Themes: Political Corruption, Miscarriage of Justice
Main Cast: Bob Hope, Vera Zorina, Victor Moore, Irene Bordoni, Dona Drake
Release Year: 1941
Country: US
Run Time: 95 minutes
Plot
The Irving Berlin-Morrie Ryskind Broadway musical hit Louisiana Purchase came to the screen with surprisingly few emendations in 1941. Bob Hope replaces Broadway's William Gaxton in the role of innocent political flunkey Jim Taylor, set up to take the fall for wholesale graft by a group of corrupt Louisiana politicians. Taylor's friendly adversary is bumptuous U.S. senator Loganberry (Victor Moore, repeating his stage role), whose efforts at reform only end up getting him in hot water as well. Loganberry solves his own problems by marrying Mme. Bordelaise (Irene Bordoni), the temptress who'd been sent out to place him in a compromising position, forcing Taylor to straighten out the mess himself in a hilarious climactic courtroom filibuster. ("If it's good enough for James Stewart, it's good enough for me.") Some of the satirical bite of the Broadway version had to be blunted for movie-audience consumption, though Paramount managed to avoid potential lawsuits by using a device which originated in the play: an amusing opening "opera bouffe" wherein it was established beyond all doubt that Louisiana was a totally mythical state! (At one point, a bevy of chorus girls sing the "any resemblance to actual persons living or dead" disclaimer.) On a historical note, Louisiana Purchase was Bob Hope's first Technicolor appearance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Although in some ways Louisiana Purchase is one of the more faithful cinematic transfers of a Broadway musical in the 1930s and 1940s, it still falls short of being faithful enough. This is obvious when one realizes that leading man Bob Hope doesn't even get a song; this creates a serious imbalance and makes the truncated score feel out of place. What is left of the score is choice, with the opening comically effective and with the beautiful "It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow" nicely sung by an African-American chorus. Vera Zorina and Victor Moore do well with "You're Lovely and I'm Lonely" and Dona Drake certainly enlivens things with the title number. But with Hope "voiceless," the songs (and Zorina's ballet) just don't connect the way they should. Hope does well with his gags, although it must be admitted that the level of humor in the writing isn't always up to the level of talent that delivers them. Hope's filibuster, however, is fairly priceless. When she's not singing or dancing, Zorina displays a fine flair for comedy and looks absolutely sensational, and Moore is charmingly befuddled as usual. The physical production is surprisingly elaborate for a Hope vehicle, with a stunning Mardi Gras sequence especially deserving of note. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
