Search - Fancy Pants on DVD

Lucy before "Lucy" "Bob" becomes Mr. Robert

Tom Willett | Tennessee | 03/29/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First, this is a color movie, not black and white. Not just color, Technicolor, real good clear Technicolor. It was made by Paramount back in the days when the Paramount logo had 24 stars in the circle. Nowadays the logo has 22 stars. This movie is my all-time favorite Bob Hope film even though it is the one film where he is not billed as "Bob." The credit goes to "Mr. Robert Hope." The best joke in this film takes place 45 minutes into the story. It is "Three Against a Thousand." It is a four minute routine that shows Bob at his best.If you've seen it you know what I mean. If not, it is worth the price of the video. When this movie came out Lucy was about one year away from TV history with her "I Love Lucy" series. Old timers will like it and it is probably a film that young kids would also enjoy. Some of the vaudeville routines still work well today, especially Hope lighting someone's cigarette and pouring tea. Good western scenery. One good song "Home Cookin'." All songs written by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans. They wrote tunes like "Mona Lisa," "To Each His Own" and "The Bonanza Theme." They just didn't write any great songs for this film. Bob and Lucy are in great physical shape here. Tom Willett"

Bob, Lucy and even Teddy Roosevelt

Candace Scott | Lake Arrowhead, CA, USA | 07/18/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Bob Hope and Lucille Ball made several movies together, but this is by far their best. The comedic timing they bring to every role is unsurpassed and together they always had a nice screen chemistry. How can you possibly go wrong with two of the greatest comedians in screen history together in one movie?The highlight is the arrival of President Theodore Roosevelt who goes on an hilarious fox hunt with Bob, pretending to be a snooty, upper crust Englishman. Full of laughs!"

"Hey, Fancy Pants!..."

Byron Kolln | the corner where Broadway meets Hollywood | 05/09/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Reunited for the first time since their box-office success in "Sorrowful Jones" (1949), 1950's FANCY PANTS (a musical remake of "Ruggles of Red Gap" by Harry Leon Wilson) cast Bob Hope as a phoney British butler, with Lucille Ball as his hell-raising, tomboyish employer.



Engaged in a British touring theatrical troupe, struggling actor Arthur Tyler (Bob Hope) literally lands the role of a lifetime when New Mexico millionairess Effie Floud (Lea Penman) drags him back home as the new butler, in the hopes he'll also be a calming influence for her unruly daughter Agatha (Lucille Ball). Aggie, in the meanwhile, decides to use "Humphrey" (as he's now known) to create some sparks of jealousy with her cowboy squeeze (Bruce Cabot). And when the rest of the townsfolk mistakenly start to believe that "Humphrey" is the Earl of Brimstead, all hell breaks loose!



Bob Hope and Lucille Ball were always great value when paired together, but FANCY PANTS might well be their best co-starring vehicle. This is an energetic, high-octane musical version of "Ruggles of Red Gap" (previously filmed in 1935 with Charles Laughton and Mary Boland in the leads). Lucy glows in Technicolor (her singing was dubbed by Annette Warren). The cast also boasts Jack Kirkwood, Norma Varden, Eric Blore and John Alexander.



The DVD has a brilliant restored Technicolor print, but sadly no extras. (Single-sided, single-layer disc)."

HOPE & LUCY= WACKY WESTERN SPOOF....

Mark Norvell | HOUSTON | 05/30/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A remake with songs of "Ruggles of Red Gap", "Mr.Robert Hope" plays an English Valet going to work for Lucille Ball's nouveau riche family in the Wild West. For fans of Hope and Lucy, this is a delight. They're in top form in "Fancy Pants"...the name given Hope by tomboy Lucy. Good supporting cast helps enliven this spoof, but it's Hope and Lucy who really pull it off. They're a great team. Lucy sings "Fancy Pants" and there are other songs and lots of slapstick and beautiful Technicolor filming that helps explain why Lucy was once known in Hollywood as "Tessie Technicolor". She's gorgeous here. "Fancy Pants" is good, clean, fun family fare and, sadly, another example of the kind of film "they just don't make anymore". And yes, you can see Lucy Ricardo emerging in this film. For historical value alone "Fancy Pants" is worth watching and owning."