Caught in the Draft *** (1941, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Lynne Overman, Eddie Bracken) – Classic Movie Review 10,687

The 1941 comedy Caught in the Draft stars Bob Hope as a famous vain Hollywood movie star scaredy-cat, who tries to avoid being called up in World War Two, but is drafted into the US Army. 

Director David Butler’s 1941 comedy Caught in the Draft stars Bob Hope as Don Bolton, a famous vain Hollywood movie star scaredy-cat, who tries to avoid being called up in World War Two but is drafted into the US Army and discovers that life in the services isn’t the bed of roses like working in films.

Hope delivers an amusing wartime army comedy that re-unites him with his Road films co-star Lamour as the commanding officer Colonel Peter Fairbanks (Clarence Kolb)’s romantically inclined daughter, ‘Tony’ Fairbanks. There is funny stuff from Lynne Overman and Eddie Bracken too as his agent and driver drafted in to help him out on the tough basic training.

The patchy film, with some over-silly moments, works better in funny stretches than as a hilarious whole, but there is some near-vintage Hope material here. Caught in the Draft is all very carefree and escapist considering that there was a war going on at the time.

The original story and screenplay are by Harry Tugend, with additional dialogue by Wilkie C Mahoney.

Caught in the Draft film was a big hit, taking $2.2 million in US rentals, and became Paramount Pictures’ second most successful release of 1941 after Louisiana Purchase, also with Bob Hope.

The Bob Hope Thanks for the Memories collection featuring six Hope films made in the 1930s and 1940s was released by Universal Studios Home Entertainment on 8 June 2010, [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]. Three of the films, Thanks for the Memory (1938), The Cat and the Canary (1939), and Nothing but the Truth were making their DVD debuts. Also included are The Ghost Breakers, Road to Morocco and The Paleface.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 10,687

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