FANCY PANTS (DVD) FF/DOL DIG(ENG MON/ENG SUB) DVD

Fancy Pants
Fancy Pants is a musicalized remake of the oft-filmed Harry Leon Wilson story Ruggles of Red Gap, tailored to the talents of "Mr. Robert Hope (formerly Bob)". The basic plotline of the original, that of an English butler entering the service of a rowdy nouveau-riche family from the American West, is retained. The major difference is that main character (Bob Hope) plays a third-rate American actor who only pretends to be a British gentleman's gentleman. Social-climbing American heiress Lucille Ball hires Hope to impress her high-society English acquaintances, then takes him back to her ranch in New Mexico. Though there are many close shaves, Hope manages to convince the wild and woolly westerners that he's a genuine British Lord--even pulling the wool over the eyes of visiting celebrity Teddy Roosevelt (John Alexander). Never as droll as the 1935 Leo McCarey-directed Ruggles of Red Gap, Fancy Pants nonetheless works quite well on its own broad, slapsticky level. If the ending seems abrupt, it may be because the original finale, in which a fleeing Bob Hope and Lucille Ball were to be rescued by surprise guest star Roy Rogers, was abandoned just before the scene was shot. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast Bob Hope as Arthur Tyler Lucille Ball as Agatha Floud Bruce Cabot as Cart Belknap Jack Kirkwood as Mike Floud Eric Blore as Sir Wimbley Lea Penman as Effie Floud Hugh French as George Van-Basingwell Joseph Vitale as Wampum John Alexander as Theodore Roosevelt Norma Varden as Lady Maude Joe Wong as Wong

Crew Hans Dreier - Art Director Earl Hedrick - Art Director Billy Daniels - Choreography Mary Kay Dodson - Costume Designer Gile Steele - Costume Designer Oscar Rudolph - First Assistant Director George Marshall - Director Archie Marshek - Editor Van Cleave - Composer (Music Score) Nathan VanCleave - Composer (Music Score) Jay Livingston - Songwriter Ray Evans - Songwriter Wally Westmore - Makeup Charles B. Lang - Cinematographer Robert L. Welch - Producer Sam Comer - Set Designer Emile Kuri - Set Designer Gordon Jennings - Special Effects Gene Merritt - Sound/Sound Designer Don Johnson - Sound/Sound Designer Edmund L. Hartmann - Screenwriter Robert O'Brien - Screenwriter Harry Leon Wilson - Short Story Author

Fancy Pants
Although Fancy Pants is not as good as its source, Ruggles of Red Gap, it's still an entertaining, sometimes silly way to pass an hour and a half. Pants does present a good case study of how Hollywood did (and still does) deal with obstacles. The basic premise of Ruggles offers the potential for some classic Bob Hope gags. But since Ruggles is built around an English butler, and since Hope's well-established persona would prevent an audience from accepting him as a legitimate Englishman, what is one to do? The answer is to make Hope an actor (a lousy one, of course) who is only pretending to be an Englishman. In the right hands, this could make for a very interesting exploration of reality and deception that still has a great deal of humor. That doesn't happen here, with the creators instead opting for a standard issue "throw in the gags and crazy situations" approach, which makes Pants a fairly scattershot affair. Fortunately, Hope and Lucille Ball are around and in delicious form, so they manage to make up for the screenplay's shortcomings, including a curiously weak climax, and George Marshall directs with maximum speed to help paper over defects. And there are quite a few moments that work like gangbusters. Pants doesn't hold together, but it's a good old fun time that allows viewers to bask in the glow of a great pair of comedic talents. ~ Craig Butler, All Movie Guide
 

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General Specifications: Language Options: English Subtitle Options: English Sound Processing: DD1: Dolby Digital Mono Additional Features: cc Full screen format English subtitles Dolby Digital English mono DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1: Pre-1954 Standard MPAA Rating: G DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 1 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 92 min Part of Series: Paramount Collection   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- 1. The Cricket Field [4:50] 2. Weekend Players [5:32] 3. Brinstead Manor [7:53] 4. A Wanted Butler [5:23] 5. Wild West [8:45] 6. Humphrey at Work [7:50] 7. The Public Awaits [8:18] 8. Yellow Dog Saloon [7:55] 9. A Star at Last [5:21] 10. All Hail the Chief [9:17] 11. Sly As a Fox Hunt [7:25] 12. Man's Best Friends [5:47] 13. Final Performance [7:42]