I’ll Take Sweden
Picture: B-
Sound: C+ Extras: C- Film: C+
I had never hear of Bob Hope’s film I’ll Take Sweden prior to this review and although I had seen
dozens of his screwball comedies, this one remained tucked away and buried on
the shelves of forgotten land. However,
the DVD format enables viewers to experience films that they could either never
get on VHS or were out-of-print so long that it was nearly impossible to track
them down. While my expectations were
not necessarily high for this film, it basically turned out to be exactly what
anyone might expect from a standard Bob Hope film, especially a film without
the sidekick help of Bing Crosby.
The storyline is plain and simple as Bob plays a father of
a girl named Jojo, who is planning on getting married, but he does not see eye
to eye in her choice for a life partner.
So on a trip they take to Sweden, he hopes that this will be a chance
for her to forget all about marriage, but Sweden is filled with a very
conservative society that has high standard and morals, so maybe marriage is
not so bad for her after all.
Perhaps?
The film moves along at a very standard pace and the
comedy never really swells too high on the laugh chart, but fans of Bob Hope or
perhaps the groom to be –Frankie Avalon, might find this more tolerable than I
did. Released through MGM I’ll Take Sweden is a basic movie-only edition with a 1.66 X 1 anamorphic
transfer and original 2.0 mono sound.
The print is fairly sharp and balanced, although depth can be a problem
from time to time. Flesh tones seem
natural and good, and the Technicolor is consistent and holds up well even
despite the softness and grain that are apparent, but not overwhelming.
If you are in need of a few general laughs and don’t mind
paying a few bucks for the DVD, then be my guest. Most fill find it mildly pleasing and the DVD, while standard, at
least is of good enough quality to make the experience about as good as it gets
without too much money spent for a full restoration, which will likely not
happen for a film like this.
- Nate Goss
