Bob Hope & Dorothy Lamour in "Caught in the Draft" (1941)

A famous vain Hollywood movie star scaredy-cat, Don Bolton (Bob Hope), practically faints from the sounds of gunshots while filming a war movie. When real-life Colonel Peter Fairbanks (Clarence Kolb) visits the set with his beautiful daughter, Antoinette 'Tony' Fairbanks (Dorothy Lamour), Don insults them by mistaking Fairbanks for an actor and ordering the Makeup Man (Murray Alper) to put mud on the colonel. Smitten by Tony, Don convinces her to go out with him. He soon proposes to her to keep himself from being drafted but backs out when the draft age is raised to thirty-five. Tony is appalled when she discovers his ulterior motive, and to improve her opinion of him, Don goes to his local recruitment office to enlist, but discovers too late that he is dealing with a real U.S. Army Recruiting Sergeant (Edgar Dearing), not the actor that he hired. At training camp with his assistant, Bert Sparks (Eddie Bracken), and manager, Steve Riggs (Lynne Overman), Don visits Tony and her father, who is stationed there, and Fairbanks makes a deal with Don that if he can actually make the rank of corporal, he will consent to his marriage to Tony. Don, Bert and Steve consistently get into trouble, however, and spend most of their time on kitchen patrol. Tony, having fallen in love with Don, defends him to her father. Finally, Don, Bert and Steve's sergeant, Sgt. Burns (Paul Hurst), leaves them behind to keep them out of trouble while the rest of the unit participates in war games. The trio decides to change some of the signposts to help their unit win. However, the signs lead the troop directly into an artillery range. Tony, who has been berating the three men as cowards, attempts to pass through the line of fire to save the troops, but when her horse throws her, Dan overcomes his fear of gunfire, even after being hit in the arm, and crawls through the firing range to head off the troops. Don, Bert and Steve earn their promotions, and Don and Tony marry. A 1941 American comedy film directed by David Butler, produced by Buddy G. DeSylva, written by Harry Tugend and Wilkie C. Mahoney (additional dialogue), cinematography by Karl Struss, starring Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Lynne Overman, Eddie Bracken, Clarence Kolb, Paul Hurst, Ferike Boros, Phyllis Ruth, Irving Bacon, Arthur Loft, Edgar Dearing, Frank Marlowe, and Eleanor Stewart. Released by Paramount Pictures. Paramount budgeted handsomely for this effort, employing some of its top specialists. Costume Design by Edith Head. It would be a rare Hope movie without at least one winking reference signaling to the audience that we all know it's just a movie; here it's his comment when first glimpsing Lamour through a window: "Mmm, that's a bundle. She looks like Dorothy Lamour with clothes on." This is the first pairing of Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour without Bing Crosby. Dorothy Lamour drives a 1941 Hudson convertible. When Bob Hope is going through pictures of girls, he tears one up crying "Brenda and Cobina!" These were the names of two characters played by Blanche Stewart and Elvia Allman who were famous for being unattractive and unable to get dates on "The Pepsodent Show" (NBC-Radio 1938 to 1948), starring Bob Hope and Jerry Colonna. When Bob is seen wearing a towel, his agent comments that Miss Fairbanks (Dorothy Lamour) should see him in "that sarong." Wearing sarongs was a trademark of Lamour. At one point, Bob can be heard humming "How'd Ya Like To Love Me?" which he sang with Martha Raye in "College Swing" (1938). When Hope falls in the mud and says "Mammy!" he is imitating Al Jolson who sang a song of that title while wearing blackface. In September 1940, Congress passed the Burke-Wadsworth Act, which imposed the first peacetime draft in the history of the United States. The registration of men between the ages of 21 and 36 began one month later. Released six months before the December 7, 1941 Attack on Pearl Harbor, and American entry into World War II. It deals with the peacetime draft brought in the previous year as part of the country's mobilization preparations for future war. Within a year, Hope would be preparing for his own stint in the service, traveling the world to entertain the real troops! National Guardsmen trained the actors to be soldiers for the movie. This opened at Paramount in NY and became the 2nd film in the theater's 15-year history to enjoy a 5-week run. This wartime comedy was a big hit and became Paramount's second most successful release of 1941 after "Louisiana Purchase" (1941), also starring Bob Hope. This solid little Pre-WW2 Bob Hope comedy vehicles featuring the usual run of service comedy situations is a clever and pleasant time-passer, enjoyable from start to finish, tailored as an ensemble piece, with a great cast, and the usual likable performances of Hope and Lamour. dominates the comedy and steals every scene with his typical Hope humor. No one could match Hope with one-liners. This is one worth watching.