Tonight's Movie: Fancy Pants (1950) - A Kino Lorber Blu-ray Review

My final movie review of 2023 is FANCY PANTS (1950), a Bob Hope-Lucille Ball comedy recently released on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber.

I found this film about Humphrey (Hope), a bad actor who ends up impersonating both a butler and an earl, to be one of the stronger Hope comedies. It has a good cast and plot; the story is said to be inspired by the book RUGGLES OF RED GAP by Harry Leon Wilson. RUGGLES OF RED GAP was filmed in 1935 but I've not yet seen it.

Humphrey is part of a British acting troupe hired by George Van Basingwell (Hugh French) to impress a wealthy visiting American, Agatha (Ball), and her mother (Lea Penman). Van Basingwell has designs on Agatha's fortune and wants her and her mother to believe he's from a titled family, who are actually all actors.

Agatha's mother wants to take Humphrey back to America to work for her and causes him to be fired by Van Basingwell, who also strikes out with Agatha.

The action then shifts from England to New Mexico Territory, where Cart Belknap (Bruce Cabot) mistakes Humphrey as competition for Agatha, while the local citizens mistakenly believe that Humphrey is an earl.

Things get even crazier when President Teddy Roosevelt (John Alexander) arrives in town. Alexander's appearance is the best thing in the movie; he played Uncle Teddy, who believes he's Teddy Roosevelt, in ARSENIC AND OLD LACE (1944), so it's fun on multiple levels.

I like Ball's work in a number of films but she didn't do much for me in this one as the hoydenish Agatha, who at times seems to be channeling the title character from the same year's ANNIE GET YOUR GUN (1950); that said, she looks great in Technicolor.

Along with Alexander, I also found Norma Varden -- later Frau Schmidt in THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965) -- particularly funny as the actress posing as Van Basingwell's mother. Eric Blore is also rib-tickling as an actor whose words always come out in an unintelligible blur.

This 92-minute movie was directed by George Marshall and filmed by Charles Lang The Kino Lorber Blu-ray, which was remastered by Paramount from 4K scans of 35mm 3-strip Technicolor elements, looks terrific.

Extras consist of the trailer; an extensive Bob Hope trailer gallery; and a Kino Lorber Hope promo.

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

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