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George Washington Slept Here | Jack Benny, Ann Sheridan | Benny is a bit stiff here, but there's a good reason
 
 


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 George Washington ...  

George Washington Slept Here
Jack Benny, Ann Sheridan

MGM (Video & DVD), 1992

average customer review:based on 8 reviews
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     highly recommended  highly recommended




Jewel of Jack Benny

I loved Jack Benny's performances. I won't go into all the antic of the film, the other review capped a few for you. This movie is charming and funny. It is a seldom seen film and wish this was on DVD. Please someone get this on DVD!


Benny is a bit stiff here, but there's a good reason

This is a better comedy than the other reviews indicate. To appreciate it you have to remember two things - it was made in 1942, and thus there are quite a few patriotic themes in the movie, since that was the kind of film being made at the beginning of World War II, when the U.S. didn't yet know if it would be successful fighting a two front war in which everything was at stake. The second thing to remember is that Jack Benny did all of his scenes with Percy Kilbride (later known as Pa Kettle) on days in which he had gotten no sleep the night before. He did this deliberately, because Jack had insisted Kilbride play the part when Jack Warner just wanted to insert one of his contract players. Jack Benny insisted that Kilbride made the play and was thus essential for the movie. Jack Benny got his way, but every time Jack Benny looked at Percy Kilbride when he was shooting the movie he broke into hysterical laughter. When the director threatened to remove Benny if he continued this, then Benny decided to stay up all night before he had any scenes with Kilbride because then he was so exhausted that he just didn't care.

If you're in the mood for a light sweet movie from the 40's with Benny's brand of understated comedy, this certainly fits the bill. Just don't expect Benny the miser of Jack's radio and TV days. This film takes advantage of Benny's comic timing and deadpan delivery of comic observations when confronted by outrageous behavior and situations on all sides, but it is just not a role for a cheapskate.


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An Underrated Comic Gem

George S. Kauffman & Moss Hart's GEORGE WASHINGTON SLEPT HERE was one of Broadway's most successfull comedies of the early 1940s, a bright and witty tale with a slightly Americana tone that World War II audiences found particularly appealing. The film version, sparked up by the completely unexpected chemistry of dry-humored Jack Benny and "Oomph Girl" Ann Sheridan, is every bit as charming.

When New Yorkers Bill and Connie Fuller (Benny and Sheridan) are evicted from their apartment (their third change of address in less than a year), wife Connie decides what they need is a place in the country... and buys an incredibly dilapidated house where George Washington is said to have once slept. Needless to say, husband Bill is horrified--and keeps on being horrified as the price of renovation skyrockets. Benny was most popular when he played himself in roles tailored to his talents, but although this role is atypical his talents are well suited to the constantly harried Bill Fuller--and he has remarkable rapport with co-star Ann Sheridan, an underestimated actress who shows tremendous flair for comedy as his determinedly optimistic wife. Both are well supported by a cast that includes Charles Coburn, Joyce Reynolds, and Percy Kilbride, and Hattie McDaniel (best remembered as Mammy in GONE WITH THE WIND) really shines as Hester, their long-suffering domestic who finds herself with a hole in the kitchen wall big enough for a horse to walk through--and one does! The pace is snappy, the script is witty, and every one is sure to have a good time. Recommended.


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Mr. Benny Builds His Dream House

"George Washington Slept Here" stars Ann Sheridan and Jack Benny as a married couple that buys a run down house where supposedly George Washington slept. The movie has a clear resemblance to films like "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House" and "The Jackpot", in which unsuspecting nice people find themselves in complicated situations where one mishaps leads to another.

I've always been a big Jack Benny fan. I think he had the greast comedic persona of all time. His persona has been so strong to this very day some people have difficulty thiking of him any other way. We completely bought the character he played. Benny though had trouble finding films that made use to his talents. Like Bob Hope or W.C. Fields their movies were really just excuses for their fans to pay money to see them iin movies. Plot really don't matter, we just came for the jokes. I have seen Benny in "To be or not To Be" and "The Horn Blows at Midnight". I enjoyed his performance in both, but, believe it or not I found Benny all wrong for this movie. Now perhaps this isn't Benny's fault. The movie was based on a play written by Kaufman and Hart. Maybe they never intended for Jack Benny to ever play this role. But I found Benny annoying in this movie. All he does is complain. And Ann Sheridan is annoying for a completely different reason, her stupidity. She's so optimistic.

"George Washington..ect" also lacks the charm of a film like "Mr. Blandings". In that movie Cary Grant and Mryna Loy played their parts straight. Here Benny and Sheridan know they are in a comedy. Especially Benny.

Given Jack Benny's persona its a shame the movie doesn't take advantage of it. Benny just dishes out cash, never complaining. This is the same man who said "I'm thinking it over" when held at gun point and told "Your money or your life!". What if, in order to save money Benny decided to help fix the place. This would have caused more funny scenes, and would have shown Benny gaining an emotional investment in the house.

The film was directed by William Keighley who also directed Kaufman and Hart's film adaptation of "The Man Who Came To Dinner", there is a direct reference to that play in this film. He also directed several Errol Flynn movies; "The Master of Ballantrae", "The Adventures of Robin Hood", and "The Prince and the Pauper". But I'm not convince he understood comedy. And that's what hurts this movie most.

Bottom-line: Good promise that doesn't quite deliver. Benny isn't used to his fullest capabilities and that hurts the movie. Not enough big laughs, but, if you're a Jack Benny fan check it out.


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Sheridan's dream house has Percy Kilbride for laughs...

I've always enjoyed stories about a couple moving to the country to either fix up an old house or deal with a house that turns out to be haunted, etc. Along these lines I think of films like 'Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House' and/or the suspenseful 'The Uninvited'. But, of course, with Jack Benny as the star you know you're in for comedy when he and his attractive wife (Ann Sheridan) decide to shed city dweller status and move to a more rural setting.

Sheridan has her heart set on a ramshackle old house in Connecticut that seems to be falling apart--but with the help of movie magic she fixes it up and--presto--looks like something out of a House Beautiful catalog. The comedy is outdated and some of it falls short of the mark, but not when neighbor Percy Kilbride is around. Reportedly, Jack and Ann found it hard to keep a straight face when Kilbride cracked some of his dryly humorous observations (in Pa Kettle style). Benny ruined many a take when he was unable to stifle a laugh.

Some of the slapstick he and others are subjected to is painful, but all in all this is diverting enough entertainment. Ann Sheridan is a sheer pleasure to watch, and looks gorgeous while she plays a foil for Benny's one-liners. Charles Coburn shows up as a story-telling uncle who turns out to be a real phony. Hattie McDaniel as a bewildered maid and Franklin Pangborn as an irate landlord add to the fun, making it worth a peek.

Summing up: One of Benny's better films, although it's Kilbride who gets most of the well deserved laughs.




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reviews: page 1, 2



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