After a dramatic turn in Beau James Bob Hope returned to comedy and co-starred with French comedian Fernandel in Paris Holiday. Hope plays Robert Hunter an actor traveling to Paris to purchase a screenplay only to find himself mixed up with counterfeits. While Hunter has his eye on diplomat Ann McCall (Martha Hyer - Houseboat The Chase) a sexy spy named Zara (the luscious Anita Ekberg - Miss Sweden 1950) has her eye on the screenplay. Hope produced the film and penned the original story. The screenwriting duty went to long-time collaborator Edmund Beloin (My Favorite Brunette Road To Rio and The Lemon Drop Kid) and Dean Riesner (Dirty Harry and Play Misty For Me). Behind the camera was Gerd Oswald who directed A Kiss Before Dying (1956) and the cult film Screaming Mimi co-starring Miss Ekberg. The film also features prominent film director Preston Sturges (The Lady Eve and The Palm Beach Story) in a small role.System Requirements: Running Time 100 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: NR UPC: 090096098593 Manufacturer No: 60985-9 Product Description
I love Bob Hope movies, but this has to be the worst I ever saw. Maybe Bob was just getting old and slowing down by 1958. This movie has a very slow, confusing, disjointed plot, dreary locations, the action drags, the lighting, camera work, and microphone placement all seemed second-rate, and the only funny thing happens at the very last when Bob Hope dangles for a while from a rope ladder attached to a Korean War-era helicopter, which provides some sight gags. The actors all seemed distracted throughout, and I got bored watching them. I kept wishing it would end. In fact, I got so depressed by it all I was about to abandon it until the helicopter took off. If I were the director of this movie, I would have demanded some energy and focus from these actors. Editing has a lot to do with the finished product, of course, and in my opinion about a third of this movie should have ended up on the cutting room floor, to at least speed things up. No joy for me in this movie. If you get this movie, go straight to the helicopter scene at the end--the rest of it is not worth sitting through.
May 20, 2008Bob Hope (1903-2003) co-starred with Famous French Comedian: Fernandel (1902-1971) in Paris holiday . Hope plays Robert Hunter , an actor traveling to Paris to purchase a screenplay , only to find himself mixed up counterfeits . While Hunter has his eye on diplomat Ann McCall (Marta Hyer 1924- ) , a sexy spy named Zara (The luscious Anita Ekberg 1931 - Miss Sweden 1950) has an eye on the screenplay . Hope produced the film penned the original story . The movie are produced on place in paris , Superb and Razor sharp transfer , so dont be afraind to buy this movie! . Higly Recommended
April 19, 2006Overall, I thought "Paris Holiday" was a very funny movie. It was the first film I'd seen with Bob Hope, and i was very pleased. I could not stop laughing during that ridiculously cheesy helicopter scene!
However, one of the main reasons I got the movie was because I thought Anita Ekberg, of whom I am a big fan, was a main character. She was one of the stars to get top billing, so naturally, I thought she would be in the film quite a bit. This was not the case. Her character is important to the story line, but she is not shown much, which was a little disappointing.
Overall, the movie was very good, VERY funny, but I wouldn't recommend it to someone looking for an Anita Ekberg movie.
September 30, 2003Ha! People are allowed their own opinion i guess. I, personally, loved Paris Holiday. My 3rd year French class watched it today, and it was perfect. There was just enough French in it to make it extreamly interresting... Plus, the really cheezy story line and special effects really made it worth while.. It's just one of those old crummy flicks that you grow to love.. the bad guys after the good guys... the good guys winning it all in the end.... only to find out that they may not really have won.. Plus all the pretty girls. It's a great movie, if you like the type!!!! :D
May 3, 2002 |  | Beware--another cheapjack ripoff DVD |  |
I have been wanting to see this film for years, because I'm a fan of Hope's early films and the ones with Crosby, and this one has the reputation of being better than the losers he began to crank out in the '50s and '60s; because Gerd Oswald directed the superb (long unavailable because of the dreadful remake) A Kiss Before Dying; and because Preston Sturges appears in it as an actor. I should have known when I saw the low price tag and the unknown logo (Brentwood) that this would be a bargain basement ripoff. To begin with, it's pan and scan; just the credits are letterboxed--then you apruptly switch to seeing only a third of the Cinemascope image. The print itself in not good, a lot worse than a decent VHS tape, with drifting colors. As for the movie, I lasted midway; the jokes are definitely late Hope, smirky and obvious, and the action is slowed considerably by the fact that Hope plays opposite Fernandel, who speaks only French--you have to wait while another character translates what he says or watch him looking confused. Still, is the movie really as deadly as it seems? I'm not sure. Oswald proved in his others pictures that he knew how to fill a Cinemascope screen and it's possible that that in the correct aspect-ratio this picture as some style; the letterboxed pre-credit sequence is certainly more watchable than what follows. What's really troubling is that this same company is putting out a bunch of Hope's films, including some of his best (ie The Seven Little Foys). Are all the DVDs in the series as lousy as this? Has anyone made the mistake I made with this one, of actually buying one? Let's hear from you.
December 10, 2000More reviews at Amazon.com ...
Daily Birthdays
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