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2014.04.05
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Casanova's Big Night (1954) DVD5 - Bob Hope Comedy [DDR]
Casanova's Big Night (1954) is a comedy film starring Bob Hope and Joan Fontaine, which is a spoof of swashbuckling historical adventure films. It was directed by Norman Z. McLeod.
Hope plays a tailor who impersonates Giacomo Casanova, the great lover. The film also stars Audrey Dalton, Basil Rathbone, Hugh Marlowe, John Carradine, Hope Emerson, Lon Chaney, Jr., Raymond Burr, Natalie Schafer, and Vincent Price (in a cameo appearance as the real Casanova).
CAST:-
Bob Hope as Pippo Popolino
Joan Fontaine as Francesca Bruni
Audrey Dalton as Elena Di Gambetta
Basil Rathbone as Lucio / Narrator
Hugh Marlowe as Stefano Di Gambetta
Arnold Moss as The Doge
John Carradine as Foressi
John Hoyt as Maggiorin
Hope Emerson as Duchess of Castelbello
Robert Hutton as Raphael, Duc of Castelbello
Lon Chaney Jr. as Emo the Murderer
Raymond Burr as Bragadin
Frieda Inescort as Signora Di Gambetta
Primo Carnera as Corfa
Frank Puglia as Carabaccio
Directed by Norman Z. McLeod
Produced by Paul Jones
Written by Aubrey Wisberg
Screenplay by Edmund Hartmann, Hal Kanter
Music by Lyn Murray
SYNOPSIS:- Casanova's Big Night (1954)
Bob Hope tries to capture the comic magic of his 1946 costume farce Monsieur Beaucaire with the splashy Technicolor romp Casanova's Big Night (filmed in 1952, released in 1954). Set in 18th century Venice, the film casts Hope as Pippo, the humble tailor of notorious ladies' man Casanova (an unbilled Vincent Price). When Casanova skips town without paying his debts, the local tradesman's guild, led by Casanova's butler Lucio (Basil Rathbone), conspire to pass off one of their number as the great lover and arrange a profitable marriage. Selected to impersonate Casanova is the hapless Pippo, who soon afterward is hired by the imperious Duchess of Castelbello (Hope Emerson) to test the fidelity of the duchess' future daughter-in-law Elena (Audrey Dalton). Along the way, Pippo is given lessons in etiquette and swordsmanship by both Lucio and tradeswoman Francesca (Joan Fontaine). Eventually, Pippo finds himself up to his neck in court intrigue, courtesy of the scheming Doge of Venice (Arnold Moss). Further complications include a couple of hilarious swashbuckling scenes, an interlude in a dungeon with addlepated prisoner Emo (Lon Chaney), and the obligatory disguise scene. The Pirandellian ending of Casanova's Big Night was later imitated by such films as The Maltese Bippy (1969) and Wayne's World (1992). Bob Hope is in fine form, the production is sumptuous and the supporting cast superb, but somehow there's a little something missing in Casanova's Big Night.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:-
Video Codec: MPEG-2
Video Bitrate: 4999 kbps
Video Resolution: 720x480
Video Aspect Ratio: 1.333:1
Frames Per Second: 23.976
Audio Codec: AC3
Audio Bitrate: 192kb/s CBR 48000 Hz
Audio Streams: 2
Audio Languages: English
RunTime 86 mins
Subtitles: None
Ripped by: Trinidad [DDR]
Duration: 86 mins
