In this one, Bob Hope is Beaucaire, the French barber to the king. Beaucaire is in love with the maid Mimi, played by Joan Caulfield. Mimi has bigger ambitions, and gives him the brush off. Part of the joke here is that Hope disparages the king, the queen, and the royalty in general quite openly, when in real life, he would quickly be punished for it. Fun scene near the beginning where Beaucaire helps to hide Madam Pompadour, while pretending to give the Duke a shave. I was never a fan of period pieces, and if this weren't a Hope project, I probably would have turned it off. Mimi is sent off to Spain, and the real Duke, and Beaucaire, dressed as the Duke, end up there as well. Some fun recognizable faces in here... Cecil Kellaway, Reginald Owen, and Constance Collier for supporting cast. The musical numbers were completely un-necessary, and should have been eliminated. It's a grand adventure, with more meat on the bones that most of Hope's quick little comedies. The sword fight at the end goes on way too long. This one is okay. Not Hope's best. Directed by George Marshall. They had worked together on numerous films.
Review of Monsieur Beaucaire
