Mash: la guerra privata del Sgt. O'Farrell

By the time Bob Hope got to making The Private Navy of Sgt O'Farrell the comedy well was running a bit dry. Thiw was material that he could have done 20 years before, during the post World War II period.

Somebody must have gotten an idea for this film noticing that in McHale's Navy, Ernest Borgnine, Tim Conway and the gang had their own personal Japanese prisoner. So a whole film was built around a leftover Japanese soldier on the backwater island that Hope is stationed on. Hope has his own Ensign Parker in Jeffrey Hunter and his own Captain Binghamton in John Myhers.

We've got both Army and Navy personnel here though the Navy seems to be in charge. John Myhers is no Joe Flynn with that officious monotone as Captain Binghamton. And no one would ever say that Jeffrey Hunter had Tim Conway's gift for comedy.

And Hope looks every bit of the 65 years he had under his belt when this film was made. He ought to have been stateside collecting those first Social Security checks issued.

Mako does well as Calvin Coolidge Ishimura an American Japanese who had the misfortune to be visiting relatives in the old country at the time of Pearl Harbor. And Phyllis Diller as the man starved nurse Krauss earns a few laughs.

The film is about Hope's pursuit of a sunken supply ship that was loaded with beer. From what I remember of the army it probably would have been near beer which was all an enlisted man could get on Fort Polk, so I didn't see what the fuss was about. Frank Tashlin the director clearly ripped this one off from the classic British comedy Whiskey Galore.

Joke kind of fell flat as the beer probably was.

I have never expected a great deal from Bob Hope's comedies and know perfectly well that his films were meant to amuse their audiences in a lighthearted, unpretentious way. Hope was always the same as an actor but even his sameness was somewhat brilliant and I tend to like him. I remember having had lots of fun seeing THE PALEFACE, Paris HOLIDAY, BACHELOR IN PARADISE and other of his films. THE PRIVATE NAVY OF SGT. O'FARRELL is just an average effort. Frank Tashlin was an excellent director but this is not one of his major comedies. The plot could have resulted in a more substantial screenplay, in better devised and more entertaining comic scenes. The film has an obvious 60's look and no effort was made to give it a more authentic 40's atmosphere. Hope and Diller are their usual selves, and occasionally make one laugh. Gina Lollobrigida is as beautiful as ever but has very little to do. As usual, she is merely seen as a decorative presence. She could be so much more, as we know from films such as COME September, HOTEL PARADISO and BUONA SERA, MRS. CAMPBELL. Mylène Demongeot does a sort of cameo. It would have been to the film's advantage to give her more screen time.

Arguably Bob Hope's worst comedy (and that includes some heavy competition). Stuck on an island with sailors, Hope's Sgt. O'Farrell dreams aloud of being in a bathtub with a geisha girl "steering his ship." Somebody certainly steered this Hope-hackery over the cliff, as it features Phyllis Diller and Gina Lollobrigida and still can't work up any laughs or excitement. Frank Tashlin is to blame for the lax direction (he also had a hand in the screenplay, though I have no idea why he wanted the credit). Alan Stensvold's cinematography is an eyesore, and Hope has never seemed so square and bland. Where's Bing Crosby when you need him? NO STARS from ****

Many people cannot stand Bob Hope and his mannerisms, and, to be honest, I am one of them. Most of his films are little more than an extended stand-up routine of his with mostly rather predictable jokes.

But sometimes he pulled off a better film, like his Paleface movies, and this one here is even better - it must surely be the best film of his career, although most critics failed to notice it. Apart from having better jokes and a better cast than the usual Hope effort, this film even comes with a message. It is anti-racism and anti-war but it does not wear this attitude on its sleeves, it merely subverts it under the cover of slapstick comedy into the mind of the viewer. I'll be hard pushed to name another anti-war movie which brings across its message so effectively, and this is an amazing thing to say about a Bob Hope flick, given the stiff and famous competition in this field.

I own this movie and I really did not think that it would be all that great. But I was pleasantly surprised. It's GREAT and Bob Hope and Phyllis Diller work great together. I highly recommend it. I love the two of them together. I have to say that I consider Bob Hope to be in the top 10 of funniest comedians.