Detective with small mistakes

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Movie
German title Detective with small mistakes
Original title My Favorite Brunette
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1947
length 87 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Elliott Nugent
script Edmund Beloin ,
Jack Rose
production Daniel Dare
music Robert Emmett Dolan
camera Lionel Lindon
cut Ellsworth Hoagland
occupation

as well as without mention in the opening credits: Anthony Caruso , Bing Crosby , James Flavin , Al Hill , Brandon Hurst , Alan Ladd , George Lloyd , Clarence Muse , Ray Teal and John Tyrrell

synchronization

Detective with small mistakes is an American film noir - Parody 1947. The director was built in Elliott Nugent from a screenplay by Edmund Beloin and Jack Rose . The main roles were played by Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour .

action

Ronnie Jackson, prisoner at San Quentin State Prison , is about to be executed. He is very relaxed, but only until he learns that the governor has waived a pardon. During the final preparations for the execution, he was allowed to tell the press how it came to this:

Ronnie is a baby photographer on the edge (not in!) Of San Francisco's Chinatown . One evening, while he was developing the photos of Mrs. Fong's grumpy son, he heard his neighbor, the detective Sam McCloud, come into his studio. Ronnie wants to be accepted by Sam as a partner, after all he has a gun. He also developed a special camera that can be used to take photos through keyholes. McCloud refuses, but has to go to Chicago immediately and asks Ronnie to take any calls. While Ronnie is still dreaming of a life as a detective in Sam's office, Carlotta Montay arrives. Her wheelchair-bound uncle, Baron Montay, has been kidnapped and needs help from Sam, who she thinks Ronnie is. She feels - rightly - pursued and gives Ronnie her current address and a card, which he is to defend with his life. After Carlotta leaves, Ronnie hides the card in the water dispenser in his office and drives to the address, an estate. He is received there by Kismet, who helps him take off his coat and steals his pistol in the process. Carlotta tells Ronnie that after her uncle's kidnapping she sought help from his former business partner, Major Simon Montague; since then she has lived with him and feels persecuted. After Montague sends Carlotta away, he leads Ronnie to the baron, who also lives in the house. Together with the neurologist Dr. Lundau and Tony tell Ronnie that Carlotta is a little crazy, that she imagined it all. But it is harmless, you only have to be careful when it is aroused. Ronnie therefore leaves the house. As soon as he is outside he notices that his pistol is gone. He therefore observes the house, sees Baron Montay get out of his wheelchair through a window and realizes that it is a doppelganger. Ronnie takes a photo with his keyhole camera to prove it. However, he is caught by Kismet, who immediately throws a knife at him. Ronnie escapes, but is followed and escapes into his office. With the developed picture he wants to call the police from Sam's office. But Kismet is already waiting there, knocks Ronnie down, takes the picture and destroys the negative.

When Ronnie comes to, Mrs. Fong appears, who wants to pick up her son's picture. Ronnie gives her the negative and says that he has withdrawn from the business, she should please have it developed elsewhere. He drives back to the property with the police. But everything looks uninhabited there. Kismet, who appears as a gardener, manages to convince the police that everything is in order. Ronnie, however, secretly searches the house. With difficulty, Kismet succeeds in getting him to find a reference to the Seacliffe Lodge Sanitorium . Ronnie drives there immediately, but is soon brought to Montague by Willie, an extremely physically strong but childishly naive guard. He wants the card from Ronnie. Ronnie and Carlotta, who are also present, send him to the wrong place. While Tony drives there, Ronnie and Carlotta are locked in neighboring rooms. However, the two managed to flee. Carlotta had been sent to the geologist James Collins by her uncle, who was also at the sanatorium, so the two of them go to see him. They learn from Collins that uranium is on the baron's land. Montay wants to give the uranium to the government, but Montague's group wants it too. Collins drives to the police with Ronnie and wants to inform the FBI about the kidnapping and the fake baron. However, Kismet, who was hiding in the car, shoots Collins in front of the police station with Ronnie's pistol and disappears. Ronnie does not notice this at first and makes himself suspicious, but is able to flee. Now he is wanted nationwide as the murderer of Collins. Nevertheless, he manages to travel to a hotel in Washington with Carlotta for the Baron's planned meeting with government officials . But since Ronnie and Carlotta don't get a room there, they let themselves be hired as boy and housekeeper to convict the gang. They actually manage to record a confession from Kismet on a dictaphone . Carlotta calls the police while Ronnie tries to keep the gang at bay with his pistol. The police arrive just before he's overwhelmed. But Ronnie does not succeed in playing the confession to the officers because Kismet was able to exchange the record. Montague gives the policeman Ronnie's name. So he was sent to San Quentin Prison.

