Casanova's Big Night (1954)

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

One of Bob Hope's last big-budget studio productions is an elaborate yet rather patchy costumer in Technicolor, with the star only impersonating the famed Venetian lothario (he's played, briefly, by an uncredited Vincent Price!). The film, in fact, has a truly imposing supporting cast (Joan Fontaine, Basil Rathbone, Hugh Marlowe, John Carradine, John Hoyt, Lon Chaney Jr., Raymond Burr and Paul Cavanaugh among others) which, however, doesn't really allow any of them to shine – while embarrassing somewhat Fontaine (an unlikely comedienne) and Rathbone (in the equally undignified role of Casanova's long-suffering valet); for the record, horror icon Chaney appears in a bit as a crazed prisoner.The plot has tailor's assistant Hope offering to replace the fleeing and debt-ridden Casanova; he's subsequently involved in a scheme wherein a lady is to be compromised – and in which the warmongering Doge of Venice (with the aid of advisers Carradine and Burr, who are naturally just as unscrupulous) sees an opportunity to start a war with a neighboring state. The film offers typical routines and lines for the star (he even gets to appear in drag) – which, ultimately, may be its problem as this is clearly a case of 'we've been here once too often' (even if his most obvious earlier title in this vein, MONSIEUR BEAUCAIRE [1946], I've yet to catch in its entirety); having said that, Hope did previously star in a film called THE GREAT LOVER (1949) – which I've haven't seen either – but in it he played a private eye.Incidentally, the character of Casanova is certainly among the more popular in cinema – a subject attracting to it all kinds of stars (not to mention a bevy of beauties) and film-makers: from Riccardo Freda and Vittorio Gassman to Luigi Comencini and Leonard Whiting, from Federico Fellini and Donald Sutherland to Ettore Scola and Marcello Mastroianni…not to mention Michael Sarrazin (under the direction of "Euro-Cult" stalwart Enzo G. Castellari), Tony Curtis, Richard Chamberlain and all the way down to the recent Lasse Hallstrom-Heath Ledger outing.

This is a great film for all Bob Hope fans and lovers of vintage comedy everywhere. The colour, as in a lot of these old movies, is very rich and is a real treat for the eyes. As pointed out by other reviewers, the theme is quite similar to that of Bob's earlier black and white film "Monsieur Beaucaire", but none the worse for it.In order to save a group of merchants from bankruptcy, Bob, as Pippo Popolino, a miserable tailor's apprentice, agrees to impersonate the great lover "Casanova". As Casanova, he is engaged by a Duchess to test the love of her son's future bride and is promised a large sum of money if succeeding in the seduction. The jokes arrive thick and fast and as usual, Bob's delivery is masterful. Ironically though, for me, one of the funniest lines comes from Basil Rathbone who, playing Lucio, the former servant of Casanova sharing in the deception of the impersonation of his former master, declares to the hapless Pippo at a particularly frustrating moment "You'll never be anyone other than Pippo Popolino and I can't think of anything more insulting!". There are excellent supporting roles from the aforementioned Rathbone and Arnold Moss as the Doge, who our hero refers to as "a snake with a beard". There are some great visual jokes too with Bob remarking while dancing with his intended victim "I have a big following in Venice" at which point his sword drags a tablecloth loaded with crockery from a table, which he then trails behind him in the dance and tries to kick away nonchalantly. What really makes the film though is the pace and delivery of Bob's stream of one-liners.Mr Hope at his very best!

The jokes may be old, but the great timing of Bob Hope will keep you laughing throughout this comedy about the great romancer. Keep an eye out for Raymond Burr, who has a small role in the film.

Is Bob Hope's character here the model for Woody Allen's character of Boris Grushenko in "Love and Death"?Both characters travel to a distant city disguised as someone above their station.Woody's character is praised for his "inadvertent heroism", and so is Bob's. Bob's characters are always pretty craven, from "The Cat and the Canary" right on through, but Woody's are usually just neurotic and a little timid, rather than cowardly. There is a closer correspondence here than usual.Both films contain a mock duel which Bob/Woody manages to win. There is also an overlapping duel joke or two.Woody plays Casanova with the luscious Countess Alexandrovna.I only saw a portion of "Casanova's Big Night" so I can't make a fuller comparison between these two costume comedies, one set in the late 18th century, the other in the early 19th.In general, this film seemed to me to be one of the weakest Hope vehicles that I've seen, although I've always laughed at the film's ironic title.