The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell

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.

Bob Hope, Phyllis Diller, Gina Lollabrigida, and Jeffrey Hunter star in this very lightweight comedy about Army life. There's really not much to say, except it's not that great. It has a few laughs and may keep your mind off real-life problems, but the material is just embarrassing for the actors involved, especially Jeffrey Hunter who dreams! of Phyllis Diller. They really milk for every drop the ugliness of Phyllis Diller, but, if she cleaned herself up, she wouldn't look as bad as she's reputed to be. If you're looking for a Bob Hope movie, you couldn't do much worse than this film; but I haven't seen Cancel My Reservation. Don't say you haven't been warned. With them talking about beer all the time, this is one war with a head on it!

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.

Really funny plot drives this silly film regarding the boredom faced by soldiers in the Pacific during WWII. After the Japanese torpedo Hope's beer supply, he takes matters into his own hands to improve morale.

His effort to bring women on the island, only gets him male nurses and Phylis Diller. Although the plot drags a bit, and Hope's pranks seem dated, this is still a good flick with lots of harmless laughs. However, if you are politically correct, you will probably be offended.

I should start by affirming that I am NOT a fan of Bob Hope. He may have been one of the most admired comedians for years, but my parents' generation knew Hope as the old-school yakker taking Playboy Bunnies to Vietnam - so that he could cheer on the war, mind you - and he was practically forgotten by the time my generation became aware of entertainment (I might add that in the '80s, Hope disgustingly made jokes about AIDS-afflicted people). I'd wager that a lot my generation learned of him through a "Simpsons" episode where Homer watches footage of Bob Hope and Phyllis Diller acting like a caricature of hippies.

So it's inevitable that "The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell" is one of the cringiest movies that I've ever sat through. This stillbirth was obviously made for the older generation, as no one taking an interest in Hollywood's newer, edgier output would've subjected themselves to this. To be certain, I suspect that the most recognizable cast member to my generation is Dick Sargent, best known as the second Darrin on "Bewitched".

In conclusion, Frank Tashlin directed far better stuff in earlier years (he did a number of Looney Tunes cartoons, and then did some Jerry Lewis movies). I'd rather have my fingernails pulled out than watch this again.