Bob Hope Collection: 1938-1946

Ten-disc set includes: Give Me A Sailor (1938)This lively musical-comedy stars Bob Hope and Jack Whiting as brother sailors Jim and Walter Brewster, who meet sisters Nancy and Letty (Betty Grable, Martha Raye) while on leave. Walter has the hots for Nancy, but so does Jim, who tries to fix his brother up with Letty. Songs include "What Goes Here in My Heart?," "A Little Kiss at Twilight." 80 min. Total. BW/Rtg: NR Thanks For The Memory (1938)Out of a job, writer Steve Merrick (Bob Hope) decides it's time to knuckle down and finish the Great American Novel-while keeping up the house-as new bride Ann (Shirley Ross) returns to modeling to be the breadwinner. Between his disastrous domesticity, interfering neighbors, and some mutual jealousy, will the new arrangement leave them on the rocks? Romantic farce co-stars Charles Butterworth, Otto Kruger, Hedda Hopper. 75 min. BW/Rtg: NR Never Say Die (1939)Loony millionaire John Kidley (Bob Hope), under the mistaken belief that he only has one month to live, marries a tycoon's daughter (Martha Raye) so that she will inherit his money and be able to wed her true love. What will happen when John's diagnosis is corrected? With Andy Devine and Gale Sondergaard. 82 min. Total. BW/Rtg: NR The Cat And The Canary (1939)Take one gloomy mansion in the Louisiana bayou, add a group of relatives gathered for a will reading and marked for elimination by a mysterious killer, and sprinkle in some classic Bob Hope one-liners, and you get this lively updating of the "old dark house" chiller. Paulette Goddard is the heiress who catches wise-cracking actor Wally Campbell's (Hope) eye. Third film version of the 1922 stage play co-stars Gale Sondergaard, George Zucco, John Beal, Douglass Montgomery. 75 min. BW/Rtg: NR The Ghost Breakers (1940)Radio crime show host Larry Lawrence (Bob Hope) went on the run after after getting mixed up in the murder of a mobster (Anthony Quinn), and wound up sharing a stateroom with Cuba-bound heiress Mary Carter (Paulette Goddard). On the island, the pair encounters a haunted house, zombies, hidden treasures, and the dead gangster's twin brother (Quinn, again). Spirited fright farce also stars Richard Carlson, Paul Lukas, Noble Johnson, and Willie Best. 85 min. BW/Rtg: NR Caught In The Draft (1941)Hilarious service comedy stars Bob Hope as a Hollywood star whose plan to evade the draft by marrying the daughter of an Army colonel backfires, landing him in basic training... and lots of trouble. Dorothy Lamour, Eddie Bracken, and Lynne Overman also star. 82 min. BW/Rtg: NR Louisiana Purchase (1941)New Orleans lawyer Jim Taylor (Bob Hope) was thrilled when the local kingmakers backed him for an assemblyman's seat. He was far less so once he learned he was made the flunky for their siphoning of federal dollars and being fed to a zealous U.S. senator (Victor Moore)! Fun adaptation of the Irving Berlin-Morrie Ryskind stage satire co-stars Vera Zorina, Irene Bordoni, Raymond Walburn; score includes "It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow." 99 min. C/Rtg: NR My Favorite Blonde (1942)Rip-roaring comic yarn stars Bob Hope as a wise-cracking entertainer who becomes involved with a beautiful British agent (Madeleine Carroll), who is carrying secret military plans the Nazis are after, and joins her in dodging the bad guys in a cross-country chase. Gale Sondergaard and George Zucco co-star. 78 min. BW/Rtg: NR Star Spangled Rhythm (1942)Then, a parade of Hollywood's biggest names appear in this tuneful comedy starring Eddie Bracken as a sailor who brings his pals to the Paramount Studios lot. Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Betty Hutton, Alan Ladd, Mary Martin, and Dick Powell are all featured; songs include "Hit the Road to Dreamland." 99 min. Total. BW/Rtg: NR Monsieur Beaucaire (1946)For his tonsorial incompetence, Monsieur Beaucaire (Bob Hope)-court barber to Louis XV (Reginald Owen)-is destined for a haircut of his own... from the neck up! Rescued by the gallant Duc de Chandre (Patric Knowles), Beaucaire finds his woes are just beginning, as he's forced to take the duke's place in an arranged peacekeeping marriage with a Spanish princess (Marjorie Reynolds). Costume comedy inspired by the Booth Tarkington tale co-stars Joan Caulfield, Joseph Schildkraut. 93 min. BW/Rtg: NR Standard; Soundtrack: English. Region Free