This forgotten Bob Hope entry offers nothing but carefree laughs and ‘60s entertainment.
Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number!’s sole claim to fame in the 21st century was its “tribute” in The Fifty Worst Films Ever Made, the infamous book by critics Harry Medved and Randy Lowell, which proceeded to rip apart a number of classic films before branding them cinematic garbage. The film is certainly in good company as the book also includes the likes of Richard Donner’s The Omen and Otto Preminger’s Hurry Sundown. While Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! does have some regrettable features (Phyllis Diller’s hairstyle for one), citing it as one of the fifty worst of ALL TIME is a bit excessive, especially since the film proves to be nothing more than a pleasant piece of Saturday afternoon fluff.
The film stars Bob Hope as Tom, a suburban husband and father who, thanks to crossed telephone lines, unwittingly becomes tangled in a sticky situation when he discovers on-the-lam movie star Didi (Elke Sommer), who has fled Hollywood and the arms of her demanding boyfriend/director Pepe (Cesare Denova). Immediately Tom has an idea; Didi can hide out in a cabin he has for sale until it’s safe for her to return. Things go okay until Tom’s wife Martha (Marjorie Lord) decides the couple deserves a weekend away. It’s now up to Tom and his meddling, if loyal, housekeeper Lily (Diller) to keep wife and movie star away from one another.
If there’s one thing Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! has plenty of, it’s lots and lots of one-liners, courtesy of Hope and Diller. Their scenes are admittedly the most fun to watch for any fan of classic comedy. “Drowning your troubles?” Lily asks as Tom quickly downs an early afternoon cocktail. “No, just teaching them how to swim,” he says. The two represent the kind of comedic chemistry only legends like them were capable of. “Beauty parlors,” Lily exclaims after hearing where Martha is at. “I do my own!” “So that’s why we can’t find the egg beater,” Tom dryly adds. Being the master that he was, Hope easily proved the funniest person no matter whom he was acting opposite. “Oh Mr. Tom Meade, you’ve freed the slave,” Didi exclaims while embracing him after hearing she can stay at Tom’s cabin. “Yeah, well I don’t think this is what Lincoln had in mind,” he nervously replies. However, Diller, a film novice at the time, proved naturally adept at scoring laughs on their own. “Why is it when those kids leave every morning it’s like taking off a tight girdle?” Lily asks herself after seeing Tom’s children off to school.
Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! is a classic example of disposable ‘60s comedy, with all the necessary ingredients audiences would expect a movie such as this to have. The film boasts elements of farce, comedy stars, movie stars, and enough sexual energy/innuendos for days. However, the key to the film being able to work is that it knows what kind of film it is and doesn’t care. As a result, certain moments slightly rise above the material and are able to shine. It’s hard not to smile at the sight of Didi putting on a pair of sunglasses to answer the phone in a towel, and scenes showcasing Tom and Martha’s blissful marriage prove to be genuinely sweet interludes sandwiched in between all of the zaniness at hand.
A movie such as Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! isn’t about acting; it’s about timing, which thankfully each of the three leads posses. Sommer acquits herself remarkably well, showing a knack for broad comedy which was sadly not really explored after this film’s lackluster reception. As for Hope and Diller, it’s a bit tough to not picture the former in an extended episode of his famous sitcom, and see the latter on stage performing her stand-up here. While it doesn’t offer new territory for either Hope or Diller, the films shows them as the true comedy pros they always were.
Don’t get me wrong, while the film’s inclusion in the aforementioned book is a bit harsh for an otherwise inoffensive comedy, I can see why the authors selected it. There are some moments which are too outrageous even by the throwaway standards of the day, such as Lily’s hopping on a motorcycle in her pajamas and charging through a camp site, taking down tent after tent, on her way to help Tom, as well as the slightly embarrassing ways Tom tries to hide Didi from Martha (pre-dating the sort of hijinks which would makes sitcoms such as Three’s Company hits). But such features are easily forgiven.
The film does manage a slight comparison between the way Pepe treats Didi and Tom treats Lily. But who needs analysis and ideology here? There’s nothing but the kind of silly fun and exuberant energy throughout Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! which simply doesn’t exist anymore. The film’s mere presence on Blu-ray does its job by recalling a more innocent time when such escapism was readily available. And now thankfully, it still does.
Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! is now available on Blu-ray and DVD from Olive Films.
