The year prior to the American declaration of war saw preparation with a draft and even movie stars were not excluded from being forced to enlist. For romantic movie idol Bob Hope, military service is the last thing on his mind, and in order to avoid the draft, he tries all sorts of maneuvers to keep out. But when colonel's daughter Dorothy Lamour encounters him, romance brings on patriotism and the results would make Hirohito laugh!
Insincerity as a recruit gets him into all sorts of funny antics as the American army becomes his worst enemy as they strive to make him into a soldier. Joining in on Hope's antics is rising funny man Eddie Bracken as Hope's agent. Veteran character actor Clarence Kolb offers droll straight man slow burns as Lamour's pop. One of the potential recruits reminded me of a heavy set version of Red Skeleton. This was one of several comedies about funny men in boot camp, the most popular being Abbott and Costello's "Buck Privates".
I'm surprised by some of the comedy here which the Hays code seems to have missed. In one sequence where Hope sees Lamour for the first time in a bathing suit, he squeezes his hot dog so hard that the wiener actually shoots out of the bun! Most of Hope's comedy is of the cowardly and verbal kind but when the visual takes over, make sure you aren't drinking a beverage at that time.
Ironically, in one scene where Hope goes through a batch of unseen pictures, he comes across one which he identifies as Lucille the vivacious redhead. This was two years before the famous red-headed Lucille had changed her hair color! Within a year, Hope would be preparing for his own stint in the service, traveling the world to entertain the real troops!
Insincerity as a recruit gets him into all sorts of funny antics as the American army becomes his worst enemy as they strive to make him into a soldier. Joining in on Hope's antics is rising funny man Eddie Bracken as Hope's agent. Veteran character actor Clarence Kolb offers droll straight man slow burns as Lamour's pop. One of the potential recruits reminded me of a heavy set version of Red Skeleton. This was one of several comedies about funny men in boot camp, the most popular being Abbott and Costello's "Buck Privates".
I'm surprised by some of the comedy here which the Hays code seems to have missed. In one sequence where Hope sees Lamour for the first time in a bathing suit, he squeezes his hot dog so hard that the wiener actually shoots out of the bun! Most of Hope's comedy is of the cowardly and verbal kind but when the visual takes over, make sure you aren't drinking a beverage at that time.
Ironically, in one scene where Hope goes through a batch of unseen pictures, he comes across one which he identifies as Lucille the vivacious redhead. This was two years before the famous red-headed Lucille had changed her hair color! Within a year, Hope would be preparing for his own stint in the service, traveling the world to entertain the real troops!