It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Very funny send-up of film noir private eye movies. Bob Hope plays a baby photographer on death row for a murder he didn't commit. As he awaits his execution, he recounts how he got there by getting mixed up in a conspiracy involving a beautiful woman (Dorothy Lamour). One of Hope's best movies. Lots of funny lines. Features a terrific supporting cast, including Peter Lorre and Lon Chaney, Jr. There are some funny cameos from Alan Ladd and Bing Crosby. This one's in the public domain now so anybody can see it online for free. But that also means most copies are pretty lousy, quality-wise. It's worth the effort to try and find a decent copy.

Bob Hope in one of his better comedies of the 1940s, a clever satire of noir mysteries (Raymond Chandler, in particular) which substitutes hard-boiled for soft-boiled without losing the essence of a good crime story. A baby-photographer in San Francisco is found in the neighboring offices of a vacationing private detective by a femme fatale, who unwittingly hires the would-be gumshoe to help find her missing uncle. Edmund Beloin and Jack Rose penned the dandy original screenplay, neatly skirting the spoofy/silly undercurrent which marred many of Hope's starring vehicles of the era. Dorothy Lamour (with the wonderful character name Carlotta Montay) is the supposedly schizophrenic and paranoid client; Peter Lorre is her evil valet; and nobody cracks walnuts like muscle-stooge Lon Chaney. Fresh and witty, with a surprising hint of sex appeal, a solid production, and two terrific star-cameos as a bonus. *** from ****

I caught this on Turner Classic Movies over the summer--my first Bob Hope picture. The plot concerns a baby photographer, Ronnie Jackson, whose office is just down the hall from a Sam Spade-ish private eye, Sam McCloud (played by the mostly absent Alan Ladd). When McCloud is forced to leave for a while, Jackson does the neighborly thing and looks after his office, thereafter getting mixed up in a murderous mystery where danger lurks around every corner and nothing is as it seems.My Favorite Brunette is no comic masterpiece, but it's fun light viewing. The solid script and direction are bolstered by a good cast. Bob Hope is Bob Hoping it for all he's worth, Dorothy Lamour is suitably sexy as the damsel in distress, and Peter Lorre is both menacing and hilarious as he sends up his screen persona. Lon Chaney, Jr. is also quite enjoyable as a hulking simpleton (obviously a take-off on his turn as Lennie in the 1939 adaptation Of Mice and Men) who's tricked into working for the bad guys.The mystery at the heart of the plot was satisfying--for me, anyway--working in enough zany twists and turns to stay surprising along the way. Ultimately, though, it's no more important than as the framework from which to hang Hope's mugging and one-liners. The film moves at a fast enough pace that, if one joke fails to take off, another comes along directly behind it. There's no time to get bored, and Hope's comedic style, while perhaps bland to some, is amiable enough for all ages to enjoy. This one's worth checking out.

Baby photographer Bob Hope (as Ronnie Jackson) is on death row, for a murder he didn't commit. While preparing for his stint in the (laughing) gas chamber, Mr. Hope tells his story, in flashback… Hope isn't happy taking baby pictures. His real desire is to become a successful a private detective, like "Sam Spade" or "Philip Marlowe". To wit, Hope is hired by beautiful Baroness Dorothy Lamour (as Carlotta Montay), to solve the mystery of her missing husband/uncle… Medium done Hope is better than most, not as good as some. The material is a bit lame, but Hope handles it expertly. Peter Lorre (as Kismet) and Lon Chaney Jr. (as Willie) lead a fine supporting cast. The frequent co-starred Ms. Lamour is a perfectly subtle spoof counterpoint to Hope's wisecracking coward. Alan Ladd and Bing Crosby bookend the film with two highly entertaining "cameo" appearances. The stuffing in-between gets a little too long and thin, at times.***** My Favorite Brunette (3/19/47) Elliott Nugent ~ Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Peter Lorre, Lon Chaney Jr.