Movies

Netflix lets you track down a lot of obscure films, the kind the critics love. But it also is a storehouse of the tried and true. I dipped into that category this week, renting Louisiana Purchase and Never Say Die, a pair of Bob Hope vehicles. They came on the same disc and both are quite funny.
Never Say Die is the better film. Martha Raye and Andy Devine do their stuff with relish and Hope clearly loves working with them. Hope plays a millionaire hypochondriac who mistakenly thinks he's about to die. There's a pack of ner-do-wells after Bob's cash.
It's a goofy, funny comedy with a little music to boot.
In Louisiana Purchase Hope is funny as a crooked politician being investigated by an eccentric U.S. Senator played by the great Victor Moore. Music and dance play a bigger part in this one and it's not as funny, though still worthy of a look.
Hope was great during this era and shines in both of these silly, funny films.