Starring Bob Hope, Shirley Ross, Charles Butterworth, and Otto Kruger
Directed by George Archainbaud
Music and Lyrics by various
We honor writers and their creative process this Labor Day with this lesser-known Bob Hope comedy. Ross, Hope, and their performance of the song "Thanks for the Memory" had been the major stand-out number amid the chaos of the semi-revue The Big Broadcast of 1938. After the song won an Oscar, Paramount rushed the two into this low-budget comedy, based on the stage play Up Pops the Devil. How does the story of a newlywed couple who start to question their relationship when she goes back to work so he can focus on his novel look nowadays, with far more women in the workplace? Let's begin with that couple, Steve (Hope) and Anne (Ross) Merrick, at their cozy apartment in New York and find out...
The Story: Steve loves schmoozing with his mooching friends, including Biney (Butterworth) and his wife Polly (Hedda Hopper) and George Kent (Roscoe Karns), who is married to a wealthy woman. Anne, though she enjoys their parties, is less enamored by their cost. Steve has taken a second job while working on his novel, which he isn't close to finishing. Anne insists on him quitting his job while she works for her ex-finacee, publisher Gill Morrell (Kruger).
Steve's ultimately frustrated by staying at home. He's not a great cook and can't concentrate. Likewise, Anne doesn't appreciate Gill's advances, though she does like the money she brings home. Anne finally makes a major discovery, only to see Steve out with their clingy southern Belle neighbor Lulella (Patricia Wilder) and jumps to the wrong conclusion. For his part, Steve is tired of feeling "kept." They're about to sell their apartment when a couple comes to see it and they realize how much they still want it...and are willing to give each other a second chance.
The Song and Dance: For something Paramount tossed off in response to another movie, this is honestly pretty cute. Hopper and Butterworth are a riot as Steve's well-dressed pals who show up whenever there's food or gin to be had, and Karns has some funny moments as Steve's hangdog pal who isn't sure he loves his wife, but knows he loves her money. The story - and how it treats writers and gender reversal - is pretty interesting too. Steve has a harder time writing when there's no distractions than when there's friends all over the place, while Anne is bored by her modeling job.
The Numbers: The title song opens and closes the film, first as we meet Anne and Steve and see their life together in the apartment, and then right before the end when they recall their relationship and realize they don't really want to leave each other. In between, we get another charming duet that became a standard. Anne and Steve are "Two Sleepy People" who are enjoying each other's company way too much to hit the sack by dawn.
What I Don't Like: First of all, "Two Sleepy People" aside, this isn't really a musical. It's more of a B-comedy with an A-list cast. Second, though the story is relatively original for a romantic comedy, it hasn't dated that well. Nowadays, many people, men and women, work from home, and men are just as likely as women to take on domestic chores.
The Big Finale: Not really of much interest unless you're a huge fan of Hope and his theme song or 30's screwball comedies.
Home Media: On DVD from the Universal Vault and Blu-Ray from Kino Lorber.
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