According to this story, the journalists in the auditorium want to see the execution. Since Carlotta, with Sam's help, got the photo with the wrong major from Mrs. Fong, which Ronnie had mistaken for the baby photo, the matter is cleared up and the execution is canceled. Free again and hailed as the savior of Baron Montay, Ronnie says again that he is a great detective. Carlotta, who in the meantime has fallen in love with him, immediately talked him out of it again.

production

Production companies

Detective with Minor Errors was produced equally by Paramount Pictures and Hope Enterprises . This was the first film production for Bob Hope's company. Bob Hope was delighted with the freedom he had with running his own company.

occupation

The role of Carlotta was originally supposed to go to Paulette Goddard , but it finally went to Dorothy Lamour , who had previously played a leading role alongside Hope six times ( The way to Singapore , The way to Sansibar , Caught in the Draft , The way to Morocco , They Got Me Covered and The Road to Utopia ).

With Peter Lorre and Lon Chaney junior , two actors were used whom the audience already knew from the parodied films. For Lorre, there would be a particular mention of The Falcon's Trail , but he had also made a name for himself in related comedies such as Arsenic and Lace Cap . Chaney, on the other hand, repeated his role from From Mice and People and was also known from several horror films.

Two cameo appearances were perceived as spectacular . Alan Ladd played Sam McCloud, to whom Ronnie admits that he has always "wanted to be a cold-blooded detective like Humphrey Bogart , Dick Powell , even Alan Ladd if you like ". Hope's often “friendly opponent” Bing Crosby is terribly annoyed as the executioner Harry in the end because Ronnie's execution is canceled. Ronnie / Hope said: "He also accepts every role." Crosby got $ 25,000 for this cameo, which he donated in full.

For the costumes in detective with minor errors was Edith Head responsible.

Filming

The shooting of Detective with Minor Errors ran from July 15 to mid-September 1946. The shooting took place on location in Carmel-by-the-Sea , San Francisco , and San Quentin, as well as in Paramount Studios.

music

The soundtrack for Detective With Small Mistakes was written by Robert Emmett Dolan . In addition, Jay Livingston (music) and Ray Evans (text) wrote the two songs Beside You and My Favorite Brunette for the film. Beside You was sung by Dorothy Lamour when Carlotta tried to postpone talking to Ronnie at the mansion to keep Kismet from eavesdropping. The song was also fairly successful on the radio, making it several times in the variety list of songs with the largest radio audience, for example on May 28, 1947. The song My Favorite Brunette, however, did not appear in the film.

Premiere

Detective with Small Flaws premiered in Los Angeles on March 19, 1947 , and was released in US cinemas on April 4, 1947. The film was distributed by Paramount Pictures .

The German premiere was on March 26, 1983 on ARD .

synchronization

Detective with small mistakes was dubbed in 1979 by Berliner Synchron GmbH. Klaus Havenstein wrote the dialogue book and also directed the dubbing.

role actor Voice actor
Ronnie Jackson Bob Hope Frank Glaubrecht
Carlotta Montay Dorothy Lamour Marianne Gross
Kismet Peter Lorre Horst Gentzen
Willie Lon Chaney Junior Wolfgang Völz
Simon Montague Charles Dingle Joachim Cadenbach
James Collins Reginald Denny Jochen Schröder
Baron Montay Frank Puglia Eric Vaessen
Crawford Charles Arnt Friedrich G. Beckhaus
Sam McCloud Alan Ladd Norbert Langer

reception

Reviews

Most contemporary critics found the film quick and funny. Even if the film doesn't quite reach the high standard of the Bob Hope comedies and diminishes a bit towards the end, it gives Hope the opportunity to show what he is particularly good at: bringing gags and playing a coward. It has also been written that Peter Lorre and Lon Chaney Jr. add a lot to the film's humor.

Later critics also found detective with small mistakes quick and funny, or at least "funny written". The film doesn't have many really funny scenes, but it is always amusing; on the other hand, it is described as "full of highlights". Towards the end, the comic subsides, but this is due to the parodied genre. Other critics found the film a "lukewarm parody" and "reasonably entertaining at best". However, it was very annoying that no one said what the “terrorist group” wanted and which political direction it could be assigned to. This leaves a "gaping hole" in history.

Bob Hope is in his element, he has the opportunity to play what he can, and the parodied genre also suits him perfectly. His ability to masterfully combine his comic and dramatic talent makes the film special. On the other hand, the film was also rated as "penetratingly overplayed in the main role". Dorothy Lamour supported Hope very well.

Surprisingly, however, Peter Lorre and above all Lon Chaney junior are particularly funny; they are also often emphasized elsewhere. Lorre has a particularly memorable scene when he tried to put a wrong lead for Ronnie, but the latter repeatedly overlooks the hint. The perfectly timed music by Robert Emmet Dolan also helps in this scene. Chaney, on the other hand, repeats his role from Of Mice and People , but is funny and even "cute".

Director Elliott Nugent is mostly not mentioned in the reviews. The film is staged without any particular brilliance.

All in all, Detective with small mistakes is almost a classic comedy, a "truly unique and memorable film noir parody". It still entertains younger and older viewers and is therefore highly recommended. However, it is also written that the film is only a "halfway entertaining comic thriller". In any case, it had been a major hit with both critics and commercially, and was consistently rated as one of the best films with Bob Hope.

