Never Say Die
Never Say Die
NR | 08 March 1939 (USA)
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Bob Hope is being stalked by a predatory widow who is a widow of wealthy husbands many times over. Martha Raye is a Texan heiress who wants to marry her boyfriend Andy Devine, but her father is determined that she marry into royalty. To solve both their problems, Martha Raye and Bob Hope decide to marry, but will they ever find love together?

Reviews
Harockerce

What a beautiful movie!

Lumsdal

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Mischa Redfern

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

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Jemima

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

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csteidler

Wealthy hypochondriac Bob Hope is visiting a European spa called Bad Gaswasser, taking the waters and hiding out from gold digging widow Gale Sondergaard. Meanwhile, Martha Raye has been dragged to the same locale by her nouveau riche Texan dad, who wants her to marry prince Alan Mowbray, who is broke and seeks a large dowry. Martha, however, has her heart set on hometown pal Andy Devine, who also shows up….The script and the cast are very funny in this fast-paced comedy that barely slows down for a couple of really sweet moments between Hope and Raye (who are both excellent). Among the best moments are an opening sequence showing a scientist in a water processing lab mixing and testing the "natural hot mineral springs" water that Bad Gaswasser promotes; poor Sig Ruman as the hotel manager who can't quite figure out what's going on with guests Hope, Raye and Devine; and Raye, blindfolded, mistaking a friendly bear for Andy Devine ("Why, Henry, how dare you take your shirt off!"). Monty Woolley is hilarious in a bit as a doctor who mistakenly receives a dog's test results instead of Hope's and thinks he's discovered a rare case that will make him famous: "With your acidity," he exclaims, "you can digest bones!" Sondergaard is also wildly funny as the former Olympic sharpshooting champion whose husbands tend to die suddenly. In fact, with this cast of crazies, it's fair (if odd) to say that Hope and Raye essentially play the straight roles in the picture—although both, of course, get in their share of funny moments, too. It's extremely light and it goes by very fast. Good fun.

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MartinHafer

NEVER SAY DIE—8 One of Hope's Best. The plot of this Bob Hope comedy is very familiar, but I cannot hold this against the film. In the 1950s and 60s, many TV shows ripped off the plot—including "The Honeymooners" and "The Flintstones"! So, while it might seemed clichéd, I think it's one of the first films to use this plot, so its familiarity cannot be held against it.The film begins with a very cute scene involving a health spa in Switzerland and their water with magical properties. You just have to see it to appreciate it. As for Hope, he plays a millionaire hypochondriac who insists he's ill when he's actually in fine condition. However, though a silly mistake, doctors now assume he's going to soon die.In the meantime, Hope is pursued by a rather scary woman with a history of husbands who die under mysterious circumstances. She insists they marry and Hope is too cowardly to say no. But, on the day of their wedding he meets another woman (Martha Raye) who is also being forced into a marriage she doesn't want and Hope proposes that they marry each other. After all, it will save both of them and he's expected to be dead within a month—so it's a no-lose proposition. Shortly after their wedding, Raye's true love (Andy Devine) arrives to wait for Hope's demise. Soon, the black widow and Raye's fiancé arrive as well and so the countdown begins.What sets this apart from most Hope films is the writing—it's just better than usual and the film abounds with laughs. Plus, surprisingly, the chemistry between Raye and Hope was nice—and a bit romantic. It's a swell film that you can't help but enjoy.

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sryder@judson-il.edu

No masterpiece, but interesting in its own right. Martha Raye, for once, is playing it straight, and not doing the broad comedy/singing routine that was part of her 1930s Paramount films. (She really didn't show this side of her talent again until she had her regular TV variety show in the 1950s. Bob Hope had not yet become the familiar "Bob Hope", wise-cracking and egotistical; rather, here he plays a light comedy romantic lead rather in the British music hall manner. The love scenes between the two are often rather touching in their sincerity. The supporting cast is excellent, especially Gale Sondergaard, the predatory villianness whose shooting skill, which hangs ominously over Hope's head as she forces him into marriage during the entire film, provides the deus ex machina to resolve the romantic plot in a surprise turnabout. The fact that all other roles are played so broadly helps highlight the relatively subdued Raye and Hope performances. In fact, there are several surprises along the way, including the fact that boy and girl marry at about a third of the way through the movie; then fall in love. Very enjoyable.

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Petri Pelkonen

Never Say Die is a funny old comedy, made in 1939.The movie takes place in Switzerland.In the movie the great Bob Hope plays this guy called John Kidley, who thinks he's dying, so he decides to get married before he's gone.And he marries a woman, whom he saves from a suicide.This woman is called Mickey Hawkins, played by Martha Raye.John and Mickey are supposed to marry some others, but they marry each other, without any love.They hardly know each other.But they've got nothing to lose.And then there is this Henry Munch(Andy Devine), who is very much in love with Mickey.But everything works out just fine.Mickey and John start to love each other, Henry finds his own sweetheart and John's not even dying.The movie has a great ending.Great movie from the 1930's.

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