Reviews (10)

This movie has it all!
If you are looking for humor, suspense, romance, and a little horror thrown in to add spice, this movie has it all. Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh team up and show you how close Harry and Bess really were. The thrill of the death defying escapes keeps you on the edge of your seat, while the courtship of Harry and Bess warms your heart. A good movie for the whole family.

Fine family entertainment, if a bit cute
Definitely a 1950's movie: accessible entertainment and a G rating are more important than historical accuracy or character development. Many of Houdini's finest tricks are not shown, and we never get more than a millimeter below the surface of this gifted althlete and showman. But the escapes are impressive, Houdini's struggles as a beginner are good, and the movie concludes with his increasing interest in death and seances. Tony Curtis is well-cast, but Janet Leigh is definitely too blond for the role of his wife Bess.

George Pal's Magician Among the Spirits
This romanticized look at the career of Harry Houdini played with charm by Tony Curtis is full of the mysterious "other worldly " effects that George Pal made his reputation on in productions to come. In several scenes, Curtis taps into the Spirit world to...escape from a straight jacket, find the hole to get out of the frozen Detroit river, and seek out an experienced peer to solve the "Man in a Bottle" trick. He also manages in the process to stigmatize Halloween forever as a "bad omen" and gives new meaning to a Mother complex greater than Richard Burton's in "Alexander the Great". Still, the movie is a marvelous dose of "entertainment" and the sets are superb, there is a great veteran supporting cast and the screenplay is well written. This was a VERY popular movie and Tony Curtis does a great job in the role, even though there is a lot of deviation from the real Harry. It needs a DVD polish and presentation of extras with trailers and perhaps some interviews. It would be interesting to hear from Tony Curtis about this film after all these years. Good family fun!

great classic
This is a wonderful film and tribute to the life and legacy of Harry Houdin. A must see. Tony Curtis and Janet leigh are wonderful and romantic in it as Harry and Bess. It is entertaiining amzing and great for the entire family.

Houdini: The Escape from Humdrum to Stardom
HOUDINI is not meant as a movie that is true to life. If it were, then the finished product might have been more factual but less entertaining. Tony Curtis plays Houdini as a young Jewish man who seeks more than the dullish life that as Erich Weiss he was born into. Early on, the audience learns that the solid, conservative life that his family thought to place him is simply not in his plans. He makes a rational analysis as to how he can make the leap from the ordinary to the extraordinary. It is in showmanship that he will excel. With no small amount of humor, Curtis gives Houdini a patina of technical virtuosity with escapes combined with razzle-dazzle country fair sideshow barking. This reaching out for the seemingly unobtainable for one of his humble class extends even to his choice of a wife. He marries a woman whom he feel sure that his mother will reject. For one of the few times in his life,he is wrong. Mama Weiss eagerly embraces her new daughter-in-law.
The force of this film lies not in the continuity of the Houdini character from scene to scene. Rather, the intensity lies in a series of vignettes, each roughly pointing Houdini in the same direction: to ever newer and more dangerous escapes. Most people who discuss this movie point to the grand finale, the Chinese Water Torture Chamber scene, where Houdini is very nearly killed in attempting an impossible escape. This scene is dramatic certainly, but I see it as only the culmination of a long series of lesser escapes, with paradoxically the most interesting one occurring at the midpoint. Shortly after his marriage, Houdini and his wife attend a dinner in which the MC dares volunteers from the audience to wriggle out of a straight jacket. Houdini leaps at the chance and along with several others attempts to escape. What distinguishes this escape from the climatic Chinese Water Torture escape is the focus on the man, rather than on the gimmick. As the stalwart young man leap and crash off the stage, attempting to break out of their bonds, Houdini stands motionless. He stares at a twirling chandelier, almost as if he were summoning up his inner chi for the strength and flexibility to escape. Ever so slowly, he maneuvers his fingers which appear behind his back. The audience in the ballroom and the audience in the theater collectively let out a gasp of surprise. Sweat drenched, Houdini tosses off the jacket to win first prize. It is this scene, and others like it that lend this biopic its emotional wallop. The tragedy of the movie is not unlike the tragedy of the man. Had Houdini retained a bit more of the Erich Weiss latent within him, his life might not have ended prematurely either on film or in real life. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Deeds to be released in DVD fromat
A great movie!
An absolute delight.
But it needs to be released in DVD format SOON !!
Kaz Jann

Clever Comedy with a "Killer" Twist
Glenn Ford is the producer of a television mystery series who attempts to protect his Broadway star wife (Debbie Reynolds) from a blackmailer--and decides to eliminate the blackmailer via a murder plot suggested by his own series. The result is a comic chaos involving a couple of gansters, a peculiar pigeon, and the gazebo his wife is having built on their country property.

Based on the play of the same name, THE GAZEBO strives for a mix of broad farce, screwball comedy, and sprightly sophistocation--and by and large brings it off quite well. I have never been a great fan of Glenn Ford, but he manages both the broad physical comedy and the clever dialogue of this film with equal ease. Debbie Reynolds is also quite good in the role of the stage-star wife, and she and Ford have a surprisingly successful chemistry. Although the humor is more smile-and-chuckle than laugh-out-loud, THE GAZEBO is a well made, well acted, and quite enjoyable. Recommended.

Gazebo
A great comedy, Glen Ford is at his best. I could watch it over and over again. The movie keeps you laughing all the way through it. The ending is great, a 10+

Glenn Ford can do comedy!
A great and unlikely role for Glenn Ford who has the perfect comedic timing in this charming movie about a gazebo, pigeon and a murder. This is a very refreshing change from Ford's typical dramatic/western roles. A must see for all Ford fans! END ... Read more

Amazon.com

A pioneer of America's first frontier came to life every week for years--now you can relive his adventures with Daniel Boone: Premiere Episode. In "Ken-Tuck-E," Fess Parker as our national hero must take territory from the natives in order to prepare for war with the British.Along the way, we meet his family, friends (including Ed Ames as Mingo), and enemies as "Dan'l" fights, talks, and sings his way through scrape after scrape. Though some of the characterizations might offend modern sensibilities, if viewed in context the show can be seen as respectful (except possibly to the British and raccoons). This classic episode shows why Daniel Boone stayed in living rooms for so long--charm and adventure go a long way in this country. --Rob Lightner ... Read more

Reviews (10)

THE DAYS OF YESTERYEAR
As several have said, Fess Parker was a better Daniel Boone than a Davy Crockett. Oh well, he was Davy only four or five times, and Daniel about SIX YEARS. Practice does make perfect. This is a good video for nostalgic reasons and fairly believable acting. If you are a historian who nitpicks about accuracy, then don't watch. It was amazing to see Plains TeePees intermingled with East Coast wigwams. Some of the tribal costume was out of place as well. Oh yes, some of the "Indians" needed a little more berry juice for complexion.
Other than that, this is an excellent video. It is very family oriented(Daniel does not take the Indian wife that is offered to him because Becky is waiting back home), his family always runs to meet him, and gets angry if he has to leave again. He tells stories to his children, and sings to the Missus.
Yes, there is some violence and killing and probably excessive, but Dan'l doesn't kill unless it is to protect someone, and tries avoid it if possible.
These things just are not done in films today, and if they are attempted they just don't have the same spirit.
This video(may there soon be more!!) also gives our children a chanced to see a program that excited us when we were young. everyone has seen all the Peanuts cartoons, and odds and ends of famous sci-fi, but this is a simpler life video.
It is also great to see familiar faces we haven't heard from in years like Ed Ames, and did anyone notice George "Goober Pyle" Lindsay up on the stockade wall during the battle?
AHHHH for the days of clean, if very inaccurrate historical stories. Yes we were very prejudiced in those days, but I think things like this were the beginning of racial acceptance.

