Give Me a Sailor, a comedy starring legendary comedian Bob Hope, is now available for fans to bring home on Blu-ray for the first time from Universal. The new Blu-ray is sans bonus features or a digital copy.

The film is one of three new films that Universal is releasing on Blu-ray this week. Give Me a Sailor runs just shy of an hour and a half, but despite Hope’s casting or Edith Head’s costumes, it might not be for everyone. I’m a Bob Hope fan and so his casting piqued my interest in watching the B-movie comedy, but unfortunately, it couldn’t keep me as actively engaged with the film as some of his other work such as Caught in the Draft. Interestingly, it was the first time that Paramount Pictures allowed Hope and Martha Raye co-star as leads after two previous films together with lower billing.

The thing with Hope, and maybe it’s why I struggled to be as actively engaged with Give Me a Sailor, is that he felt frustrated as an actor while making the film during the first half of 1938. His career wasn’t going in the direction that he hoped it would at this point. He was a few years away from teaming up with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour in the hit Road To… series. In fact, the highlight of 1938 came not in this film but The Big Broadcast of 1938 with the introduction of his signature tune, “Thanks for the Memory.” But still, it’s either take a role or be suspended.

Synopsis

Bob Hope stars in Give Me a Sailor, a zany, fast-paced comedy packed with romantic mix-ups and slapstick fun! Sailor brothers Jim (Hope) and Walter (Jack Whiting) both fall for Nancy (Betty Grable), while her quirky sister Letty (Martha Raye) schemes to win Walter’s heart. From cooking disasters to a leg-photo contest that changes everything, the chaos doubles—and so does the comedy! With Edith Head’s stylish costumes, catchy tunes like “What Goes On Here in My Heart” and “A Little Kiss at Twilight,” plus Hope’s charm and Raye’s comic genius, this screwball classic is pure entertainment gold.

DIRECTOR: Elliott Nugent
SCREENWRITERS: Doris Anderson and Frank Butler
CAST: Martha Raye, Bob Hope, with Betty Grable, Jack Whiting, Clarence Kolb, and J.C. Nugent

Paramount Pictures released Give Me a Sailor in theaters on August 19, 1938.

Please subscribe to The Solzy Report and visit Dugout Dirt.