My Favorite Brunette (1947)

71% of critics liked it
(7 reviews)
74% of users liked it
(1,831 ratings)

Just as Bob Hope's My Favorite Blonde (1942) was a takeoff on Alfred Hitchcock, Hope's My Favorite Brunette was a lampoon of the noirish "hard-boiled detective" school popularized by Raymond Chandler. Awaiting execution on death row, Hope tells the gathered reporters how he got into his present… More Just as Bob Hope's My Favorite Blonde (1942) was a takeoff on Alfred Hitchcock, Hope's My Favorite Brunette was a lampoon of the noirish "hard-boiled detective" school popularized by Raymond Chandler. Awaiting execution on death row, Hope tells the gathered reporters how he got into his present predicament. It seems that Hope was once a baby photographer, his office adjacent to the one leased by a private detective (played in an amusing unbilled cameo by Alan Ladd). While hanging around the p.i.'s office, Hope is mistaken for the detective by beautiful client Dorothy Lamour. She hires Hope to search for her missing uncle, and also entrusts him with a valuable map. Hope's diligent (if inept) sleuthing takes him to a shady rest sanitarium, where he runs afoul of lamebrained henchman Lon Chaney, Jr. and sinister, knife-throwing Peter Lorre. Both are in the employ of attorney Charles Dingle, who is responsible for the disappearance of Lamour's uncle. Escaping the sanitarium with Lamour in tow, Hope follows the trail of evidence to noted geologist Reginald Denny. The geologist is murdered, and Hope is accused of the crime. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 25 min.
Directed By: Elliott Nugent
Written By: Edmund Beloin, Jack Rose
Genres: Drama, Mystery & Suspense, Classics, Comedy

In Theaters: Apr 4, 1947 Wide
On DVD: Oct 1, 2001
Studio: Madacy Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Phil Hall, Film Threat
Mild, minor, typical Hope romp.
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Bob Hope comedy of errors with the one-liners a bit on the thin side, but Lon Chaney Jr. adds a little nutty fun and Peter Lorre some sinister noir atmosphere.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Bob and Dottie in a great send-up of the film noir genre.

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Featured Audience Ratings

moon r

Bob Hope is the steely nerved gumshoe and Dorothy Lamour the sultry femme fatale in this late 1940's sendup of film noir whose major joke is that Hope is anything but steely nerved. Peter Lorre is main murderous henchman while Lon Chaney goofs his cliche dumb strongman persona.… More
Bob Hope is the steely nerved gumshoe and Dorothy Lamour the sultry femme fatale in this late 1940's sendup of film noir whose major joke is that Hope is anything but steely nerved. Peter Lorre is main murderous henchman while Lon Chaney goofs his cliche dumb strongman persona. There's some good laffs here, and Alan Ladd and Der Bingle put in minor cameo flourishs.
AJ V

Bob Hope gets unintentionally involved in a mystery when he pretends to be a detective, and the results are hilarious.
Anthony V

Pretty funny.

Cast

            Bob Hope as Ronnie Jackson

            Dorothy Lamour as Carlotta Montay

            Peter Lorre as Kismet

            Lon Chaney Jr as Willie

            John Hoyt as Dr.Lundau

            Charles Dingle as Maj. Simon Montague

            Reginald Denny as James Collins

            Frank Puglia as Baron Montay

            Ann Doran as Miss Rogers

            Willard Robertson as Prison Warden

            Jack LaRue as Tony

            Charles Arnt as Crawford

            Tony Caruso as "George Raft" Type

            Jack Chefe as Henri the Headwaiter

            Jack Clifford as Prison Guard-Captain

            Charles Cooley as Waiter

            Bing Crosby as Guest Star

            Boyd Davis as Mr. Dawson

            Thomas P. Dillon as Policeman

            Budd Fine as Detective

            James Flavin as Mac the Detective

            Al Hill as State Trooper

            Brandon Hurst as Butler

            Richard Keene as Reporter

            Alan Ladd as Sam McCloud

            George Lloyd as Prison Guard-Sergeant

            Matt McHugh as "Jimmy Cagney" Type

            Clarence Muse as Man on Death row

            Garry Owen as Reporter

            Helena Phillips Evans as Mabel

            James Pierce as Detective

            Reginald Simpson as Assistant Manager

            Ray Teal as State trooper

            Harland Tucker as Room clerk

            John Tyrrell as Bell captain

            Ed Johnson as Caddy

            Betty Farrington as Matron

            Theodore Rand as Waiter Captain

            Joe Recht as Newsboy

            Jean Wong as Mrs. Fong

            Tom Dillon as Cop
See full cast