Dan'l Boone living large on the frontier of Ken Tuck E
"Ken Tuck E" is the pilot episode for "Daniel Boone," which originally aired on September 24, 1964. Fess Parker, who had become famous in the 1950's playing Davy Crockett for Disney, became even more successful as American frontiersman and folk hero Daniel Boone. Technically a "Western," the series was set in the 18th century, right before the American Revolution, when the "west" was the North Carolina-Tennessee-Kentucky! In this pilot episode Dan'l gets his friends, both Indians and settlers, ready to fight the British. Ed Ames co-starred as Dan'l's Indian friend, Mingo, while Patricia Blair played Rebecca Boone, Veronica Cartwright was daughter Jemima, and Darby hinton son Israel. The show also featured Albert Salmi as Yadkin and Dal McKennon as Cincinnatus, the tavern-keeper of Boonesborough. This first episode is certainly representative of the series, which focused on Boone's encounters with friendly and hostile Indians, his pioneering exploits, and his relationship with his family. I know I am not alone in thinking that Parker made a better Daniel Boone than he did a Davy Crockett.

great family entertainment
I agree with the other reviewers, this is great family entertainment that you aren't ashamed of letting your kids and family see. I think all the baby boomers and even some of the kids of today would enjoy seeing this series on DVD or at least VHS.

Please pass this on to the ones who decide what is coming out next on video.

danel boon
simply one of the best tv shows of the 60s down to earth and very entertaining. i have been in search of i think a disney daniel boone when he was not married to rebbeca but was on his way to discover ken-tuck.i seen it on tv in the mid.60s but that was it. so far iam unable to fine.it stared fess parker and ed ames.

Great tape Wonderful Return to the Past
One of the best TV Shows of the 60's. I hope more Fess Parker Daniel Boone shows will be available.This was pure entertainment.I have wondered for years why this program was not out on tape. During those years we watched it every week. Those were heroes you could cheer for. I would like to own all the Daniel Boone TV shows.I hope Amazon.com will be able to offer more of these. Harry at Vidayo did a top notch job getting the tape to us. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

This is why JG was "The Great One"
Jackie Gleason makes this film. A bit waek on story and continuity (we never find out what happens to his finaces after he buys the circus and ice-cream store). But the scenes with JG and his daughter are touching, and the part where he lip-synchs while the awful singer is tortung everyone else at the formal recital is an absolute howl. DAMN Charlie Chaplin! Gleason was king!

Still fresh comedy after 38 years
Jackie Gleason is great in this movie. He play a troubled man who has no idea how to be a good father. But when he finally trys to do it, he goes to far. The result must be seen to be believed!

Jackie Gleason is always "the great one"!
A fine family film with gleason doing a cros between the poor soul and reginald van gleason. The love between irresopnsible and carefree father and the imaginative daughter is touching. The color in this film and the cinematography is beautifully handled. Long live fathers who buy their daughters elephants (et al) purely out of love!

has to be good
I've not seen it, but I just purchased an "8X10" publicity photo, signed on the back, Corinne Grifith Vitagraph Star. Anyone want to talk about this? Email me.

A heartwarming movie with a lot of good comedy.
This is Gleason at his best. Though not well known, it is one of the all-time classics. Recommended. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Outrageous!
"Red Garters" was so ahead of its time that they had to insert a title at the beginning that tried to point out that it was a satire! And not only a satire, but a complete re-thinking of how a movie was to look.

First, the sets were skeletal cutouts against primary colors (red, yellow, blue, purple). If you look and care, the effect came from colored sawdust (?) and a cyclorama lighted in the same color. Imagine a yellow world like this with black cut-out trees, a cowboy hero in pale buckskin riding a palamino pony, singing and riding into a town of white frame-only buildings, getting sent to a barbecue celebrating the death of notorious gun-slinger who turns out to be the cowboy's brother!

Most viewers would have run out by now. But if you sit and watch, one of the most fascinating and fun Hollywood musicals will play out before you.

While its always about the sets, the style of "Red Garters" is brilliantly carried out by the cast. The actors play it for real,but with a little nod to the artificiality. Rosemary Clooney and Guy Mitchell are absolutely terrific together - she is soigne and world-weary, he is young and headstrong. And their voices work together like Doris Day and Gordon McCrae!

The songs are wonderful - tuneful, intelligent and witty - from the guys who brought us "Buttons and Bows" among other oscar-winning titles.

"Red Garters" is not the greatest movie musical but it is a splendid example of imaginative thinking about where the movie musical could go. Much of this movie could fit on an MTV if MTV had begun 20 years earlier.

Finally, the film is a hoot! I think the tape doesn't do justice to the colors of the backgrounds, washing them out a bit but if you crank up your "color" setting you may get some idea about what "Red Garters" brought to the party.

And watch Clooney. Its her best movie performance ever. A little of it shows in "White Christmas", but in "Red Garters" she really takes off and becomes a genuiine diva.

Three generations love "Red Garters"
I'm pleased to be able to purchase this video without commercials. My grandchildren have watched an old video that I taped from an all night movie channel many years ago and we are tired of fast forwarding the commercials. We all love the movie and young singers in the family have memorized all the song lyrics. My husband and I first saw the movie in 1956 and I longed to see it again for many years. It gives an all too brief chance to see the young Buddy Ebsen dance and Cass Daley clown around. I can't reccommednd it too highly for great family entertainment.

BEFORE ITS TIME?
One of my favourite films of the 1950s, I loved the surreal sets, the oh-so-subtle humour and - especially - the songs. Guy Mitchell and Rosemary Clooney made a great team, such a pity they didn't make any more movies together. The story-line was a real "mickey-take" on all those really serious westerns of the past, present and future.

Unfortunately, this "fun" movie may have been "before its time" and I think this is why it did not have the success it deserved. Perhaps the subtlety was TOO subtle for the majority of the cinema-going public - and the critics!

Greatest parody of a western musical ever made!
When Red Garters was released in Europe in the mid 1950s, it created a sensation amongst European and English performing artists! The stagey sets, the great singing, the acting done straight, produced a humor not seen before on the screen. It was especially notable when you consider the flood of dead-serious westerns streaming out of Hollywood at that time. "It's the Code of the West!" became a byword for a time. When I returned to America I couldn't believe no one had paid admission to see it and that the critics had panned it. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Stylish, but not genuine noir
The opening shot may be one of the most knowing and beautiful ones in film noir, a focus on the word 'Hollywood' which after the camera pulls away, is actually a destination on a bus sign. With fiml noir, just utter "Hollywood" and there is no need to explain betrayal, hypocrisy, seediness, injustice or pretence.

The screenplay is classic Raymond Chandler, sharply brilliant with rat-a-tat fire exchange. But the plot fails -- it's too simple, too linear, and not convuluted enough to darken the shadows and reflect the torn morals noir characters have to face. Veronica Lake as the femme fatale isn't quite vicious enough, and her own private agenda is boring enough to bleach white into the noir. In fact, that credit should go to man-caught-in-the-middle Johnny Morrison's (Alan Ladd) ex-wife, who goes out of her way to make a war hero look bad.

