CANCEL MY RESERVATION

US, 1972, 86 minutes, Colour.
Bob Hope, Eva Marie Saint, Ralph Bellamy, Forrest Tucker, Anne Archer, Chief Dan George.
Directed by Paul Bogart.

Cancel My Reservation was one of the last films made by Bob Hope. He is once again teamed with Eva Marie Saint, with whom he had starred in the '50s in That Certain Feeling. This is quite an amusing film with echoes of the thriller, the murder mystery, the criticism of exploiters of the environment. There are also references to the plight of the Indians - a popular theme at the time of this film, as evidenced by Soldier Blue and Little Big Man. The engaging star of Little Big Man, Chief Dan George, appears in this film. While entertaining, with its points made via the comedy and Bob Hope's presence, the film is somewhat strained and not the best Hope comedy.

1. Was this a good comedy? How funny was it? Why was it funny? Its portrayal of human foibles?

2. How successfully did the film use thriller conventions? Old fashioned film thriller conventions?

3. How well did the film blend comedy and thriller? Via the characters, the situations, the irony of the dialogue? The use of colour. locations, music etc.?

4. How typical a Bob Hope vehicle was this film? How important for it was Hope's personality? What type of personality emerged from this film? How attractive, sympathetic? How hard and crusty? The personality as derived from the wisecracks? The references? The tone? How genuinely humorous was Hope?

5. How interesting a character was Bartlett? As a TV personality. his comments on himself. as a weak kind of man, as a humorist, as a man in the modern city needing a rest., etc., his relationship with the people, the quality of his married life, love., his relationship to the sheriff, his earnestness and the importance of clearing his name, his handling of crises? Was he a character or a surface caricature style?

6. How attractive was his wife? As coming from the sane environment? The early years of her marriage. no children, bickering? Her idea of women? Her role on TV and the programme? Her support of her husband, the change into love? The possibilities of the future?

7. How convincing were the villains? Typical cinema villains? Their behaviour and menacing? Villainy of throwing women into the river, etc.?

8. How important for the film was the character of the sheriff and his assistants? Relentlessness, slowness of wit. yet pursuing the truth.

9. How attractive a girl was Crazy. The modern girl contrasting with Mrs. Bartlett? Her linking with the Indians? Providing a dramatic finale?

10. How important was the Indian theme for the film? The wisecracks about white and red men? The importance of land? The points that Bob Hope made? The implications of the plot? The death of Mary? The character of Joe Littlecloud? The importance of Big Bear? The dignity of the Indian in Big Bear and his telling what he knew?