''Where There's Life'' is a 1947 American
thriller comedy film directed by
Sidney Lanfield
Sidney Lanfield (April 20, 1898 – June 20, 1972) was an American film director known for directing romances and light comedy films and later television programs.
The one-time jazz musician and vaudevillian star started his first directing job ...
.
['']Harrison's Reports
''Harrison's Reports'' was a New York City-based motion picture trade journal published weekly from 1919 to 1962. The typical issue was four letter-size pages sent to subscribers under a second-class mail permit. Its founder, editor and publisher ...
'' film review; October 11, 1947, page 162. The film's title derives from a line in ''
Don Quixote
is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...
'' ("Where there's life, there's hope") as a play on the name of its star,
Bob Hope
Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...
. Also in the cast are
Signe Hasso
Signe Eleonora Cecilia Hasso (''née'' Larsson; 15 August 1915 – 7 June 2002) was a Swedish actress, writer, and composer.
Biography
Hasso was born in the Kungsholmen parish of Stockholm, Sweden in 1915. Her father and grandfather died when sh ...
,
William Bendix
William Bendix (January 14, 1906 – December 14, 1964) was an American film, radio, and television actor, who typically played rough, blue-collar characters. He is best remembered for his role in ''Wake Island'', which earned him an Academy ...
, and
George Coulouris
George Alexander Coulouris (1 October 1903 – 25 April 1989) was an English film and stage actor.
Early life
Coulouris was born in Manchester, Lancashire, England, the son of Abigail (née Redfern) anNicholas Coulouris a merchant of Greek o ...
.
Plot
Hope plays an American radio announcer named Michael Valentine who finds out he is the new king of "Barovia", although a secret society called the Mordia, which believes it has assassinated Valentine's father, King Hubertus II, has other ideas.
Cast
*
Bob Hope
Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with 5 ...
as Michael Joseph Valentine
*
Signe Hasso
Signe Eleonora Cecilia Hasso (''née'' Larsson; 15 August 1915 – 7 June 2002) was a Swedish actress, writer, and composer.
Biography
Hasso was born in the Kungsholmen parish of Stockholm, Sweden in 1915. Her father and grandfather died when sh ...
as General Katrina Grimovitch
*
William Bendix
William Bendix (January 14, 1906 – December 14, 1964) was an American film, radio, and television actor, who typically played rough, blue-collar characters. He is best remembered for his role in ''Wake Island'', which earned him an Academy ...
as Victor O'Brien
*
George Coulouris
George Alexander Coulouris (1 October 1903 – 25 April 1989) was an English film and stage actor.
Early life
Coulouris was born in Manchester, Lancashire, England, the son of Abigail (née Redfern) anNicholas Coulouris a merchant of Greek o ...
as Prime Minister Krivoc
*
Vera Marshe
Vera Marshe (July 15, 1905 – March 25, 1984) was an American film and television character actress.
Biography
Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on July 15, 1905. She began her career by appearing in a number of short films during the 30 ...
as Hazel O'Brien
*
George Zucco
George Zucco (11 January 1886 – 27 May 1960) was a British character actor who appeared in plays and 96 films, mostly American-made, during a career spanning over two decades, from the 1920s to 1951. In his films, he often played a suave ...
as Paul Stertorius
*
Dennis Hoey
Dennis Hoey (born Samuel David Hyams, 30 March 1893 – 25 July 1960) was a British film and stage actor, best known for playing Inspector Lestrade in six films of Universal's Sherlock Holmes series.
Early life
Hoey was born Samuel David ...
as Minister of War Grubitch
*
John Alexander as Herbert Jones
*
Victor Varconi
Victor Varconi (born Mihály Várkonyi; March 31, 1891 – June 6, 1976) was a Hungarian actor who initially found success in his native country, as well as in Germany and Austria, in silent films, before relocating to the United States, where ...
as Finance Minister Zavitch
*Joseph Vitale as Albert Miller
*
Harry von Zell
Harry Rudolph von Zell (July 11, 1906 – November 21, 1981) was an American announcer of radio programs, and an actor in films and television shows. He is best remembered for his work on ''The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show''.
Life and ...
as Joe Snyder
*
Anthony Caruso as John Fulda
*
Norma Varden
Norma Varden Shackleton (20 January 1898 – 19 January 1989), known professionally as Norma Varden, was an English-American actress with a long film career.
Life and career Early life
Born in London, the daughter of a retired sea captain ...
as Mabel Jones
*Harland Tucker as Mr. Alvin (Floorwalker)
*
Roy Atwell
John Leroy "Roy" Atwell (May 2, 1878 – February 6, 1962) was an American actor, comedian and composer, known for playing characters that mis-deliver their lines or stammer, most notably Doc from Walt Disney's classic Snow White and the Seven Dwa ...
as Salesman
*
Emil Rameau
Emil Rameau (born Emil Pulvermacher; 13 August 1878 – 9 September 1957) was a German film and theatre actor, and for many years the deputy artistic director at the Schiller Theater. He appeared in nearly 100 films between 1915 and 1949.
Lif ...
as Dr. Josefsberg
*
William Edmunds as King Hubertus II
*Crane Whitley as Assassin with Cane
Notes
External links
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1947 films
1940s comedy thriller films
American black-and-white films
American comedy thriller films
1940s English-language films
Films scored by Victor Young
Films about radio people
Films directed by Sidney Lanfield
Films set in Europe
Films set in New York City
Monarchy in fiction
Paramount Pictures films
1947 comedy films
1940s American films
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