The Best of Everything
The Blue Dahlia is the finest noir film of it's kind and everything is absolutely perfect in the third of four films Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake would make together. Raymond Chandler wrote the origional screenplay and George Marshall turned in his finest directing job in this screen classic. This film has the perfect blend of grit and gloss, romance and female treachery, and for my money is better than the film often held up as the perfect noir, Casablanca.

Ladd returns from WWII with his two buddies only to find his wife has been unfaithful, in your face unfaithful, and responsible for his son's death while he was away. He confronts her at a party and blows out in a storm, unaware that someone kills her with his gun only hours later. Veronica Lake picks him up in the pouring rain and an attraction begins between the two.

The dialog is crisp and the atmosphere perfect as Ladd finds out by accident he is being sought for the murder of his wife. Like Ladd, Lake is running from something as well and trying to help Ladd takes her right back to The Blue Dahlia. Ladd's loyal buddies, who have been through so much together overseas, are on hand to help also. Did his shell shocked friend, played nicely by William Bendix, kill Ladd's wife or was it the owner of The Blue Dahlia, or maybe someone unknown?

Finding out is about the most entertaining 100 minutes you'll ever spend watching a movie and this is certain to be one of your all time favorites after you see it for the first time. Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake were the perfect screen duo. Ladd tells Lake early on in the film that every guy had seen her somewhere before, meaning the girl we all see in our dreams. When things are all wrapped up Ladd stops her from driving away, reminding her of what he said. We know then as she does that she is Ladd's dream, and ours as well.

This film is everything others of it's kind during the '40's tried to be. The Blue Dahlia is a film you HAVE to own if you love the movies.......

Why isn't this on DVD
Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake made some of the best film noir movies of all time and none of them are on DVD. These are great movies if you love old black and white intrigue and mystery however. They are worth getting in any format.

Engaging Early Noir
Although riddled with improbabilities, Raymond Chandler's tough story and script is well served with a glossy look and the hard-edged performances drawn by director George Marshall from a superior cast. THE BLUE DAHLIA concerns a recently discharged military man Johnny Morrison (Alan Ladd) who returns home to find his wife Helen (Doris Dowling) has been as unfaithful as the day is long--and is presently carrying on with club owner Eddie Harwood (Howard da Silva), over whom her hold is not entirely romantic. After stomping out into the rain, Morrison learns Helen has been murdered, and must race to prove his innocence before the coppers pick him up.

Ladd would give considerably more sophistocated performances in his later years, but he strikes all the right ultra-tough chords, and although Veronica Lake is a rather wooden actress she is remarkably beautiful and as a team the pair has considerable chemistry. The standouts in the cast, however, are Da Silva, who gives the role of the heavy a surprising interpretation, and William Bendix, who plays Ladd's war-wounded buddy to great effect. THE BLUE DAHLIA lacks both the moodiness and grittiness of truly great film noir, so it is not in the first rank of the genre--but it is no less enjoyable for that. The film cracks along at a rapid pace with plenty of action and a surprise twist or two that will keep you guessing to the very end. Ladd and Lake fans will love it, and any one who likes the hardboiled style will be in for a real treat. Recommended.

One Of The Best Noir Films I've Ever Seen!
I love Noir films. And while Hollywood tries to keep this genre alive today, the movies that come out now, can never be compared to the "classics" of the 30's and 40's. If a noir film doesn't have Alan Ladd, Lana Turner,Veronica Lake, or Orson Welles in it, then, I don't want to see it! "Dahlia" was the first time fammed novelist Raymond Chandler took a crack at writting a screenplay. And the results were amazing. Directed by George Marshall (Some might know him for directing a couple of Bob Hope films like "Fancy Pants", and Monsieur Beaucaire")this movie has all the mystery, suspense,and entertainment you could want from a movie. Alan Ladd plays Johnny Morrison, an ex millitary man comes home to find out that wife has been cheating on him since he's been away with Eddie Harwood (Howard Da Silva) who runs a club called "The Blue Dahlia". When Johnny and his two friends return Buzz (William Bendix) and George (Hugh Beaumont)he's furious! He's yelling and screaming and is even more bitter when he finds out that it's because of his wife that their daughter has died! After a house detective notices that Johnny is pushing his wife around, he warns him if he plans on doing that he can at least close his shades. Johnny full of hate steams out of the room and is never seen again. The very next morning his wife is found dead! But did Johnny actually do it?? Well, all I'll say is be was with Joyce Harwood (Veronica Lake) at the time picking up a ride. Soon he finds out tha she's Eddie's wife, and she finds out he's on the run from the police. A lot of twist and turns take place and make this movie enjoyable to watch. We're lead to believe one thing and then in the end, find out something complete different is what happened. A classic noir film is I ever saw one. Great acting by Lake and Ladd, not to mention Da Silva. Good solid directing by Marshall, and a terrific screenplay by Chandler. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Wacky Fun With Crazy Duo Bob Hope And Phyllis Diller
A "Guilty pleasure"? Perhaps but I never fail to be amused by the wacky chemistry of Bob Hope and Phyllis Diller in their work together. Having literally discovered Phyllis Diller in her night club act Bob Hope had the unique Miss Diller, who's trademark was wild hair and even crazier clothes, as his leading lady in three mid 1960's films, "Boy Did I Get a Wrong Number!", "The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell" and this effort, "Eight on the Lam". While the humour here is certainly not to everyone's taste they tickle my funny bone and the two make a memorable team usually involved in some outrageous set of situations that could only come out of a 1960's movie. With the feel of a sitcom about it "Eight on the Lam", has humour that is simple and straightforward and trades heavily on Bob Hope and Phyllis Diller's great skill with putting over one liners.

Bob Hope plays widower Henry Dimsdale a father of seven children who works at the local bank. He has the usual mundane life of work, house mortgage, and seven mouths to feed which on occasion grows to include that of wacky housekeeper/baby sitter Golda (Phyllis Diller) who believes in creating a memorable impression by such actions as arriving for work at the Dimsdale's in the back of a Fire Truck. One day in the parking lot Henry stumbles over and discovers a huge roll of cash on the ground and once home the family debate what to do with it. The kids want Henry to keep it to buy them all the things they can't have and even Golda suddenly modifies her usual sarcastic attitude towards Henry and starts getting chummy!. After placing an ad about the money in the paper and receiving no response they decide to keep it however a complication arises when the bank discovers a short fall in their cash desposits and with Henry suddenly coming into wealth suspicion is laid at his door. Warned to get out of town before he's arrested Henry in a panic packs the kids in the car, gets ever loyal Golda to hold Detective boyfriend Jasper Lynch (Jonathan Winters) at bay till he's over the border and heads off. What ensures is a mad and wacky chase as first Ellie Barton, Henry's girlfriend joins him to offer support and then Henry finds himself pursued by Jasper who has to take Golda along as well. Through hiding out in display homes and then winding up at a plush resort hotel in Arizona Henry sees no hope in evading the police until Ellie discovers some information that the Bank President who amazingly turns up at the resort is actually the person guilty of taking the stolen money. Through a very convuluted set of circumstances that sees Henry dressed as a Texan Millionaire, then pursued on stolen golf buggies through the reception area of the hotel, over golf courses and finally into a swimming pool Henry finds his innocence proven and all ends happily with the real guilty party caught, and a double wedding performed between Henry and Ellie and Golda and Jasper. The final scene sees Henry discover another roll of money on the ground which he wisely decides to pass on!

