Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number!
| Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster. | |
| Directed by | George Marshall |
| Screenplay by | George Kennett Albert E. Lewin Burt Styler |
| Story by | George Beck |
| Produced by | Edward Small |
| Starring | Bob Hope Elke Sommer Phyllis Diller Cesare Danova Marjorie Lord |
| Cinematography | Lionel Lindon |
| Edited by | Grant Whytock |
| Music by | William "By" Dunham Richard LaSalle |
Production company | Edward Small Productions |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
|
Running time | 99 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Box office | $4.3 million (est. US/ Canada rentals)[1] |
Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! is a 1966 American DeLuxe Color comedy film directed by George Marshall and starring Bob Hope, Elke Sommer and Phyllis Diller. It was written by George Kennett, Albert E. Lewin and Burt Styler from a story by George Beck.
This film was the first of three film collaborations for Hope and Diller, and was followed by Eight on the Lam (1967) and The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell (1968).[2]
Plot
Gorgeous French actress Didi has become more famous for commercials involving bubble baths than for acting. Fed up with the situation, she winds up running away for a while to Oregon, where she encounters middle-aged married realtor Tom Meade who agrees to secretly assist her and thereby becomes enmeshed in various complications when he and his wacky housekeeper try to hide her from being found by his wife and by the public.
Cast
- Bob Hope as Tom Meade
- Elke Sommer as Didi
- Phyllis Diller as Lily
- Cesare Danova as Pepe Pepponi
- Marjorie Lord as Mrs. Martha Meade
- Kelly Thordsen as Detective Shawn Regan
- Benny Baker as Detective Lt. Schwartz
- Terry Burnham as Doris Meade
- Joyce Jameson as telephone operator
- Harry von Zell as newscaster / off-screen narrator
- Kevin Burchett as Larry Meade
- Keith Taylor as Plympton
Production
The film was Bob Hope's second with Edward Small.[3] Filming started in October 1965.[4] It marked Phyllis Diller's film debut as a lead – she signed for five more pictures with Hope.[5]
Reception
With Bob Hope's film career on the downswing by the '60s, Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! was critically panned and compared to a "90-minute TV sitcom".[6]
The critic for The New York Times drew parallels with Up in Mabel's Room which Edward Small had made twenty years previously.[7] Reviews were poor.[8] However it performed well at the box office. Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! was listed in the 1978 book The Fifty Worst Films of All Time.
See also
References
- ^ "Big Rental Pictures of 1966", Variety, January 4, 1967 p 8
- ^ "Feature Film/TV Episode/Video/TV Movie/TV Special/TV Mini-Series/Documentary/Video Game/Short Film, with Bob Hope, Phyllis Diller (Sorted by Year Ascending)". IMDb.
- ^ Hopper, Hedda (August 2, 1965). "Star of 'Luv' Called Genius". Los Angeles Times. p. d17.
- ^ Martin, Betty (August 11, 1965). "MOVIE CALL SHEET: Train Wreck Derails Film". Los Angeles Times. p. d12.
- ^ Clifford, Terry. (May 1, 1966). "'Wrong Number' Starts Diller in Films". Chicago Tribune. p. g15.
- ^ JEFFREY COUCHMAN (May 6, 1979). "Bob Hope: More Than A Gagster?: Bob Hope: More Than A Gagster?". New York Times. p. 85.
- ^ "Bob Hope and 'A Wrong Number'". New York Times. June 9, 1966. p. 52.
- ^ Scheuer, Philip K. (June 15, 1966). "lke Sommer, Gags Bubble in Hope's 'Wrong Number'". Los Angeles Times. p. d14.
External links
- Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! at IMDb
- Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! at the TCM Movie Database (archived version)
- Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
- "Boy,_Did_I_Get_a_Wrong_Number 1966". Alamy. Retrieved August 21, 2023.
- "Boy Did I Get A Wrong Number 1966". Getty Images. Retrieved August 21, 2023.