Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Scotty Burke It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

Roxie The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

tavm Just watched this again in order to get in the spirit of Christmas. It's another Bob Hope vehicle in which he tries to get out of jams he himself caused. He's a con man trying to raise more than a thousand dollars in order to avoid getting killed! It all takes place during the holidays. In fact, this is the movie that introduced the song "Silver Bells" in which Hope shares a duet with his leading lady, Marilyn Maxwell, here. There's also William Frawley-later Fred Mertz on "I Love Lucy"-and Lloyd Nolan and Fred Clark to add in the fun. Oh, and one of the writers is Frank Tashlin who was previously a director of Warner Bros. cartoons. He supposedly directed some of the more cartoonish sequences like that of the hilarious one involving a female mannequin who is allowed to appear nude in a movie made during the Code era! Okay, so on that note, I highly recommend The Lemon Drop Kid.

edwagreen Very funny 1951 Bob Hope film where he plays a small-time gangster who has accidentally dropped money of a bigger mob person at the track and then finds an ingenious way to get the money back.The gags are great with Marilyn Maxwell as Hope's girlfriend and eventual partner in the scheme.Jane Darwell showed a gift of comedy in this hilarious film. As one of the old dolls, she brings plenty of humor as the wife of a convicted safe-cracker about to be released at holiday time.Hope's great idea of setting up a licensed home for old dolls is very humorous. How will he pay for the home in a gambling home? He sends his band of crooks out playing Santa Claus and soliciting money.All goes well until Lloyd Nolan, a real big-time gangster, gets wind of the scheme and steals the money from Hope. Bob has to retrieve the money and free the dolls who have been taken hostage by a ruthless Nolan.Funny and yet very poignant with the holiday-spirit like ending.

bigverybadtom Too old for the Rankin Bass movies? Dissatisfied with "It's A Wonderful Life"? (I was.) Other Christmas movies either too juvenile, or unsuited for the family? Well, even though Bob Hope was in a lot of bad movies, this is not one of them.It's based on a Damon Runyon story about a man who distracts a mobster's girlfriend, causing her to lose a $10,000 racetrack bet. The mobster learns of this and threatens the man to get him his money back by Christmas, or face his brutality (which is strongly hinted at).The man tries to ring a bell to collect money to rescue himself, but falls afoul of the law for not having a charity license. Not taking chances the next time, he arranges for a mobster's closed-up gambling joint to be secretly opened, the money ostensibly going to charity. Complications set in when a different mobster gets wind of it and wants the funds for himself. The the man is really in a bind. What to do?Trivia: This was the movie where the Christmas song "Silver Bells" was first performed. Ironic that the film has fallen into obscurity.

dougdoepke The gags fly thick and fast in this Hope romp. If a viewer doesn't like one set-up, the next will be on in a flash. Hope's got to settle a debt to mobster Clark, otherwise he's toast. So the race-track tout sets up a phony Santa scheme using sidewalk donations supposedly going to an old ladies home. Can he pull it off since there're more characters to manage than a circus.Hope's at his peak, physically and wise-crack wise. His shtick looks effortless, gliding from one set-up to the next. It's about as smooth as madcap comes, and not even the spare romantic scene dawdles And catch movie vets like a pre-Lucy William Frawley, fast-talking Lloyd Nolan, and professional grouch Fred Clark of the old Burns and Allen show. And for eye candy there's a luscious Marilyn Maxwell to sweeten things up. But shouldn't overlook versatile Jane Darwell of Grapes of Wrath.But the real ace-in-the-hole is writer and uncredited director (IMDB) Frank Tashlin. His comedic stamp is all over the physical comedy. For instance, catch that undressing of the manikin in the storefront window. It's a hoot, and I would think a challenge for censors given the female detail. Or the cyclonic wind where the Girl Scouts help the wobbly Hope negotiate a sidewalk. In fact, there are numerous touches throughout that make this Hope entry a sleeper, especially at Xmas time. Too bad it's not better known among his stellar entries, Crosby or no.