Save your money for something good and enjoyable

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Bob Hope plays a dual role in this comedy spy flick, one as his usual character throwing out humorous one liners, and the other as an international spy who Peanuts White (Hope) is asked to imitate in order to secure a valuable piece of film for the government. Hope actually looked a bit scary as the villain Eric Augustine, and it made me wonder if he could have pulled off a dramatic role in a non comedy vehicle.This was my first glimpse of Hedy Lamarr, and I wasn't too impressed with her looks when she first appeared on screen. But then, it seemed like she got better looking as the movie progressed. By the time of the film's finale and that wild hook and ladder ride, the zaniness of the scene seemed to bring out a naturalness to her personality that seemed suppressed in the early going. Actually, that scene had elements of Abbott and Costello and the Keystone Kops going for it, and was a lot more physical than any other Hope characterization I've seen.As usual, some of Hope's best zingers are of the self deprecatory kind; when one of the detectives removes his clown rubber nose in the early going, Hope's character replies - "Hey, that's not all putty"! You have to be quick when he does the gag about Bing Crosby, never mentioning him by name, but remarking how a skull he's looking at resembles a 'singer I know'. Modern audiences and non-Hope fans would never give it a second thought, but it's one of the fun things about watching these era films when you're old enough to be in on the joke.Hey, I know it's just for laughs, but there was a goof in that scene when the phone started ringing inside the suitcase. When Peanuts/Hope finally gets it out, the receiver is off the hook!"My Favorite Spy" seems to get mixed reviews, and though I enjoyed it myself, I thought about it being re-done as "Road to Tangier" with Crosby and Lamour along for the ride. Say, did you catch it when Peanuts White's real name was revealed? - it was Cecil Longwood.

While I enjoyed a few of Bob Hope's films, I must say up front that I am not especially a fan of his work. And, I think that others who are not huge fans of his work will probably not be particularly impressed by this rather limp comedy. That's because, for a comedy, this film has a remarkably small amount of humor. Apart from a slightly amusing situation, most of the "laughs" are the result of Hope's mugging and one-liners. For me, they frankly weren't funny at all. My opinion, and I know this might make me sound harsh, is that for years, Bob Hope cashed in on his early successes and then just kind of walked through many roles playing himself. And, this film isn't particularly different from a long string of very similar films from the 40s and 50s. While his die-hard fans will no doubt enjoy this, others will probably be pretty bored.The film is a story about Hope and a look-alike who is a master spy. The spy is captured and Hope is to take his place and secure some secret film. Along the way, he meets Hedy Lamarr--who just seems a bit out of her element. She is not a natural comedienne, but this film doesn't even allow her to try--forcing her to play a dramatic role most of the film. And, in the final chase scene, it looks like a limp imitation of a Keystone comedy. As a result, you're left with a slightly less than average time-passer and nothing more. While technically sound, I was frankly amazed how uninvolving this film was. There was just so little energy and few laughs.

One of Hope's best efforts. Hedy Lamar plays the perfect foil to Bob as he plays two very different characters. Contains one of the funniest sight-gag sequences in modern cinema and allows Hedy to show off the depth of her acting ability. It couldn't have been easy playing opposite Bob Hope anyway, but when she's not quite sure who is showing up had to make it even tougher.This is a film I can watch over and over again. In fact, I've just about worn out my copy, yet I laugh out loud every time.Great family viewing with the typical Hope silliness tempered by the very seductive Hedy Lamar.