Gross profit

In the list of the highest grossing films in the United States and Canada in 1947 , Detective With Minor Errors ranks 31st at $ 3.1 million.

My Favorite ...

Detective with small mistakes , which emerged after Beloved Spionin from 1942 and Before Spies, Love and the Fire Brigade from 1951, was seen as part of a trilogy. In all three films, Bob Hope starred as an incompetent would-be spy or detective, and all of them are parodies of the respective genres. The original titles of the films, My Favorite Blonde , My Favorite Brunette and My Favorite Spy, also suggest a connection. Furthermore, the three films have little in common, the plot is independent and the characters of Hope have different names and characters.

aftermath

A radio version spoken by Bob Hope, among others, was broadcast on October 13, 1947 by The Sceen Guild Theater .

1975 was a detective with small mistakes in the USA in the public domain about, d. i.e., it became free of copyrights. At that time, a copyright had to be renewed in the USA after 28 years, which the rights holder of the film failed to do. One consequence of this is that there are many DVDs of the film that are confusing.

Bob Hope had a great influence on Woody Allen's work, which he confirmed several times. Craig Butler says this can be seen particularly well on detective with small flaws , as many of the gags in the film would fit well with films by everyone. However, Allen would have presented it more ironically. Wes Gehring gives examples. For example, Allen “borrowed” the scene in which Ronny is sitting alone in Sam's office and drinks his whiskey for his film Do it again, Sam . Ronnie's “false bravery” on death row is very similar to that shown by Woody Allen in a similar situation in Boris Gruschenko's Last Night . Especially one can see the influence of detective with small mistakes in the film Crimes and other small things .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f My Favorite Brunette (1947). In: American Film Institute . Retrieved on August 16, 2018 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g Wes D. Gehring: Parody as Film Genre . Greenwood Publishing Group, Westport 1999, ISBN 978-0-313-26186-2 , Hope's My Favorite Brunette, pp. 96-103 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed August 16, 2018]).
  3. ^ A b Personnel Intelligence About Hollywood . In: Motion Picture Herald . August 26, 1944, p.  31 ( online in Archive.org [accessed on August 16, 2018]).
  4. ↑ a b Emily Soares: My Favorite Brunette (1947). In: TCM. Archived from the original on March 24, 2016 ; accessed on August 16, 2018 .
  5. ↑ a b c d e James L. Neibaur: The Bob Hope Films . McFarland, Jefferson 2004, ISBN 978-0-7864-1050-7 , My Favorite Brunette, pp. 70–72 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed August 16, 2018]).
  6. ↑ Songs With Largest Radio Audiences . In: Variety . May 28, 1947, p.  42 (English, online at Archive.org [accessed August 16, 2018]).
  7. ↑ a b c Detective with small mistakes. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed August 16, 2018 . Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  8. ↑ Detective with small mistakes (1947). In: synchronkartei.de. German synchronous index , accessed on August 16, 2018 .
  9. ↑ My Favorite Brunette . In: Independent Exhibitors Film Bulletin . April 14, 1947, p.  30 (English, online at Archive.org [accessed August 16, 2018]).
  10. ↑ a b “My Favorite Brunette” with Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour . In: Harrison's Reports . February 22, 1947, p.  30 (English, online at Archive.org [accessed August 16, 2018]).
  11. ↑ My Favorite Brunette . In: Film Daily . February 21, 1947, p.  8 (English, online at Archive.org [accessed August 16, 2018]).
  12. ↑ a b c d e f g Craig Butler: My Favorite Brunette (1947). In: All Movie. Retrieved on August 16, 2018 .
  13. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Stuart Galbraith IV: My Favorite Brunette (Blu-ray). In: DVD-Talk. July 5, 2017, accessed August 16, 2018 .
  14. ↑ a b c d Graeme Clark: My Favorite Brunette. In: The Spinning Image. Retrieved on August 16, 2018 .
  15. ↑ a b c Dennis Schwartz: My Favorite Brunette. In: Ozus' World. June 28, 2006, accessed August 16, 2018 .
  16. ^ A b c Nicholas Laham: Currents of Comedy on the American Screen: How Film and Television Deliver Different Laughs for Changing Times . McFarland, Jefferson 2009, ISBN 978-0-7864-5383-2 , My Favorite Brunette: Bob Hope Enters the Dark and Shadowy World of Film Noir, pp. 56–60 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed August 16, 2018]).
  17. ↑ a b Dave Kehr : My Favorite Brunette. In: Chicago Reader . Retrieved on August 16, 2018 .
  18. ↑ Top Grossers of 1947 . In: Variety . January 7, 1948, p.  63 (English, online at Archive.org [accessed August 16, 2018]).
  19. ↑ My Favorite Brunette. In: Old Time Radio Downloads. Retrieved on August 16, 2018 .