Kliph Nesteroff Presents "a portal into a previously unseen world" - The Guardian
"Invaluable" - The Onion AV Club
"Important" - John Hodgman, The Daily Show
Monday, June 16, 2014
The Bob Hope Special with guests Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Phyllis Diller and Dean Martin (1964)
The key to appreciating Bob Hope is to disregard everything he did after 1950. His early films, 1930s-40s, are where he hit just the right note of smart-aleck bravado combined with cowardice, and the screenplays are smart. (I believe the legendary Al Boasberg was his script doctor.) His later work and image, an old man obviously reading cue cards and introducing Brooke Shields or dressing like the Fonz in corny sketches, golfing with republican politicians is unfortunate.
Notice at 13:50 that Jack Benny is sitting in a different audience than just a minute before.
ReplyDeleteThe key to appreciating Bob Hope is to disregard everything he did after 1950. His early films, 1930s-40s, are where he hit just the right note of smart-aleck bravado combined with cowardice, and the screenplays are smart. (I believe the legendary Al Boasberg was his script doctor.)
ReplyDeleteHis later work and image, an old man obviously reading cue cards and introducing Brooke Shields or dressing like the Fonz in corny sketches, golfing with republican politicians is unfortunate.
Steve Rossi has died, and the New York Times online obituary linked to classicshowbiz.blogspot.
ReplyDelete