypical and stupid to be truly amusing.

I own the Digiview release of this DVD, and the picture and sound are more than adequate. I'm sure there are better versions of this movie available for purchase, but given how cheap you can find this edition, I'd be hard pressed to pass it up.

You can find this DVD available for virtually no money at all, and I think the single dollar I splurged on it was a buck well spent. I'm not the biggest fan of Bob Hope (in fact, I think this is the only film I've seen him in that I actually liked), but he's entertaining for these short eighty-eight minutes. If you like film noir and don't mind a few digs at the genre, take a chance on this. It's not as if you'll be risking a huge amount of money.