Directed by veteran George Marshall who was responsible for some of Bob Hope's great classic movies of the 1940's such as "The Ghost Breakers", here he has a very different style of comedy to oversee. The pace throughout is fast, and wild and is the type of comedy you have to be in the mood for. Phyllis Diller was a natural for these types of eccentric stories that were abundant during the 1960's decade. Her comic delivery and sparring with Bob Hope is a real pleasure and their easy rapport is understandable considering the long friendship the two enjoyed up till Bob Hope's death. Jonathan Winters does well as Diller's foil here and the scenes of Golda "detaining" Jasper while the Dimsdale family make their getaway is priceless with Golda allowing herself to "succumb" to her uncontrollable passion for the portly police detective. The children in the story are all appealingly cast and Jill St. John has an amusing couple of scenes as a golddigger at the resort hotel who latches onto Hope thinking he is a millionaire.

Even with the good supporting cast "Eight on the Lam", is Hope and Diller's show all the way. For a taste of 1960's "wacky", humour any movie featuring Bob Hope and Phyllis Diller together is great viewing. Hope's critcism of Diller's appearance was always one of their favourite comic mainstays and guaranteed laughs. Never favourites of the critics their movies make easy uncomplicated viewing and record an amusing couple in their "mature" prime. Despite their different styles of delivery the two mesh well and make "Eight on the Lam", a fun way to spend an hour and a half.

Very funny movie worth watching!
This is a funny movie with two of my favorite actors Bob Hope & Phyllis Diller. This comedy will keep you laughing throughout the movie. Add this movie to your video collection so you can have a good laugh whenever you want.

Old style comedy. Love the Bob Hope and Phyllis Diller team
The funny stunts that Bob Hope and Phyllis Diller manage to get into make this a hillarious comedy.

B. Hope as dad and P. Diller as mom & kids hiding from mob
A old movie that is still a lot of fun to see if you can find it. the two parents and six kids hiding from the mob... a real hope/diller sit. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A mixed bag... but still good nostalgic fun
Bing Crosby croons the closing number in this flimsily-scripted wartime tossoff in which Paramount Studios hosts a patriotic all-star revue to entertain our men in uniform. Eddie Bracken is a goofy sailor back home to get a girl... Lucky for him that Betty Hutton -- in her first major role -- has her eyes set on him as well. She fast-talks and finagles (in a very Lucy-like way) to get Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Fred MacMurray and a bunch of other stars to come on board for the (spontaneous, yet amazingly elaborate) really big show, and in the process Hutton gets her man. The song and dance numbers, despite being written by Johnny Mercer and Harold Arlen, are notably not first rate, although the Golden Gate Quartet have a nice cameo (even if they are playing train porters...) and a trio of starlets -- Paulette Goddard, Dorothy Lamour and (aroooogah!! woof! woof!) Veronica Lake -- do a hilarious number together, based on their images as stars. Also notable is a silly, prolonged skit in which men pretend to be women (eek.) and Bing's big patriotic number at the end, which is some of the clumsiest wartime propaganda committed to film. Betty Hutton is given the film's biggest role, and though she hams it up, she's still totally adorable. Let's see more of her!! Film buffs will also enjoy the chance to see director Preston Sturges and studio legend Cecil B. DeMille onscreen.

Absolutely crazy!
This combination of Paramount's stars during World War II is great! The storyline is typical of musical comedies from that era: Betty Hutton is a telephone operator at Paramount who, along with Victor Moore, pretends that Moore is the head director of the studio in order to impress Moore's sailor son (played by Eddie Bracken) and his shipmates. In reality, Moore is only a gate guard known as Pop, and when he is discovered by the director whom he is impersonating (Walter Abel) he and Hutton are fired and thrown off the lot. Unfortunately, they have promised Bracken that the stars of the studio will put on a show for the men on his ship. Hutton manages to sneak back into the studio and coaxes several actors and actresses to help their beloved Pop. The whole movie is a lot of fun. My family loves it, especially the part when Hutton is trying to get back into the studio! With a few exceptions--Hutton, Moore, Bracken, Abel, etc.--everyone in the movie plays themself, including several well-known Paramount directors of that time. Definitely a must-see if you love goofy movies from the forties! ... Read more

Reviews (7)

SO WATCH IT BUSTER
When I walked over to the classics section of my video store-I was suprised to find a MARTIN&LEWIS video of SCARED STIFF!

I thought it was a good show-with Jerry being as crazy as ever and Dean being as cool as ice!

The film is about these two men who get invited to a haunted house-and get almost killed and trapped!

I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes the crazy cats-and wants to see them get scared!

I just hope my video store will sell the rented ones to me-since its christmas!

A Martin and Lewis essential...
The reason why I found this particular Martin and Lewis film 100% pleasing is because it not only incorporates classic M&L antics, jokes and over-the-top characterizations of both men, it also includes a steady storyline that is easy and entertaining to follow. Although the seldom dull storyline is due to the already established original film "Ghost Breakers" the film is quite worth viewing for any M&L fan, especially since most plots of M&L films are slightly less stable. Therefore, along with such M&L films as "The Stooge" and "My Friend Irma" (which the exception of M&L not being 'headliners' in their first film), "Scared Stiff" is a M&L essential. However, for less entusiastic fans of the comedy team, the original "Ghost Breakers" release may seem to deserve more credit; personally, having not seen the original film in addition to my neverending admiration for M&L, "Scared Stiff" is a wonderful addition to my M&L video collection.

A Remake that Did Not Work
This movie is a remake of a 1947 Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard movie, Ghost Breakers. Not only is the plot identical, many of the lines are exactly the same. What worked with Bob Hope deliviering the one liners and playing off of the attractive and suprisingly stalwart Paulette Goddard does work well with the sophisticated Martin and inane Lewis.

If you are looking for a fun movie to watch with the family, try the original, Ghost Breakers with Bob Hope and Paulette Goddard. Unless you are a big time Martin & Lewis fan, Scared Stiff is best left on the shelf

A Must For Your Martin and Lewis Collection
"Scared Stiff" though less mysterious, when it should be, than "Ghost Breakers" is a classic Martin and Lewis Comedy. Dean Martin is the usual smooth-talking, girl watching, under booked singer Larry Dodd teamed up with his clumsy fried Myron M. Mertz. Larry has a misunderstanding with a mob leader and Myron tries to defend Larry by taking a visit to the ganster's hotel. When Larry finds out and realizes the danger Myron is in goes to the hotel as well to try to save his friend. This is when the fun begins. Murder, mystery, witch craft and zombies all make for a delightfully funny movie. Be sure to count the many stars who appear in the film. Earl Haldeman [sic]as the elevator operator, Percy Helton, Carmen Miranda, Dorothy Malone (Peyton Place) and many more. This is a true value. Be sure to buy "Ghost Breakers" with Bob Hope.

