My Favorite Spy

Bob Hope stars in this 1951 spy-movie spoof as affable coward Peanuts White, a baggy-pants burlesque comic who happens to be the spitting image of an international spy. Naturally he's recruited by the government to play the suave, sophisticated enemy agent in the name of national security, leading to a predictable cascade of disasters, missed signals, and comic shenanigans. The last of his My Favorite films, this is a typical Hope vehicle, presenting the comic in his usual smirking, self-effacing persona, as the butt of the jokes. Leading lady Hedy Lamarr is fine, playing it straight as Lily Dalbray, the exotic love interest who is ready to double-cross Hope at any moment. Otherwise, director Norman Z. McLeod delivers a routine comedy that fails to make much of the dual identities (you'd think two Hopes crisscrossing through the plot would be twice as funny, but no), falling back instead on broad slapstick and a reliable cast of character actors (including Francis L. Sullivan and comic heavy Mike Mazurki) who scramble around a backlot re-creation of Tangier. While My Favorite Spy may be of interest to fans of Bob Hope and Hollywood knock-about comedy, it's hardly the best that either has to offer. Optional. (S. Axmaker)[Blu-ray Review—Aug. 27, 2013—Olive, 93 min., not rated, Blu-ray: $24.95—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1951's My Favorite Spy features a decent transfer and DTS-HD mono audio, but no special features. Bottom line: one of Bob Hope's lesser comedies arrives on Blu-ray.]