Themes: Social Climbing, Assumed Identities, Actor's Life
Main Cast: Bob Hope, Lucille Ball, Bruce Cabot, Jack Kirkwood, Eric Blore, Lea Penman
Release Year: 1950
Country: US
Run Time: 92 minutes
MPAA Rating: G
Plot
Fancy Pants is a musicalized remake of the oft-filmed Harry Leon Wilson story Ruggles of Red Gap, tailored to the talents of "Mr. Robert Hope (formerly Bob)". The basic plotline of the original, that of an English butler entering the service of a rowdy nouveau-riche family from the American West, is retained. The major difference is that main character (Bob Hope) plays a third-rate American actor who only pretends to be a British gentleman's gentleman. Social-climbing American heiress Lucille Ball hires Hope to impress her high-society English acquaintances, then takes him back to her ranch in New Mexico. Though there are many close shaves, Hope manages to convince the wild and woolly westerners that he's a genuine British Lord--even pulling the wool over the eyes of visiting celebrity Teddy Roosevelt (John Alexander). Never as droll as the 1935 Leo McCarey-directed Ruggles of Red Gap, Fancy Pants nonetheless works quite well on its own broad, slapsticky level. If the ending seems abrupt, it may be because the original finale, in which a fleeing Bob Hope and Lucille Ball were to be rescued by surprise guest star Roy Rogers, was abandoned just before the scene was shot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Although Fancy Pants is not as good as its source, Ruggles of Red Gap, it's still an entertaining, sometimes silly way to pass an hour and a half. Pants does present a good case study of how Hollywood did (and still does) deal with obstacles. The basic premise of Ruggles offers the potential for some classic Bob Hope gags. But since Ruggles is built around an English butler, and since Hope's well-established persona would prevent an audience from accepting him as a legitimate Englishman, what is one to do? The answer is to make Hope an actor (a lousy one, of course) who is only pretending to be an Englishman. In the right hands, this could make for a very interesting exploration of reality and deception that still has a great deal of humor. That doesn't happen here, with the creators instead opting for a standard issue "throw in the gags and crazy situations" approach, which makes Pants a fairly scattershot affair. Fortunately, Hope and Lucille Ball are around and in delicious form, so they manage to make up for the screenplay's shortcomings, including a curiously weak climax, and George Marshall directs with maximum speed to help paper over defects. And there are quite a few moments that work like gangbusters. Pants doesn't hold together, but it's a good old fun time that allows viewers to bask in the glow of a great pair of comedic talents. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
Hugh French - George Van-Basingwell; Joseph Vitale - Wampum; John Alexander - Theodore Roosevelt; Norma Varden - Lady Maude; Joe Wong - Wong; Hank Bell - Barfly; Ray Bennett - Secret Service Man; Oliver Blake - Mr. Andrews; Chester Conklin - Guest; Charles Cooley - Man; Edgar Dearing - Mr. Jones; Jimmie Dundee - Henchman; Alex Frazer - Stagehand; Sam Harris - Umpire; Percy Helton - Maj. Fogarty; Robin Hughes - Cyril; Olaf Hytten - Stage Manager; Virginia Kelly - Rosalind; Colin Keith-Johnston - Twombley; Bob Kortman - Henchman; Harry Martin - Englishman; Henry Mirelez; Ida Moore - Betsy, Bessie; Howard Petrie - US Government Agent; Jean Ruth - Miss Wilkins; Almira Sessions - Belle; Gilchrist Stuart - Wicket Keeper; Ethel Wales - Mrs. Wilkins; Grace Albertson - Dolly
Credit
Hans Dreier - Art Director, Earl Hedrick - Art Director, Billy Daniels - Choreography, Mary Kay Dodson - Costume Designer, Gile Steele - Costume Designer, Oscar Rudolph - First Assistant Director, George Marshall - Director, Archie Marshek - Editor, Van Cleave - Composer (Music Score), Nathan VanCleave - Composer (Music Score), Ray Evans - Songwriter, Jay Livingston - Songwriter, Wally Westmore - Makeup, Charles B. Lang - Cinematographer, Robert L. Welch - Producer, Sam Comer - Set Designer, Emile Kuri - Set Designer, Gordon Jennings - Special Effects, Gene Merritt - Sound/Sound Designer, Don Johnson - Sound/Sound Designer, Edmund L. Hartmann - Screenwriter, Robert O'Brien - Screenwriter, Harry Leon Wilson - Short Story Author
A B-grade stage actor who always messes up the role of a butler by spilling a tray's contents onto an actress because he's kinda creepy (once at least because of a dart aimed at his rear end) is convinced to play the role of a butler for a Western (United States) family who are about to host PresidentTheodore Roosevelt.
The deception is eventually uncovered, and the actor (Bob Hope) and the family's daughter (Lucille Ball) eventually fall in love.
The film is often misinterpreted as depicting Native Americans and Chinesestereotypical, though for the times this film treats them sympathetically, as seen in the song "Home Cookin".
