My Favorite Blonde (1942)

A British secret agent (Madeleine Carroll) is on the run from some enemy agents after the secret plans in her possession. She enlists the help of a reluctant vaudeville performer (Bob Hope) who has a penguin act and the two proceed to a mad cross country dash from New York to California with the enemy agents in hot pursuit. Directed by Sidney Lanfield (HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES), this isn't one of Bob Hope's most memorable comedies but it's a pleasant diversion. The lovely Madeleine Carroll makes for a decent straight "man" to Hope's quips but the wonderful Gale Sondergaard is so shockingly wasted I wonder if her part was cut down in the editing room. But it moves rapidly at a quick hour and 18 minutes without any unnecessary padding. With George Zucco and Dooley Wilson and a cameo by Bing Crosby (so quick you might miss it).