Great On Screen Couples: Bob Hope & Paulette Goddard

"Old Ski Nose" Bob Hope has starred with many of Hollywood's most fetching beauties in his hilarious comedies: Dorothy Lamour, Virgina Mayo, Lucille Ball, Hedy Lamarr, Jane Russell and Paulette Goddard. I personally think Paulette was his best on screen partner, no offense Bing. But Bob and Paulette did have wonderful chemistry. They made three films together: The Cat and The Canary (1939), The Ghost Breakers (1940) and Nothing But The Truth (1941). All three are very funny and showcase Bob and Paulette at their best. Their first film together The Cat and the Canary, which is a remake of the 1927 film of the same name. The plot has relatives gathering in New Orleans for the reading of a will and the setting is a creepy old mansion. Paulette plays Joyce, the heir who will inherit everything if she survives the night. Hope is Wally, a radio personality,who becomes involved with Joyce. There are thrills amid the laughs and it's a very good comedy but not the best of the three Hope and Goddard made together.

They would come back one year later for the much better The Ghost Breakers. This film pretty much has the same plot as The Cat and The Canary in that Bob plays another radio personality and him and Paulette must survive a night in another haunted mansion. But the laughs come much faster in this one. And the duo's chemistry is perfect as Bob has the scaredy guy down straight and Paulette is quite the beguiling leading lady. All that adds up to a wonderfully funny film.

However the two stars saved their best for last with the truly zany 1941 comedy Nothing But The Truth. In this one Bob plays stockbroker Steve Bennett who makes a bet with his co-workers that he can tell the truth for 24 hours. Paulette is the boss's niece who wants Steve to invest some money for her. The whole cast winds up on a yacht for a dinner party and it's a gas seeing Hope tap dance around the truth for a solid hour. Hope has never been better and Goddard ratchets up her game as well as she gets in on the fun too. I think it was a great move by placing the duo in a modern setting and not dealing with haunted mansions, zombies and murder. This made it seem like a breath of fresh air seeing the stars in this type of setting. It's too bad they didn't make anymore films together.

Bob Hope.

Bob Hope, made his first films in 1934 Educational Pictures for a short-subject comedy called, Going Spanish. Hope lost his contract with them when Walter Winchell asked him about the film. Hope joked, "When they catch John Dillinger, they're going to make him sit through it twice." Shortly after that he was working for New York's Vitaphone studio in 20-minute comedies and musicals from 1934 through 1936, beginning with Paree, Paree (1934).

Paramount Pictures signed Hope for the 1938 film The Big Broadcast of 1938. During a duet with Shirley Ross accompanied by Shep Fields and his orchestra, Hope introduced the song that he became best known for, "Thanks for the Memory".

Bob Hope's best known performance was in my favorite Bob Hope movie, My Favorite Brunette(1947). A movie poking fun at film noirs. With Lon Chaney, Jr. playing Willie, a character based on his Of Mice and Men role Lennie. Peter Lorre as Kismit and cameo appearances by Alan Ladd and Bing Crosby.


He also performed in the "Road" movies in which he performed with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour. Hope and Lamour were lifelong friends, and she is the actress most associated with his film career. Other female co-stars included Paulette Goddard, Lucille Ball, Jane Russell, and Hedy Lamarr.

My Favorite Bob Hope Movies

In honor of Bob Hope day on TCM's Summer Under The Stars on Sunday, I decided to make a top ten list of my favorite films of Bob Hope. Dawn, I would love to see your choices as well.

10.THEY GOT ME COVERED (1943) with Dorothy Lamour
9. MY FAVORITE BRUNETTE (1947) with Dorothy Lamour
8. ROAD TO MOROCCO (1942) with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour
7. THE PRINCESS AND THE PIRATE (1944) with Virginia Mayo
6. CAUGHT IN THE DRAFT (1941) with Dorothy Lamour
5. ROAD TO ZANZIBAR (1941) with Bing and Dorothy
4. MY FAVORITE BLONDE (1942) with Madeline Carroll
3. THE GHOST BREAKERS (1940) with Paulette Goddard
2. THE CAT AND THE CANARY (1939) with Paulette Goddard
1. NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH (1941) with Paulette Goddard