IT CAME FROM THE BOTTOM SHELF!

Over the last few years, Kino Lorber Studio Classics has released new remasters and restorations of several classic comedies starring funnyman Bob Hope. These individual Blu-ray releases continued this month with two films from the height of Hope’s popularity, Monsieur Beaucaire (1946), and Where There’s Life (1947). I previously posted a review of Monsieur Beaucaire, so let’s dive into the thriller-comedy Where There’s Life.

Where There’s Life (officially listed on the on-screen title card as Where There’s Life… There’s Hope) was an extremely pleasant surprise. Unlike Monsieur Beaucaire, which despite my contrarian opinion, is often considered one of Hope’s best, Where There’s Life is a comedy that has been more or less forgotten. It isn’t discussed or even namechecked when fans and historians discuss the filmography of Bob Hope. Consequently, I was expecting an average or below-average comedy programmer. Instead, I found the film absolutely delightful from start to finish. I’d call it my “favorite film discovery” so far this year, except that Bob Hope made so many movies where a “wisecracking brave coward” gets pulled into a dangerous situation by a beautiful woman, that I’m not entirely sure I haven’t watched this particular title sometime before. No matter. Where There’s Life is absolutely one of the very best films of its type.

After traveling back to the 1700s for Monsieur Beaucaire, we are back to the 20th Century for Where There’s Life. The wheels of the plot begin to spin when the king of the (fictional) Eastern European country of Barovia is shot by an underground terrorist organization known as “the Mordia.” Without an heir, the kingdom will fall into disarray, so a delegation, including the Prime Minister (George Coulouris) and General Katrina Grimovitch (pretty blonde Signe Hasso), are sent to America to find the secret lovechild of the king (guess who). Brash-mouthed radio announcer Michael Joseph Valentine (Bob Hope) is on the eve of his marriage to long-time girlfriend, Hazel O’Brien (Vera Marshe), when he is abducted by the Barovians. However, the delegation’s attempt to take “Prince” Michael back to their home country is delayed by another assassination attempt by the Mordia. When Michael misses his own wedding, it is anyone’s guess who will get their hands on Michael first — his fiancée’s angry brother (William Bendix), new love-interest General Grimovitch, or the Mordia’s masked killers.

At a brisk 75 minutes, Where There’s Life is a tight comedy with no flab on its bones. Bob Hope is more motor-mouthed than usual (as is befitting a radio announcer), and whenever he’s on screen, the movie is filled with wall-to-wall wisecracks. Happily the hit-to-miss ratio of the jokes is extremely high. As a result, I found Where There’s Life more “laugh out loud” funny than most of Bob Hope’s solo comedies. The resumes of the credited screenwriters, Allen Boretz & Melville Shavelson, contain more mediocre titles (Room Service, Copacabana, Double Dynamite) than winners, so I’m guessing that there were a lot of uncredited additions to the dialogue. Hope always augmented his lines during filming with pre-written “ad libs,” and his personal team of gag writers may have been particularly inspired during the production of Where There’s Life.

While Hope’s snappy wisecracks are the main comedy engine of this breezy picture, his physical comedy skills are also on full display. The murderous stakes of the plot give the comedian plenty of opportunity for “cringing coward” physical schtick and exaggerated facial expressions. William Bendix adds to the laughs as the bellowing, constantly agitated cop who is Michael’s “brother-in-law to be,” and John Alexander (Teddy in Arsenic and Old Lace) gets a nice comedy showcase near the movie’s end as an opinionated department store shopper.

With heavies like George Coulouris, George Zucco, and Anthony Caruso in the cast, there is little doubt as to who will end up being the secret members of the murderous Mordia. Still, the thriller aspects of the plot provide a nice backdrop to enhance the comedy. The romance also unfolds nicely. The strong, stoic general played by Signe Hasso provides nice contrast with Hope’s jabbering coward. They have nice “Ninotchka-like” chemistry (which I’m sure was exactly what the studio was going for).

Where There’s Life is predictable in all of the best ways. It gives you everything one would want from a Bob Hope comedy — copious wisecracks, dangerous situations, chemistry with a strong female foil, physical schtick, a gratuitous Bing Crosby joke, and “break the fourth wall” moments. It’s a lot of content to cram into a compact 75 minutes, but it doesn’t feel rushed. The running time feels “just right” for a comedy of this type. All in all, Where There’s Life is an overlooked gem. It might be the best Bob Hope movie that nobody talks about.

USA/B&W-75m./Dir: Sidney Lanfield/Wr: Allen Boretz & Melville Shavelson (based on a story by Melville Shavelson)/Cast: Bob Hope, Signe Hasso, William Bendix, George Coulouris, Vera Marshe, George Zucco, Dennis Hoey, John Alexander, Victor Varconi, Joseph Vitale, Harry von Zell, Anthony Caruso

For Fans of: Bob Hope made a lot of films like this, but this is an excellent example of the type. If you’ve enjoyed other Bob Hope solo comedies (Ghost Breakers, My Favorite Blonde, My Favorite Brunette, The Paleface, etc.) you’re sure to love Where There’s Life.

Video: While there is no mention of a restoration or new scan of Where There’s Life on the Blu-ray packaging or on Kino Lorber’s website, the HD presentation of Where There’s Life looks extremely good. In fact, it looks a lot better than the Blu-ray of Monsieur Beaucaire, which boasted that it was sourced from a new 2K master. The image is sharp, with good contract and appropriate film grain. There may be a few random speckles or scratches, but they were so minor that I didn’t notice them. I doubt the film will ever look better on home video.

The original mono DTS sound is solid, presenting dialogue, sound effects, and the musical score with clarity. I detected no age-related hiss or distortion. Whether you are a fan of this particular film or Bob Hope films in general, the disc is highly recommended.

The bonus features consist solely of promotional material for other Kino Lorber comedy releases:

• KLSC Bob Hope Promo: Clips from My Favorite Brunette, Road to Rio, The Lemon Drop Kid, Road to Bali, and Son of Paleface.
• Original trailer for Where There’s Life 
• Bonus Bob Hope trailers: The Cat in the Canary, Road to Singapore, The Ghost Breakers, Road to Zanzibar, Caught in the Draft, Nothing But the Truth, My Favorite Blonde, Road to Morocco, Road to Utopia, The Paleface, and Alias Jesse James
• Optional English subtitles for the feature

Streaming: At the time of this review, Where There’s Life was not streaming as part of any of the major subscription services.  The film was also not available for digital rental or purchase.

More to Explore: You can’t go wrong with most of the Bob Hope films produced between 1939 and 1954. Classic film fans are likely familiar with the Road pictures that Hope made with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour. Below I posted links to Blu-ray releases of some of the best of Hope’s films as a solo comedian.

Trivia: William Bendix’s line, “What a revoltin’ development this is,” was his catch phrase on the popular radio show, The Life of Riley. The radio show premiered in 1944, so when Bendix used the line in Where There’s Life (1947), most audiences would have instantly recognized this inside joke.

For More Info: There have been many film references and biographies written on “Old Ski Nose,” but the definitive tome on the comedian is Hope: Entertainer of the Century by Richard Zoglin. If you are looking for a Bob Hope film reference, The Road to Comedy: The Films of Bob Hope by Donald McCaffrey provides a nice overview.