As an entertaining comedy for Bob Hope, MY FAVORITE SPY is one of the best films in his career. It is typical for his normal plot line - a glib, slightly sleazy coward is forced into some job in which he conflicts with dangerous types. He manages to bungle his way to victory. It was the plot line for MY FAVORITE BLONDE, MY FAVORITE BRUNETTE, THE PRINCESS AND THE PIRATE, MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE. THE LEMON DROP KID, PALEFACE, SON OF PALEFACE, SORROWFUL JONES, even FANCY PANTS. In each film he'd be assisted by the heroine (Jane Russell, Dorothy Lamour, Lucille Ball, or whoever), and would confront serious villains like Bruce Cabot, Lloyd Nolan, Charles Dingle, Walter Slezak, Joseph Schildcraut, Otto Preminger, and Peter Lorre. In each of these films the villain is interested in money, stolen secrets, the chance at marrying the heroine, or power. The comedy would center on Hope's behavior and antics, sometimes pulling in the heroine and the villains as accidental recipients of Hope's blunders (like his attempt to give Lucille Ball a special hairdo in FANCY PANTS). If he confronts the villain the villain might be temporarily discomforted (like Schildkraut is momentarily in the duel sequence in BEAUCAIRE). But the villain is normally captured by outside forces running to Hope's rescue - he is incapable of beating the villains by himself (in FANCY PANTS he just barely beats Bruce Cabot with an assist by Teddy Roosevelt - John Alexander). It is all familiar, but Hope is still in top form.It was in MY FAVORITE SPY (1951) that Hope finally got a glimmer of trouble in his paradise. The trouble was from his co-star: Hedy Lamarr.Hedy Lamarr's movie career, unfortunately, is considered something of a joke today. From the start of it, her classic pornographic masterpiece ECSTASY, her critics considered her solely as a beautiful woman with little talent - a wooden actress. This is very unfair, because when given good direction and a top script (H.M. PULHAM, ESQ., THE STRANGE WOMAN, SAMSON AND DELILAH) she proved a first rate actress. Maybe she was not "Oscar" caliber, but she was close to it on these occasions. Moreover, Lamarr had brains. She actually is one of the few actresses who holds a patent. She was determined to show her best acting if she could.When Hope made a comedy he chose actresses who were perfectly willing to be second bananas to him. Even long time "Road Film" partner Dorothy Lamour reacted to his comedy in their movies (in her case she usually could also depend on co-star Bing Crosby in those films; but she made MY FAVORITE BRUNETTE with Hope alone). It was rare for any of these actresses to act zany in his films. Hope liked it that way. He appreciated being at the center of attention in his films.But with MY FAVORITE SPY he discovered that the formula would not totally work. Lamarr rarely had a chance to play pure comedy (HEAVENLY BODY with William Powell was more typical of the quiet comedies that she got cast in). She was determined to really be Hope's equal in this film - and Hope had problems with that.In the plot of MY FAVORITE SPY, Lamarr was an adventuress named Lily Dalbray who had formerly been romanced by spy and thug Eric Augustine (Hope - playing a rather unscrupulous villain for a change). Augustine is injured while going to retrieve valuable microfilm, and the government find that he resembles a burlesque comic named Peanuts White (Hope again). They force White to go in place of Augustine. Lily has been hired by Eric's old rival and enemy Karl Brubaker (Francis Sullivan) to romance and stop or thwart Augustine. The film follows the mix-up, with Hope assisted by a government agent Tasso (Arnold Moss). As I mentioned before the film is very entertaining, but Hope had problems he never experienced before. Lamarr insisted on equal comic time to Hope, especially in the conclusion - a slapstick chase involving a fire and a fire engine. Her performance in the film actually shows that she was enjoying slapstick. But most of her performance actually ended on the cutting room floor. Hope had control of the production, and saw to it. Lamarr protested but Hope had legal right to it. Lamarr never forgave Hope, and never appeared opposite him again in film (unlike other leading ladies) or on his television specials. The film showed Francis Sullivan to good form as the forbidding Brubaker - who actually so hates Augustine that he tries to shoot him at the conclusion of the film. Although made by Paramount, one wonders if Sullivan was the original choice for the role. One can imagine Sidney Greenstreet playing Brubaker as well. Possibly Greenstreet was thought of for the film, but either was in poor health or had other commitments. Arnold Moss also does well as Tasso, having to deal with that hopeless simpleton Peanuts White. As I said Hope's film is entertaining, but he was put on notice that his formula could not last if he had problems with his cast. The next time it happened he was unable to control the filmed appearance of his co-star. It was Katherine Hepburn in THE IRON PETTICOAT.