Myron Myron!!
This is a fine piece of entertainment. The family loved this film. Martin and Lewis put their spin on the Bob Hope Ghost Breakers remake called Scared Stiff. It is a pretty good remake but with some differences. Jerry is a hoot as always! The only comparisons I found not to be as good as Ghost Breakers is the zombie, he was not as spooky in Scared Stiff but still it was good! I also preferred Paulette Goddard from Ghost Breakers over Lizabeth Scott (Scared Stiff). Both films are great. Scared Stiff has some things I liked better and so does Ghost Breakers. Get em both, you'll go Bonkers!! My daughter just laughs and laughs at Jerry Lewis playing Myron Myron as he does all his antics and silly voice. I highly recommend this film (Scared Stiff) as another great Spooky Comedy!! My favorite parts are: Jerry Lewis shows you how a zombie acts and then when Jerry gets scared it's fun to see his expression on his face. When Jerry does the Carmen Miranda imitation is a Hoot!! Ah and don't forget the surprise at the end!! ... Read more

Reviews (3)

HILARIOUS MOVIE
THIS MOVIE WAS ONE OF THE FUNNIEST IVE EVER SEEN! JERRY LEWIS IS ONE OF THE TWO FUNNIEST ACTORS I KNOW OF! I ROLLED. EVERY FRIDAY I WENT TO THE VIDEO STORE TO GET IT. I FINALLY HAD TO BUY IT. I STRONGLY RECOMMEND IT. I AM 14 YEARS OLD, A 14 YEAR OLD LIKES A BLACK AND WHITE MOVIE, WHAT DOES THAT TELL YOU?

ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN WHEN YOUR WITH MY FRIEND IRMA
This movie is great-becuase it has a dumb dame in it!

MY FRIEND IRMA is about two women and best friends who live together and ones a little well-slow-and Dean and Jerry play juice servers until they move in with Irma and get better jobs-and the one woman starts to fall in love with Dean!

A scene that got me excited is when MARTIN&LEWIS are at their juice station and are in the back-this part really shocked me becuase Jerry(on the set)started having these stomach pains-like he was so hungry for attention-everyone on the set thought he was faking it-just so everyone would pay attention to him-instead of paying attention to Dean!

And another scene was when Irma is talking to her husband and its someone else playing her husband and not Lewis-of course when they tryed it with Jerry-they did it 9 times-and the producer said:Jerry-your not an actor-you can play seymour-
of course Jerry didnt want to play seymour-but he had no choice and decided to play the wacky seymour.

This is their first movie together-and it wasent their last either-one of the scenes that is good is when the slow woman would fall down a hole in the ground-or anything that dumb dame would do was funny!

Excellent Movie!
This is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. When I first got it, I watched it almost everyday (yes, I know that's sad). I still watch it a lot, but not obsesivly. It's a great movie when ever you need cheering up. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Boy, Did I Get A Wrong Number!
If you`re a big fan of Bob Hope & do not own this video,I strongly urge you to purchase it.It is without a doubt,the best piece of comedy work i`ve ever seen! By far the best Hope movie he ever did.The antics of Hope & Diller will absolutely have you in the floor howling and rolling in the floor laughing!

Hysterically funny & worth buying!
Bob Hope & Phyllis Diller are hysterically funny in this comedy! You'll love laughing your way through the entire film! It's really great to watch this film if you've had a tough day and need to just take your mind off of things. This is a true jewel to have in my video collection & I watch it over and over with lots of laughs! :)

Boy did i get a wrong number
This is one tangled mess of a movie! Bob Hope stars as husband, father and real estate agent Tom Meade whose life is about to be disrupted by more than just his wacky housekeeper. Enter the Divine Didi, an ultra sexy film star played by Elke Sommer. Fed up with starring in films with lots of bubbles but no plot she escapes to a nearby hotel, a wanted woman. After Tom Meade tries to phone his wife at the beauty parlor, and accidentally gets through to Didi's hotel room instead, he'll wish he had gotten a busy signal. Will Mr. Tom Meade come to the aid of the starving Didi who hasn't had anything to eat in one whole day? You Stars Wars fans will have a mad laugh at this one. And so the plot thickens...ending with what I believe to be the longest car chase in movie history. If your looking for nuttiness and some hilarious comic relief between Hope and Diller, this one should not be put on hold.

ONE OF OUR FAVORITE "GUILTY PLEASURES"
THIS MID-'60'S FARCE PLAYS LIKE A SIT-COM: LUCKLESS REALTOR HOPE GETS HIS WIRES CROSSED AND WINDS UP ACCUSED OF MURDERING BLONDE BOMBSHELL SOMMER. HILARIOUS WISECRACKING DIALOG BETWEEN HOPE AND DILLER KEEPS THIS FILM ROLLING. IF FOR NOTHING ELSE, WATCH FOR THE OUTRAGEOUSLY HUGE HAIRSTYLES SPORTED BY SOMMER AND CO-STAR MARJORIE LORD. ALSO RECOMMENDED: "EIGHT ON THE LAM" WITH BOB HOPE, PHYLLIS DILLER, & JONATHON WINTERS.

So funny that my sides split
This movie was so funny that I could have cried. Phyllis Diller really lifts the spirit in this movie. I would highly recomend it to everyone who has not seen it before. ... Read more

Description

From 1839 to 1889, this epic story follows four generations of a courageous New England farm family as they travel to the fertile Ohio Valley during America's westward expansion. This wondrous historical saga is set against the Louisiana Purchase, the Civil War, buffalo hunters, the Pony Express and the first transcontinental railroad. How The West Was Won won three Academy Awards for Best Screenplay, Best Sound and Best Editing. ... Read more

Reviews (55)

Not made for the small screen
Like IMAX films released on dvd...what's the point? This was made for the biggest movie screens ever conceived.

I was lucky to see this film a few years ago in genuine 3-strip CINERAMA on an archival print from the original release. On the big screen it's an amazing experience. The uneven story fades away when one is viewing the spectacular cinematography. CINERAMA captured vast scenes in incredible richness and detail. It's an experience like no other.

On the small screen at home you mainly notice the technical flaws, the borders between the three separate images, and also the dated 1960's Hollywood "Old West" story. (Carroll Baker's makeup is never smudged, even when tilling the soil.) The first two segments are the best dramatically.

One aspect that is still great at home is the magnificent score by Alfred Newman. So save your money, buy the soundtrack, and head to Seattle, LA, or England or where ever you can find an exhibition of the real CINERAMA.

America's own "Triumph of the Will" -- Leni would be proud!
In a remarkable coincidence, the same day I saw "How the West was Won" at the Seattle Cinerama (03/01/03), the History Channel aired a program on the history of the wheel. One of the talking-head experts opined that the wheel's invention marked a fundamental change in human thought -- not only was there a technological solution to every problem, but nature could be bent to human will, forced to reveal her secrets and serve us.

This is the theme of "How the West was Won." It starts with the title, and extends to nearly everything in the film. The narration tells us that the land had to be wrested from nature and from the "primitive people" who inhabited (and by implication, infested) it. The chorus is continually singing about how "we're headed for the promised land" and those who are willing to work hard will be richly rewarded (except the Chinese railroad laborers, of course). We were justified in overrunning the continent because we are actually "doing something" with it -- as opposed to the Indians, who merely lived there in harmony with nature. Not having invented the wheel, they saw no further possibilities.

James Webb's script acknowledge the culture clash between the Americans and the native peoples, recognizing that the latter will have to eventually change or be destroyed. But this is peripheral to the celebration of the industry, hard work, and sacrifice of the Americans, who "tamed" the wilderness. The film ends with a nausea-inducing flyover of the California freeways (I sat next to a guy who'd taken Dramamine in anticipation of such scenes), followed by a flight under the Golden Gate bridge, firmly and unambiguously driving the point home.

