My Favorite Blonde (1942)
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100% of critics liked it
(6 reviews) -
78% of users liked it
(194 ratings)
Each of Bob Hope's "My Favorite" films (My Favorite Blonde, My Favorite Brunette, My Favorite Spy) was, by accident or design, a parody of a dead-serious movie genre. 1942's My Favorite Blonde, for example, was a takeoff of Alfred Hitchcock in general and Hitchcock's 39 Steps… More Each of Bob Hope's "My Favorite" films (My Favorite Blonde, My Favorite Brunette, My Favorite Spy) was, by accident or design, a parody of a dead-serious movie genre. 1942's My Favorite Blonde, for example, was a takeoff of Alfred Hitchcock in general and Hitchcock's 39 Steps in particular. Two-bit vaudeville entertainer Hope gets mixed up with gorgeous blonde British-spy Madeline Carroll. The "maguffin" (Hitchcock's nickname for "gimmick") which ties the two stars together is a ring which contains the microfilmed plans for a revolutionary new bomber. Hope and Carroll are forced to take it on the lam when Hope is framed for murder by Nazi-agents Gale Sondergaard, George Zucco et. al. Highlights include Hope eluding capture by impersonating a famed psychologist (watch for Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer as Hope's most contentious "patient"). Madeline Carroll also got several opportunities to shine comedically, especially when she lapsed into cloying baby talk while posing as Hope's wife. Bob Hope was hesitant to work with My Favorite Blonde director Sidney Lanfield, having heard of Lanfield's reputation as an on-set dictator. However, the two got along so swimmingly that they would collaborate on such future top-notch Hope farces as Let's Face It (1943) and The Lemon Drop Kid (1951). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Sidney Lanfield
- Written By
- Don Hartman, Frank Butler
- Genres
- Comedy
- In Theaters
- Apr 2, 1942 Wide
- Studio
- Universal Studios Home Video
Critic Reviews
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Lives up to its rep as one of Bob Hope's better comedies.
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Steven D. Greydanus, Decent Films Guide
One of Bob Hope's best comic-thriller vehicles benefits from its semi-serious spy-thriller ambiance and above all one of the more human, less caricatured, less one-dimensionally narcissistic characters in Hope's movie oeuvre.
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Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Great comedy thriller. Probably Hope's best film.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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Cast
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Bob Hope
as Larry Haines
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Madeleine Carroll
as Karen Bentley
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Gale Sondergaard
as Mme. Stephanie Runick
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George Zucco
as Dr. Hugo Streger
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Victor Varconi
as Miller
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Lionel Royce
as Karl
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Walter Kingsford
as Dr. Faber
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Crane Whitley
as Ulrich
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Otto Reichow
as Lanz
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Erville Alderson
as Sheriff
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Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer
as Frederick
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Monte Blue
as Policeman at Union Hall
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Wade Boteler
as Conductor
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Matthew Boulton
as Col. Ashmont
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James Burke
as Union Secretary
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Charles Cane
as Turk O'Flaherty
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Jack Clifford
as Cops at Union Hall
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Edmund Cobb
as Yard Man
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Nell Craig
as Woman
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Bing Crosby
as Man Giving Directions
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Edgar Dearing
as Joe
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Leslie Denison
as Elvan
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Vernon Dent
as Ole Bartender
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Eddie Dew
as Pilot
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Dudley Dickerson
as Red Cap
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Jimmie Dodd
as Stuttering Boy
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Sarah Edwards
as Mrs. Weatherwax
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Dick Elliott
as Backstage Doorman
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Tom Fadden
as Tom Douglas
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William Forrest
as Col. Raeburn
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Arno Frey
as Male Nurse
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Edward Gargan
as Mulrooney
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Kirby Grant
as Pilot
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Edward Hearn
as Train Official
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George Hickman
as Elevator Boy
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Leyland Hodgson
as English Driver
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Esther Howard
as Mrs. Topley
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William Irving
as Waiter
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Robert Emmett Keane
as Burton
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Fred Kelsey
as Sam
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Jack Luden
as Spectator
- Frank Marlowe
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Art Miles
as Cop Outside Union Hall
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James Millican
as Truck Driver
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Charles R. Moore
as Pullman Porter
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Milton Parsons
as Mortician
- Edward Peil Sr.
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Isabel Randolph
as Frederick's Mother
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Addison Richards
as Herbert Wilson
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Dick Rush
as Cop
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Paul Scardon
as Dr. Higby
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George Turner
as Pilot
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Minerva Urecal
as Frozen-Faced Woman
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Max Wagner
as Man with Truck
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Lloyd Whitlock
as Apartment Manager
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Dooley Wilson
as Porter
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Frank Mills
as New York Taxi Driver
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William Cabanne
as Pilot
- Betty Farrington
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Harry Hollingsworth
as Irish Cop
- Alice Keating
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Bill Lally
as Telegraph Operator
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Michael Lally
as Chicago Taxi Driver
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Charles McAvoy
as Brakeman
- Gerald Pierce
- Joe Recht
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Ciera Rose Allen
as Outraged Woman
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David McKim
as Newsboy
- Allan Ramsey
