Tonight's Movie: Where There's Life (1947) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

Bob Hope stars in WHERE THERE'S LIFE (1947), a Paramount Pictures comedy now available on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber.

Kino Lorber has released a significant number of Hope films over the last couple years, many of which I've seen for the first time.

Such was the case with WHERE THERE'S LIFE, a breezy 75-minute film I enjoyed.

Hope plays Michael Valentine, a New York radio spokesman who's unaware he's the heir to King Hubertus II (William Edmunds) of Barovia, a small European country.

When the King is shot by assassins and appears unlikely to live, the king's loyal aide, General Katrina Grimovitch (Signe Hasso), travels to New York to find Michael and bring him to Barovia. It seems that Michael is the king's only heir, born during a brief marriage when the king was in the United States. Unfortunately a group of assassins are following right behind the general, determined to kill Michael too.

Meanwhile the unknowing Michael is preparing to marry Hazel (Vera Marshe), whose brother Victor (William Bendix), a cop, views Michael with suspicion...which will only deepen once the Barovians arrive in town and all manner of crazy happenings ensue.

It's all pretty lightweight, of course, with Michael's romantic relationships lacking in depth or chemistry, but still, it's a fun time. It's a well-done chase thriller with some good gags, especially a department store sequence where Michael pretends to be a mannequin while shoppers played by John Alexander and Norma Varden buy a hat.

The film moves briskly and knows when to end -- a pleasant, undemanding diversion.

WHERE THERE'S LIFE was directed by Sidney Lanfield and filmed in black and white by Charles Lang. The screenplay by Melville Shavelson and Allen Boretz was based on a story by Shavelson.

There are fun faces in the supporting cast, including George Coulouris as the prime minister of Barovia, Mary Field as a hotel maid, and Harry Von Zell as Michael's fellow radio announcer. The cast also includes Anthony Caruso, George Zucco, Edgar Dearing, and Phyllis Kennedy.

Kino Lorber's Blu-ray is from a new 2K master. The picture and sound are excellent.

The limited disc extras consist of the film's trailer, a promo for Kino Lorber's Hope releases, and an 11-film gallery of trailers for additional Hope films available from Kino Lorber.

Thanks to Kino Lorber for providing a review copy of this Blu-ray.

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