"How the West was Won" is social propaganda, plain and simple. It's the kind of film that could change Osama Bin Laden's mind about destroying the US. (Maybe the State Department could arrange a screening...)

As a movie, there's no denying "How the West was Won" is wildly entertaining. Simply as cinematic spectacle, it works magnificently. There are films (such as "2001" and "Lawrence of Arabia") that even the finest video transfer cannot do justice to, and this is one of them. Sitting in the first few rows, you're so close to the screen that you can't take in all of it at once. When the camera tracks into a scene, the sense of physical motion is uncanny. (Can you say "stimulation of peripheral vision"? Sure you can.) And if you haven't seen a buffalo stampede, or a train crash, or a row of cannons firing in sequence on a (roughly) 30' by 90' screen -- well, you haven't lived, cinematically-wise.

Story-wise, there's so much material to cover the script cannot begin to do it justice, even in a film lasting 2½ hours. Characters are more types than individuals, and almost every performer is cast to type. (Eli Wallach, in particular, gets to do his "crazy Mexican outlaw" shtick, though without an accent.) It's only the efficiency and focus of the script that keeps the actors from looking altogether foolish. Other than (perhaps) Karl Malden, no one gives what would be considered a "real" performance.

The plot (which follows the Prescott family and its descendents over 50 years) is concocted to make Debbie Reynolds' character the sort of farm girl who wants to run off to the big city to become rich, so we're treated to several (mercifully brief) song-and-dance numbers. Her sister is played by Carol Baker, who falls head over heels in love with Jimmy Stewart's "aw-shucks" mountain man, and later "tames" him (as the film's conceit requires). The rest of the film rehashes just about every cliché of westerns and Civil War movies -- though entertainingly. The final sequence posits the "conquest" of the West as occurring when "the law" (in the form of George Peppard's marshall) arrives, to establish justice. But Peppard -- who says he wants to bring the bad'un to justice in court -- shoots him to death, anyway.

My five-star rating acknowledges this is a classic film -- not necessarily a great one.

I can't pass up the opportunity to trash Pauline Kael, who was not so much a hard-nosed-but-movie-loving critic as she was an empty-headed, loudmouthed [female canine]. Note how she uses the artistic limitations of a single sentence to craft a thoughtful, insightful commentary that will help the reader better understand this film...

"'How the West Was Lost' would be a more appropriate title for this dud epic, since, as conceived by the writer, James R. Webb, the pioneers seem to be dimwitted bunglers who can't do anything right."

Hello? Were we watching the same movie? "How the West was Won" might be politically incorrect, dramatically shallow, and little more than agit-prop -- but it's no dud. The Seattle audience -- which included many people sporting "No Iraq War" buttons -- just ate it up. "How the West was Won" is Hollywood middlebrow-populist entertainment at its best.

One final question... Where did they find a stunt man who looked like Agnes Moorhead?

Wake me when it's over
I kind of figured television was responsible for this... movie. HOW THE WEST WAS WON dvd comes with a featurette on the making of the movie, in which we learn that the movie studios developed the Cinerama process (three cameras shot the movie which was projected onto three specially designed screens. Think IMAX) to present an alternative "viewing experience" to compete with television.
Watching this on television, even in a letterbox edition, is excruciating. There are visible bars where the three screens meet. Often the color in one screen doesn't jibe with that of the adjoining screen.
Those defects could be corrected by digital manipulation, I suppose, but what's the point? The Cinerama screen was meant to wrap around the audience and a television screen is flat. What can't be corrected is the lack of close-ups and a surplus of dead space.
Almost all the action takes place in the center panel, and the closest we get to the action is in a medium shot. Most of the time there's nothing happening on the edge panels. Two-thirds of the screen is dead. The only time Cinerama seemed to shine was when chaotic action was swiftly coming at the audience, which is why we are so often treated to onrushing trains and galloping horses and stampeding buffalo shot from a camera in the ground. I think it would have taken a visual genius the likes of a Busby Berkeley to exploit Cinerama's potential without having to open the paddock.
The featurette also tells us HTWWW had a cast of 12,000. I guess maybe a dozen of them weren't miscast, but that's just a guess. The movie opens with Jimmy Stewart, out of character as mountain man Linus Rawlings, canoeing along a river while Spencer Tracy narrates over the action: '(The land) known only to the lonely trappers wandering its vastness in search of beaver...' One and a half scenes later Linus skids his bark next to the Prescott campsite and gives Carroll Baker a pelt to stroke....
Okay. I was bored. What can I say? At least I was paying attention. When Debbie Reynolds delivers a rousing rendition of 'Raise a Ruckus' for the despondent members of the wagon train I wasn't paying much attention at all. By the time Eli Wallach was glaring daggers at George Peppard's kids I was wondering whether or not one should fill in that little hole in the middle of a dvd when you make it into a coaster.

Middling story and atrocious transfer
I like westerns. My favorite entries in the genre are spaghetti westerns, those cheap, ultra low budget Italian takes on the American West. I always try to fit some of these movies into my viewing schedule, and when the day came where I considered it time to watch Sergio Leone's epic "Once Upon a Time in the West," I headed out to rent it. Imagine my surprise when I got home and saw that I inadvertently checked out "How the West Was Won" instead. I scratched my head, not familiar at all with the title. After all, I like westerns but I don't know a lot about the genre or the films I have yet to see. When I saw the cast list for this 1962 movie, I decided not to take it back without watching and seeing if I liked it. I think I would be remiss to have skipped this one on initial impression alone; the cast list reads like a "who's who" of mid twentieth century Hollywood. You've got Carroll Baker, Lee J. Cobb, Agnes Moorehead, Jimmy Stewart, Henry Fonda, George Peppard, Debbie Reynolds, Eli Wallach, John Wayne, Richard Widmark, Walter Brennan, Karl Malden, Carolyn Jones, Harry Morgan, Raymond Massey, and Robert Preston filling the roles. Spencer Tracy voices the narration. Howard Hawks and John Ford directed specific segments of the film. What a list of talent! Couldn't go wrong with a movie like this one, right? Wrong.

As amazing as it seems, "How the West Was Won" is not a very good experience. The movie runs for an eternity as it attempts to describe the different experiences in settling the American West. At the beginning of the film, the Prescott clan heads out to the West in search of farmland and a new beginning. Zebulon Prescott (Karl Malden), his wife Rebecca (Agnes Moorehead), and two daughters Eve (Carroll Baker) and Lilith (Debbie Reynolds) travel down the recently completed Erie Canal and travel out into what Illinois or Missouri. Along the way, they encounter a traveling fur trapper named Linus Rawlings (Jimmy Stewart), who stays with the family for a day or so, just long enough to fall in love with one of the daughters. After Zeb and Rebecca perish in an unfortunate rafting accident, Rawlings reemerges to take care of Eve and eventually establish a farm at the sight of the accident. These two will have children-one named Zebulon Rawlings (George Peppard)-who will eventually fight in the Civil War. Zeb Rawlings then leaves the family property to his brother as he moves further west fighting Indians for the railroads and working as a law officer. He ends up thwarting a nasty train robbery in Arizona some fifty years after his grandparents expired on that raft.

