I'll Take Sweden

1965 "If Blondes have more fun...then Sweden's got to be the funniest place on earth!"
5.2| 1h37m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 18 June 1965 Released
Producted By: United Artists
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

Bob Holcomb will do anything to stop his daughter JoJo from tying the knot with her lazy boyfriend, even move her all the way to Sweden! But once they're "safely" out of the country, JoJo falls for a sly Swedish playboy.

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Reviews

Diagonaldi Very well executed
Redwarmin This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place
Ensofter Overrated and overhyped
Allison Davies The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
wes-connors Wise-cracking widower Bob Hope (as Robert "Bob" Holcomb) arrives home to discover his pretty blonde daughter Tuesday Weld (as JoJo Holcomb) is engaged to pseudo-rock 'n' roll singer Frankie Avalon (as Kenny Klinger). Mr. Avalon has dropped put of college, rides a motorcycle, lives in a small trailer, and takes Ms. Weld out to strip clubs. Hope is horrified. In order to get Weld away from Avalon, he accepts a job transfer to Stockholm. There, Hope discovers a Swedish custom regarding pre-marital sex...We are told, in order to determine how well they are "suited for each other," Swedes have sex before getting married. This insures a low divorce rate. Hope romances attractive Dina Merrill (as Karin Granstedt Martoni) and Weld prepares to lose her virginity during a two week vacation with playboy Jeremy Slate (as Erik Carlson). Hope declares, "Nobody's gonna chalk up any mileage on JoJo without getting a driver's license first!" To make Weld change her mind, Hope contacts Avalon in America...Avalon returns to the storyline and gives the film a final burst of energy. The highlight is his performance of "I'll Take Sweden, Ya Ya Ya!" In brief blue swim trunks, Avalon gyrates around a boatyard, attracting Rosemarie Frankland in a white bikini. The beauty queen with obvious assets moved from Hope (one of the comedian's many alleged companions) to Grass Roots singer Warren Entner. Avalon was no longer selling rock 'n' roll records, but he is funnier and more appealing than all others, herein.****** I'll Take Sweden (6/2/65) Frederick de Cordova ~ Bob Hope, Frankie Avalon, Tuesday Weld, Dina Merrill
JasparLamarCrabb In an effort to keep daughter Tuesday Weld away from bad boy Frankie Avalon, Bob Hope takes a job in Sweden. This is just another of the egregiously unfunny movies Hope was making in the 1960s. The film has one distinguishing feature: it manages to cast Weld and make her completely unappealing! Surprisingly cast to begin with, Weld has little to do but roll her eyes or wince at Hope's unfunny wisecracks. Perhaps Annette Funicello or Deborah Walley would have been a better choice for Weld's role. She's far too intelligent to have us believe she'd be smitten with the empty headed Avalon. The presence of classy Dina Merrill, as Hope's love interest, is a plus even if her Swedish accent is a bit half-hearted. Directed, in the style of the average 60s sitcom, by the undistinguished Fred DeCordova.
graham clarke As far as comedies that deal with young people's attitudes towards sex go; "I'll Take Sweden", dumb as it may be, has loads more charm than the largely gross comedies that are dished up to audiences today.Bob Hope, (with badly died dark hair) ever the professional, copes well with the sometimes unfunny lines given to him. There's super elegant Dina Merrill; Frankie Avalon brimming with youthful ebullience and Tuesday Weld, simultaneously demure and sexy, as always.Despite the often ridiculous depiction of the social mores of the time, somehow the movie remains immensely watchable largely because of the cast, who all had careers of some interest. From this fun but undoubted mediocrity, Hope's movies went downhill steadily and embarrassingly. Merrill went into television with unspectacular results. Avalon didn't quite survive the beach movies which made him so popular at the time. Weld had the good sense to break the mold into which the system had cast her, moving on to many fine performances, if not quite becoming the star that at the time would have seemed she was destined to become.For those interested in the actors involved, there's something to enjoy in this innocuous yet not obnoxious 95 minutes.
johnk180524 I haven't been able to watch more than a couple of minutes of this gem, but I will for one reason and one reason alone. Mr. Joel Coen (or was it Ethan), from such hits as Crimewave (writer, 1985) and The Evil Dead (assistant editor, 1983), said he (they) liked it. That's all it takes for me to look at a film with a new perspective and appreciation. I would highly recommend you do the same. Also, I heard Mr. Jiminy Glick reference the film when Conan was his guest. I like that. That suits me just fine. I wouldn't watch a film only because Jiminy drops the name, but it certainly doesn't hurt the cause. And one last note, do yourself a favor and watch Mr. Preston Sturges' tale of a wanderer, harried for days on end, entitled "Sullivan's Travels" (1941). You shall find both everlasting salvation and unending ecstasy.