"I'll Take Sweden" is supposed to be set in Sweden, though it wasn't filmed there and almost none of the actors are Swedes. And, when they supposedly show Bob Hope and others in Sweden, they use cheap looking rear projection to superimpose themselves into the shots. They also show some of the Swedes as sex maniacs. All this lead me to wonder what Swedish people thought about this film!
When the story starts, Bob Holcolm (Bob Hope) is worried because his daughter, Jojo (Tuesday Weld) is smitten with a guy who seems immature and a bit goofy (Frankie Avalon). So, to break up this relationship, Bob takes a transfer with his company and now they both are in Sweden. Unfortunately, Jojo soon falls for Erik, a real womanizer.
"I'll Take Sweden" seems to be a film where Bob Hope is trying desperately to appeal to younger viewers...a group who traditionally were not Hope fans. I am not sure how they received this, but when I see it today I can't help but think that the basic plot is clever but the writing is lazy. In other words, Hope essentially talks and acts like Bob Hope doing a monologue*. Instead of sounding like a concerned father, he comes off as a bit phony....as NO ONE in real life talks like he did in this and many of his later films. Now I am NOT saying it's a bad film but it missed the mark and really could have been so much better. Filming it IN Sweden, having Hope act more human and infusing the film with a few jokes could have gone a long way to make this better.
*After watching the film, I read the review by vincentlynch-moonoi and they really summed it up well when they said "No Bob...this is a movie, not a t.v. Skit where all you need to do is rely on one liners".
When the story starts, Bob Holcolm (Bob Hope) is worried because his daughter, Jojo (Tuesday Weld) is smitten with a guy who seems immature and a bit goofy (Frankie Avalon). So, to break up this relationship, Bob takes a transfer with his company and now they both are in Sweden. Unfortunately, Jojo soon falls for Erik, a real womanizer.
"I'll Take Sweden" seems to be a film where Bob Hope is trying desperately to appeal to younger viewers...a group who traditionally were not Hope fans. I am not sure how they received this, but when I see it today I can't help but think that the basic plot is clever but the writing is lazy. In other words, Hope essentially talks and acts like Bob Hope doing a monologue*. Instead of sounding like a concerned father, he comes off as a bit phony....as NO ONE in real life talks like he did in this and many of his later films. Now I am NOT saying it's a bad film but it missed the mark and really could have been so much better. Filming it IN Sweden, having Hope act more human and infusing the film with a few jokes could have gone a long way to make this better.
*After watching the film, I read the review by vincentlynch-moonoi and they really summed it up well when they said "No Bob...this is a movie, not a t.v. Skit where all you need to do is rely on one liners".