The other daughter, Lilith, ends up in St. Louis working as a dancer and actress when she learns that she inherited a gold mine in California. As she prepares to head west, a slick card shark named Cleve Van Valen (Gregory Peck) convinces Lily to take him along. There's a minor competition for Lily's affections between Van Valen and Roger Morgan (Robert Preston), another guy on the wagon train. The gold mine doesn't pan out in the end, so Lilith and Cleve end up falling in love and marrying, eventually going on to build and lose several huge family fortunes. Of course, Lily's travels to the coast are fraught with perils, such as an Indian attack on the wagon train and a song and dance number at a campsite. I kept hoping the filmmakers would insert a Donner Party type situation that would require Gregory Peck to consume either Robert Preston or Debbie Reynolds, but no such luck. In any event, the movie seems to focus more on the Rawlings clan than it does on Lily's experiences.

Sadly, many of the great actors in the movie rarely appear. Raymond Massey plays Abraham Lincoln, John Wayne and Harry Morgan are General William Tecumseh Sherman and General Ulysses S. Grant respectively, and Lee J. Cobb is a Marshal in Arizona. Even Eli Wallach as an outlaw is a ghostly shadow of the villain he played in Leone's "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly." The huge cast list highlights the central problem of the film, namely that the filmmakers tried to do too much. Very few of the characters we see receive proper development. The focus here is on shock and awe photography and scenery, not the individuals taking part in the events. "How the West Was Won" was the first film shot in Cinerama, and, I think, a prime example of how Hollywood abuses a new technology. We see the same thing going on today with the CGI effects in those top-heavy special effects bonanzas. Everyone wants to use a new cinematic technique, so much so that they rely solely on the effect and lose sight of the human element. A bit less spectacle and a lot more interaction between the cast would have helped this movie succeed.

I hate to say it, but the DVD version of this film could use a lot of work. You can literally see the two lines dividing the picture into three segments in the transfer. Not only is this enormously annoying, it's completely unacceptable. I can't believe the studio techs couldn't release a seamlessly restored version of this film. The disc does contain a short documentary detailing the Cinerama process along with a few bits about the stunts in the film, but the shoddy picture quality of the movie will dampen your enthusiasm for any extras. I imagine some people would like the actual movie better than I did though no one should settle for the poor transfer. I suggest waiting for a special edition disc.

Needs a better format, anamorphic
I saw the film in LA, at the original Cinerama, in the original
showing. This film is not going to be right until shown in
HDTV (HD-DVD), but for Pete's sake, why letterbox ?

What a trashy way to treat this classic. Stick a crowbar in your
wallet and spring for an anamorphic release. When the HD-DVD with
proper restoration shows up, I'll buy a copy of that, not rent. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

COLOURFUL BUT PONDEROUS
A lavishly corny confection. In this one, producer Adolphe Menjou seeks the advice of an average American girl (Andrea Leeds) concerning the qualities of his shows. The pluses this film has to offer include the ballet sequence, which is definitely a matter of taste, some fairly comical lines and the colour photography, which was the best yet in its day, because it wasn't considered "obtrusive". A rather inane script has Leeds fall in love with a greasy spoon cook and wannabe singer (Kenny Baker, who warbles LOVE WALKED IN about a dozen times) Leeds says zestfully: "I love hamburgers".........The very fact that Goldwyn put his name in the the title of a movie indicated that he considered it an extravaganza and a masterpiece (if not the greatest movie-musical ever made). Wrong. Granted, the musicals that were churned out at an alarming rate by Fox were fast and cheap, studded with vaudeville; they simply collapsed from sheer overkill. In his search for a formula, Samuel Goldwyn first paid three writers, including Dorothy Parker, $125,000; he then tore up their script and hired Ben Hecht. A curiousity from the thirties.

Entertaining but disjointed
"The Goldwyn Follies" has not fared well with critics even from the time it was first released, some of whom have called it one of the worst films ever made. My own personal opinion of this film isn't quite so jaundiced as that.

Part of the problem seems to be that Samuel Goldwyn attempted to out-Ziegfeld Ziegfeld, and in the process released a film that, while entertaining, seems rather disjointed. In certain respects "The Goldwyn Follies" stumbles & staggers like a car with a bad transmission. Perhaps it would have been better had this film been done in a revue form similar to the Ziegfeld Follies style.

Having said all this, "The Goldwyn Follies" is still worth viewing for all the varied & various entertainers who appear: ballerina Vera Zorina, Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy, the Ritz Brothers with their own particular brand of insanity, popular singer Kenny Baker (a regular on Jack Benny's radio show at the time), opera star Helen Jepson, vaudevillian Bobby Clark (who for some reason was not permitted to use his trademark painted-on glasses), and radio comic Phil Baker.

The film's plot involves film producer Oliver Merlin (Adolphe Menjou) whose movies fail consistently at the box office. While shooting a film on location with his temperamental star Olga Samara (Zorina), Merlin overhears Hazel Dawes (Andrea Leeds in her first film following her triumph in "Stage Door"), a young woman who watches the film shoot with a friend & comments about how less than human the characters seem to be. Mr. Merlin follows Hazel to a drugstore soda fountain where he hires her to be "Miss Humanity" and critique his ideas for film scenes but not to associate with actors so as to lose her down-to-earth qualities. Eventually Hazel meets a prospective movie singer (Baker) who runs a lunch counter, and a love interest develops between them.

"The Goldwyn Follies" features music by George & Ira Gershwin as well as choreography by George Balanchine. The former's contributions include the song "Love Walked In" while the latter's include a "Romeo and Juliet" sequence resembling a competition between "The Nutcracker" and "West Side Story" as well as a ballet featuring Vera Zorina as a water nymph who ascends & descends from a pool.

For all the problems this film may have had, in the end it isn't a total washout.

P.S. Keep your eyes open for an appearance by a young Alan Ladd in a bit as an auditioning singer.

VERA ZORINA`S FIRST FILM
When Ingrid Bergman published her memoirs in 1981, Vera Zorina found herself unfavourably mentioned... In 1942 she was up to do Maria in FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS, but was replaced because of tip-toing through the mountains... In an un-authorised biography of Bergman, Paul Henreid quoted Bergman saying "Zorina can`t act... I hope they find out how terrible she is..."

However. Such greats such as Richard Rodgers, Leonard Bernstein and Bob Hope have all praised her acting gifts. In 1946 the great GRETA GARBO saw her in "The Tempest" on stage and was spellbound. In THE GOLDWYN FOLLIES she stars as the love-sick temperamentel Olga Samara - and indeed - it is a a Russian Scarlett O`Hara we are given.
The film is a great comedy and satire of the Hollywood system and the music and performances are all great.
But it is Vera`s picture.
Look for her in ON YOUR TOES, I WAS AN ADVENTURESS and LOUISIANA PURCHASE also:)(:

Wonderful Classic
Being a fan of old movies, I've watched too many to name. This one in particular is one of those you'd like to go back and watch again and again. As you can see, it's out of print at the moment, but I believe it's well worth your money. It's very extravagent, music oriented, and has much comedy in it to keep you laughing throughout the entire movie. If you appreciate old movies/musicals you'll enjoy this one. It has a lot going on and I'd recommend it for all ages. Happy viewing! =D

More of an extravaganza than the script merited
11/6/02 I've seen this extravaganza thanks to "BlockBuster'video as it was before my time....I felt than it was too much of an extravaganza...of muscial renditions with a minor story plot;however based on when it was meant to be seen (in the late 1930's) when movies had more domainance than audience's financial ability to be entertained by musicians at the better clubs or renown theatres, as time goes by more and more we will apreciate the efforts of our first movie moguls,movie entities and movie actors,actresses and the studios's 'cast of 1000'..we're considered lucky when they clone certain scenes in animations with & thanks to modern technology(e.g. movies on dinasours).11/6/02 ... Read more

Reviews (10)

A hilarious Lucy-Bob film!
This is one of Lucy and Bob's best films together. They made an unbeatable team. Lucy looks so gorgeous, with her flaming red hair, deep penetrating blue eyes, and blood red lips. The only color for her was Technicolor. I laughed so much during this movie. Lucy plays a rich western girl; Bob a phony British bulter who is mistaken for the Earl of Brimstead. Lucy and Bob are at their best in this hilarious movie. Lucy was just 1 year away form making TV history when she made this movie. It was her last before she started television, and she does a great job in it. You can never go wrong with Lucy!

