Bob Hope and Lucille Ball are two of the biggest stars ever to come down the pike. With faces recognized the world over, they each remain untouched as far as popularity. That said, “Fancy Pants,” although it starred both of them, pretty much stunk.
Lucille Ball stars as Aggie Floud, an American girl from a small town called Big Squaw. Her family has recently come in to money, and she and her mother are touring Europe. When an English lord decides to court Aggie, he realizes her devotion to family, but he has none. He heads down to his favorite local theater and hires the cast of a play to pose as his family. Arthur Tyler (Bob Hope) the man who plays the part of Humphrey the butler, goes along for the ride.
When Aggie claps eyes on “Humphrey,” she instinctively can’t stand him. But Mrs. Floud thinks he’s just what they need back at home, and she promises “Humprey” a whole lot of money to come work for her instead. Arthur has been down on his luck for quite a while, and the thought of a long-term job appeals to him. If it means playing a butler, well, he can do that.
But somehow the wires get crossed and when Arthur arrives in Big Squaw, the good townspeople believe he is an earl. Not only that, but President Roosevelt has been on a tour of the nation, and he’s caught wind that a real earl is in the country. He plans to swoop by on his way to meet said earl.
Arthur is in over his head as he tries to remember which crowd he’s playing for. One minute he’s a butler, the next, he’s an earl, when in reality, he’s just an actor. He tells Aggie his secret, and for the first time, a friendship starts to spring up between the two of them and they start working together. And it’s a good thing, too – Roosevelt shows up early.
The storyline is essentially cute. However, the whole thing is done to death. Hope’s antics are stretched out far too long, and I kept editing the rambling dialogue in my head. If someone had gone through the script with a red pen, I think we would have ended up with a better film, overall.
Oh, and you’re not to believe for a minute that was really Lucille Ball singing. Her voice was dubbed for all her musical numbers.
This movie was rated G.
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