My Favorite Spy (1951 film): Difference between revisions
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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. |
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. |
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Peanuts is persuaded to take the dangerous assignment via a phone conversation with an unseen President Harry |
Peanuts is persuaded to take the dangerous assignment via a phone conversation with an unseen President Harry Truman. |
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piano career of the President's daughter Margaret comes in for some ribbing("Pittsburgh? Well, Mr.President, that's a tough town") |
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After Lily switches loyalties, she and Peanuts escape after setting fire to Brubaker's mansion. They run to the nearest firehouse, don fireman disguises |
After Lily switches loyalties, she and Peanuts escape after setting fire to Brubaker's mansion. They run to the nearest firehouse, don fireman disguises, only to have the fire alarm take them right back to Brubaker's house. They make their final escape in a hijacked fire engine. |
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only to have the fire alarm take them right back to Brubaker's house. They make their final escape in a hijacked fire engine. |
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==Cast== |
==Cast== |
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Revision as of 12:39, 1 September 2023
| 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 | |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $2.6 million (US rentals)[1] |
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.
Peanuts is persuaded to take the dangerous assignment via a phone conversation with an unseen President Harry Truman.
After Lily switches loyalties, she and Peanuts escape after setting fire to Brubaker's mansion. They run to the nearest firehouse, don fireman disguises, only to have the fire alarm take them right back to Brubaker's house. They make their final escape in a hijacked fire engine.
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
- Torben Meyer as Headwaiter
- 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
References
- ^ 'Top Box-Office Hits of 1952', Variety, January 7, 1953
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
 | This film article about a 1950s comedy film is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1951 films
- American spy comedy films
- American black-and-white films
- Films scored by Victor Young
- Films directed by Norman Z. McLeod
- Films set in Tangier
- Paramount Pictures films
- 1950s spy comedy films
- Films with screenplays by Jack Sher
- 1951 comedy films
- 1950s English-language films
- 1950s American films
- English-language spy comedy films
- 1950s comedy film stubs