My Favorite Spy (1951 film)

Not to be confused with My Favorite Spy (1942 film).

My Favorite Spy
1951 US Theatrical Poster
Directed by	Norman Z. McLeod
Written by	Edmund L. Hartmann Jack Sher Hal Kanter Lou Breslow Edmund Beloin
Produced by	Paul Jones
Starring	Bob Hope Hedy Lamarr Francis L. Sullivan
Cinematography	Victor Milner
Edited by	Frank Bracht
Music by	Victor Young
Production company	Paramount Pictures
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	December 25, 1951 (1951-12-25)
Running time	93 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$2.6 million (US rentals)

My Favorite Spy is a 1951 American comedy spy film directed by Norman Z. McLeod and starring Bob Hope, Hedy Lamarr and Francis L. Sullivan. It was produced and distributed by Paramount Pictures and forms the third of a loose trilogy featuring Hope including My Favorite Blonde and My Favorite Brunette.

Plot

US intelligence agents recruit burlesque comic Peanuts White to pose as international spy Eric Augustine, whom he resembles, to acquire a million-dollar microfilm in Tangier, Morocco. There, he encounters the irresistible Lily Dalbray, Augustine's one-time "friend," who is now in league with his arch-enemy, Brubaker.

Cast

• Bob Hope as Peanuts White/Eric Augustine
• Hedy Lamarr as Lily Dalbray
• Francis L. Sullivan as Karl Brubaker
• Arnold Moss as Tasso
• John Archer as Henderson
• Luis Van Rooten as Rudolf Hoenig
• Stephen Chase as Donald Bailey
• Morris Ankrum as Gen. Frazer
• Angela Clarke as Gypsy Fortune Teller
• Iris Adrian as Lola
• Frank Faylen as Newton
• Mike Mazurki as Monkara
• Marc Lawrence as Ben Ali
• Tonio Selwart as Harry Crock
• Ralph Smiley as El Sarif
• Joseph Vitale as Fireman
• Nestor Paiva as Fire Chief
• Helen Chapman as Miss Dieckers
• Kasey Rogers as Maria
• Veola Vonn as Tara
• Suzanne Dalbert as Maid
• Suzanne Ridgway as Dancer
• Steven Geray as Croupier

Production

The film was produced from late January to early April 1951 under the working title Passage to Cairo.

Hope's character, Peanuts White, was first conceived as a schoolteacher who, while impersonating a recently deceased gangster, is sent to Cairo to obtain information. The character was later converted into a standup vaudeville comedian who resembles a leading international spy, and is persuaded to impersonate him on a mission to Tangier.

Release

The world premiere of the film took place in Bellaire, Ohio, in the living room of Anne Kuchinka. The Ohio housewife won a letter writing contest sponsored by Hope's radio show, in which participants gave reasons why the premiere should be held in their home. Prior to the screening, a star-studded parade and radio broadcast were held in Bellaire. According to a November 19, 1951 Time article, Corp. Karl K. Diegert of the Army Hospital at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, persuaded Hope, who was known for his USO shows, to do a second screening at the camp the day after Bellaire's.

See also

• My Favorite Blonde (1942) with Bob Hope and Madeleine Carroll
• My Favorite Brunette (1947) with Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour

External links

• My Favorite Spy at IMDb
• My Favorite Spy at the TCM Movie Database
• Template:Amg movie
• My Favorite Spy at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films