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Paramount Pictures presents "LOUISIANA PURCHASE" (1941) (98 min/Color) -Starring Bob Hope, Vera Zorina, Victor Moore, Irène Bordoni, Dona Drake, Raymond Walburn & Max 'Slapsie Maxie' Rosenbloom
Directed by Irving Cummings
Comedian Bob Hope, in his first Technicolor performance.
A typical Bob Hope role with a lot of topical humor with music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. The other leads from Broadway, Victor Moore, Vera Zorina, and Irene Bordoni repeat their roles for the film and all did very well by them, which added a lot to the film.
A couple of funny scenes, Bob goes through a pantomime routine of how a woman would put on a girdle also a spoof of the James Stewart role in "Mr. Smith goes to Washington" where he performs a filibuster in the state legislature to avoid being convicted.
Missing is the signature piece of many of Hope's films, that is a jab at Bing Crosby, his partner in many of the well known "Road" series movies. When this film was made, the pair had only made two of the "Road" series, so their rivalry had not developed to yet a high level.
Still fans of Bob Hope will appreciate the film and if people learn about the corruption in Louisiana in that period it might stimulate the more historically minded among viewers.
Still worthy a view for die hard fans of Mr. Hope.
Special footnote: -This film is also available on DVD: Bob Hope Tribute Collection Louisiana Purchase / Never Say Die Double Feature
BIOS:
1. Irving Cummings (Director)
Date of Birth: 9 October 1888 New York, New York
Date of Death: 18 April 1959 Los Angeles, California
2. Bob Hope (aka: Leslie Townes Hope)
Date of Birth: 29 May 1903 Eltham, London, England, UK
Date of Death: 27 July 2003 Toluca Lake, California
3. Vera Zorina [aka: Eva Brigitta Hartwig]
Date of Birth: 2 January 1917 Berlin, Germany
Date of Death: 9 April 2003 Santa Fe, New Mexico
4. Victor Moore [aka: Victor Frederick Moore]
Date of Birth: 24 February 1876 Hammonton, New Jersey
Date of Death: 24 July 1962 East Islip, Long Island, New York
Mr. Jim's Ratings:
Quality of Picture & Sound: 4 Stars
Performance: 4 Stars
Story & Screenplay: 4 Stars
Overall: 4 Stars [Original Music, Cinematography & Film Editing]
Total Time: 98 min on DVD/VHS ~ Paramount Pictures ~ (October 8, 2002)
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Comedian Bob Hope, in his first Technicolor performance, effortlessly portrays Jim Taylor, a political lackey of the Louisiana Purchasing Company who is unaware that he is being gulled, replacing William Gaxton who starred on Broadway in this long-running satirical comedy, featuring music and lyrics by Irving Berlin. Although the original work by Morrie Ryskind, with its sardonic savaging of politicians and their methods, is carefully muted in this cinematic version, there remains much to enjoy as Taylor frantically struggles to avoid taking a rap for the misdealings of a coterie of his graftsodden superiors, played effectively by such as Donald MacBride and Frank Albertson. An opera bouffe opening serves to explain to the audience that in order to avoid onerous lawsuits, Louisiana must be accepted as a mythical location, with a bevy of comely singers offering the standard "no resemblance" disclaimer for the decoy State. Victor Moore, Vera Zorina and Irene Bordoni reprise their stage roles from a work sadly seldom performed since, with the veteran director of musicals Irving Cummings doing his best to retain some of its operetta nature and still permit Hope to gambol about as the target of a Congressional investigation headed by Senator Oliver P. Loganberry (Moore). The screen play generally fails to capture the essence of its source, and therefore much of Hope's timing is wasted upon poor material, while Moore is so torpid that he appears to be more sleep deprived than anything else. Raoul Pene Du Bois formulated the beautiful costumes and designed the splendid sets, including that for a traditional dream ballet sequence showcasing prima ballerina Zorina, and plot propelling and witty lyrics by Berlin, although too often cut, enhance the overall production, particularly the delightful title piece, sung and danced to by alluring Dona Drake. The opening scenes fare best, in particular that wherein Emory Parnell, a top studio lawyer, reads the script and then dictates a singspieled letter in rhymed couplets to advise executives against replicating the original show, a very clever and funny beginning to this lavish Paramount motion picture.
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