Lucy before "Lucy" "Bob" becomes Mr. Robert
First, this is a color movie, not black and white. Not just color, Technicolor, real good clear Technicolor. It was made by Paramount back in the days when the Paramount logo had 24 stars in the circle. Nowadays the logo has 22 stars. This movie is my all-time favorite Bob Hope film even though it is the one film where he is not billed as "Bob." The credit goes to "Mr. Robert Hope." The best joke in this film takes place 45 minutes into the story. It is "Three Against a Thousand." It is a four minute routine that shows Bob at his best.If you've seen it you know what I mean. If not, it is worth the price of the video. When this movie came out Lucy was about one year away from TV history with her "I Love Lucy" series. Old timers will like it and it is probably a film that young kids would also enjoy. Some of the vaudeville routines still work well today, especially Hope lighting someone's cigarette and pouring tea. Good western scenery. One good song "Home Cookin'." All songs written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans. They wrote tunes like "Mona Lisa," "To Each His Own" and "The Bonanza Theme." They just didn't write any great songs for this film. Bob and Lucy are in great physical shape here. Tom Willett

HOPE & LUCY= WACKY WESTERN SPOOF....
A remake with songs of "Ruggles of Red Gap", "Mr.Robert Hope" plays an English Valet going to work for Lucille Ball's nouveau riche family in the Wild West. For fans of Hope and Lucy, this is a delight. They're in top form in "Fancy Pants"...the name given Hope by tomboy Lucy. Good supporting cast helps enliven this spoof, but it's Hope and Lucy who really pull it off. They're a great team. Lucy sings "Fancy Pants" and there are other songs and lots of slapstick and beautiful Technicolor filming that helps explain why Lucy was once known in Hollywood as "Tessie Technicolor". She's gorgeous here. "Fancy Pants" is good, clean, fun family fare and, sadly, another example of the kind of film "they just don't make anymore". And yes, you can see Lucy Ricardo emerging in this film. For historical value alone "Fancy Pants" is worth watching and owning.

Watch out world Here she comes!
This was a very funny and pleasant movie! Watch closely and you will see the emergence of Lucy Ricardo ..not a surprise as this was the last movie our beloved Lucy made before hitting the television airways as the beloved Mrs Ricardo..with her good pal and co star Mr Bob Hope this movie is a winner all the way around...Comic genius from two of the businesses best entertainers/comedians..Thoroughly enjoyable entertainment for the whole family!

Worth the price for one joke
My all time favorite movie joke, "Three Against a Thousand" is told beautifully by Bob Hope in this 1950 western. He has several very nice vaudeville scenes especially near the beginning of the movie.

When he becomes a tough cowboy talking down to tough cowboys he is great. Most of the film is average and Lucy shows promise just shortly before she became TV's biggest star in the 50s.

I recommend it for fans of vaudeville schtick, and Hope and Lucy fans will enjoy it also. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Old Time Radio stars brought to the screen!
I've been a long time Edgar Bergen fan, and was delighted with his performance in this comical movie, "You Can't Cheat an Honest Man". I had never seen W.C. Fields on the screen before, and was also pleasantly surprised by his outragous antics (his hat bit is wonderful). For anyone looking for a good laugh, or a movie for the whole family (litterally-Grandpa & Grandma will remember them, and the children will be introduced to them), this is a great movie to buy or rent.

A True Classic, Honest
This is a truly classic comedy featuring W.C. Fields and Edgar Bergen. Fields plays circus proprietor Larson Whipsnade. His circus is not a blazing success, and Whipsnade and company are on the run from the law and on the lam from creditors. Despite all, Whipsnade has managed to keep his son and daughter in college. As the story begins, Whipsnade's son is urging his sister to marry a fellow student who is wooing her. The suitor is from a wealthy family and Whipsnade Jr. sees the marriage as a way to improve the Whipsnade family fortune. Unfortunateley, sis isn't in love with the boy. Instead, she falls for Bergen, who works in dad's circus.

I suppose, if you like Fields but not Bergen, you might think there is too much Bergen & company in this movie and not enough of Fields. Then, again, a Bergen fan might make the opposite argument. Personally, I find them both hilarious. The plot here is rather thin, but the comedy is non-stop. Of course, Whipsnade can't stand Bergen, and Charlie McCarthy is a constant thorn in his side. Similarly, the idea of Whipsnade as Bergen's father-in-law is more than Charlie can take. Both Fields and Bergen get in some classicly funny scenes. Add in a couple of cameo appearances by Mortimer Snerd, a whole load of one-liners, and you one of the best comedies ever filmed.

Too Much Bergen and McCarthy - Not Enough Fields
W.C. Fields' "You Can't Cheat An Honest Man" (1939) is a rather schizophrenic affair. As Larson E. Whipsnade, Fields remains his old inimitable self -- whether playing high-society ping pong or getting hosed by a circus elephant. However, when Fields is off-screen for long stretches, the film becomes an Edgar Bergen-Charlie McCarthy vehicle and drags terribly. Though the Fields-McCarthy radio "feuds" have become classics, they do not translate nearly as well in cinematic form. With the exception of a brief reunion in "Song of the Open Road" (1944), it's easy to see why there never was a Fields-Bergen encore on the big screen. "You Can't Cheat An Honest Man" certainly has its moments of hilarity, but a little more Fields would have helped.

time and psychology
When I was a child growing up in the fifties, this was one of my favorite Fields movies. The fact that Edgar Bergen was a wretched ventriloquist and even worse actor never bothered me. My attention was bound to Charlie and Mortimer. But now as I watch it, it is Edgar's character that bothers me more than anything else. Here is a guy who leaves his position as a college professor not simply to follow his dream as a ventriloquist in the circus, but to hide away in a air baloon with his dummy. If he was there just to practice away from the noise and clatter of the circus, one might be able to understand it. But Edgar's character is so flat and colorless that one senses that he is only hiding out from the world with the only vehicle through which he is capable of communicating with the outside world. One can only hope that he is unable to catch the chariot in the end. Still... Fields is brilliant. It is really he who carries the film. One could wish there was more of Rochester who is always clever and fun.

Clever, Quick, and Funny!
This is definatly W.C. Fields at his finest. While the plot maybe is not so great, all of the comedians bring this light hearted comedy to the highest expectations. Charlie McCarthy and Edgar Bergen are at their mischevious, cleverest best. Recommended for anyone who loves old comedies. ... Read more