With Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra present, there's bound to be lots of references to the goings-on of the White House, and indeed, Kennedy pal Sinatra drops their name quite a bit. The references maybe confusing as this 60-year-old TV special deals with things like the creation of Dodger stadium (made as Hope says by putting seats on the 101 freeway), goings on with the 1962 Academy Awards (a reference to the forgotten film "Fanny" truly amusing), and of course Bob going home without an Oscar, well not the one given to him by a gatecrasher, and tons of promotions for Hope and Crosby's latest "Road" movie. Fellow guest star Dorothy Lamour doesn't mention the fact that she only had a cameo in the film, but she does needle Bob about being able to take off her sarong while he's not able to remove his best known commodity.
The musical highlight of the film is Janis Paige performing "I Believe in You" the musical "How to Succeed In Business without Really Trying", a medley of hits from her films that Dorothy Lamour sings, and Sinatra singing "Goody Goody". The banter between Hope and Sinatra is truly clever, and Sinatra truly seems to be enjoying the good natured ribbing Hope gives him. A lengthy sketch of what would have happened had Romeo and Juliet survived and married is very similar to a later "Carol Burnett Show" which did the same thing with Snow White and the prince, and obviously, they are hysterically unhappy. Very nostalgic for these great stars, but the audience will have to be a bit sophisticated about things going on when this was made to understand a lot of the jokes.
The musical highlight of the film is Janis Paige performing "I Believe in You" the musical "How to Succeed In Business without Really Trying", a medley of hits from her films that Dorothy Lamour sings, and Sinatra singing "Goody Goody". The banter between Hope and Sinatra is truly clever, and Sinatra truly seems to be enjoying the good natured ribbing Hope gives him. A lengthy sketch of what would have happened had Romeo and Juliet survived and married is very similar to a later "Carol Burnett Show" which did the same thing with Snow White and the prince, and obviously, they are hysterically unhappy. Very nostalgic for these great stars, but the audience will have to be a bit sophisticated about things going on when this was made to understand a lot of the jokes.
