They Got Me Covered (1942)
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20% of critics liked it
(5 reviews) -
88% of users liked it
(79 ratings)
Bob Hope's first starring vehicle for producer Sam Goldwyn borrows the title of Bob's 1942 autobiography They Got Me Covered and very little else. Co-scripted by Leonard Q. Ross (aka Leo Rosten), Leonard Spigelgass and Harry Kurnitz (among many others!), the film casts Hope as Robert… More Bob Hope's first starring vehicle for producer Sam Goldwyn borrows the title of Bob's 1942 autobiography They Got Me Covered and very little else. Co-scripted by Leonard Q. Ross (aka Leo Rosten), Leonard Spigelgass and Harry Kurnitz (among many others!), the film casts Hope as Robert Kittredge, the Moscow correspondent for a major American news service, who is fired when he neglects to file a report about Hitler's invasion of Russia. Hoping to get back in the good graces of his boss Norman Mason (Donald MacBride), Kittredge steals another reporter's story about a Nazi spy ring operating in New York. Though officially a comedy, the film is curiously unfunny at times, with Hope playing an unsympathetic, unappealing character who'll step on anyone -- including his long-suffering sweetheart (Dorothy Lamour) and a hysterical kidnap victim (Phyllis Povah) -- to get ahead. Otto Preminger is funnier (perhaps intentionally) as the head Nazi. A few good gags notwithstanding, They Got Me Covered is nowhere near as satisfying as Hope's second Goldwyn effort, The Princess and the Pirate. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- David Butler (I), David Butler
- Written By
- Harry Kurnitz
- Genres
- Musical & Performing Arts, Classics, Comedy
- In Theaters
- Mar 4, 1943 Wide
- On DVD
- Aug 21, 2003
Critic Reviews
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Variety Staff, Variety
It's just too clear how hard the boys were trying.
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Bosley Crowther, New York Times
It drags in some critical phases, it labors in obvious spots and the climax is too manufactured. But there are side-splitting moments in it.
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, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Without the talent of Bob Hope this picture would be one dull thud.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
A tedious romp through familiar Hope territory.
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, Film4
Hope is in his element, and it is impossible not to be swept along by the enthusiasm of his performance.
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Cast
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Bob Hope
as Robert Kittredge
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Dorothy Lamour
as Christina Hill
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Lénore Aubert
as Mrs. Margo Vanescu
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Otto Preminger
as Otto Fauscheim
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Eduardo Ciannelli
as Baldanacco
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Marion Martin
as Gloria the "Glow Girl"
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Donald Meek
as Little Old Man
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Phyllis Ruth
as Sally
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Philip Ahn
as Nichimuro
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Donald MacBride
as Norman Mason
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Mary Treen
as Helen
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Bettye Avery
as Mildred Smith
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Maggie Hayes
as Lucille
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Mary Byrne
as Laura
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William Yetter Jr.
as Holtz
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Henry Guttman
as Faber
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Florence Bates
as Gypsy Woman
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Walter Catlett
as Hotel Manager
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John Abbott
as Gregory Vanescu
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Frank Sully
as Red
- Rudolph Anders
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Ferike Boros
as Laughing Woman
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Harry C. Bradley
as Hotel Waiter
-
Don Brodie
as Joe McGirk
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Jack Carr
as Comedian
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George Chandler
as Smith
-
Lane Chandler
as Reporter
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Stanley Clements
as Office boy
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Joe Devlin
as Mussolini
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Ralph Dunn
as Cop
-
Willie Fung
as Laundry Man
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Edward Gargan
as Cop
-
Richard Keene
as Reporter
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Donald Kerr
as Stage manager
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Pat Lane
as Ballet Dancer
- Lyle Latell
-
Lou Lubin
as Bellboy
- John Mather
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Etta McDaniel
as Georgia
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Greta Meyer
as Katrina
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Billy O'Leary
as Tramp
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Anne O'Neal
as Woman Patron
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Gil Perkins
as Nazi
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Nino Pipitone
as Testori
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Hugh Prosser
as Captain
- Shimen Ruskin
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Hans Schumm
as Schmidt
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George Sherwood
as Reporter
- Walter Soderling
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Arnold Stang
as Drug store boy
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Kam Tong
as Hawara
- Raymond D. Turner
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Henry Victor
as Straeger
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Wolfgang Zilzer
as Gross
- Stanley Price
- John Sinclair
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Byron Shores
as FBI Man
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Lillian Castle
as Wardrobe Woman
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Peggy Lynn
as Burlesque Actress
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Doris Day
as Beautiful girl in sheet