Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 18, 2017

George Marshall'S "Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number!" (1966) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent distributors Olive Films. The only bonus feature on the disc is an original trailer for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

"Come on, Didi. You can do it..."

The script for this quite casual comedy with the great Bob Hope is far from impressive and unfortunately it easily shows. Very few of Hope’s classic one-liners actually hit their targets, while Elke Sommer’s beauty is almost completely wasted with a character that can easily annoy even her biggest fans.

In the short prologue the spoiled European film star Didi (Sommer) suddenly realizes that she has been contracted by a Hollywood producer to appear in his latest film not because she is a great actress, but because she looks terrific without her clothes. Naked and seriously upset, Didi runs away and leaves everyone on the studio lot utterly speechless. Somehow she reaches Oregon and hides in a secluded hotel, while the media, the producer and some clueless cops begin looking for her. While in the hotel, a bored phone operator accidentally connects her with Tom Meade (Hope), a real estate agent, and they have an unusually candid conversation. At the end of it Didi begs Tom to bring her some food to the hotel because she is afraid that if she leaves her room someone will recognize her and she will be promptly dragged back to the producer’s office. Shortly after Tom agrees to meet Didi his life spirals out of control.

Early on the story shows some potential, but after Didi and Tom meet in the hotel it almost completely disintegrates. After that there are essentially a series of sequences in which Tom attempts to outmaneuver his wife Martha (Marjorie Lord), who is convinced that the two are getting ready to spend a wonderful couple of days in their villa. A lot of the twists in them are fairly predictable and it is very easy to tell where the film is heading. Tom’s eccentric maid Lily (Phyllis Diller) also agrees to assist him, but more often than not her actions only further complicate his efforts to keep Didi’s presence in the villa secret. The ensuing chaos is an integral part of the story, but there is little here that is as funny as it was obviously intended to be.

The real trouble with the script is its inability to bring these colorful characters together in a way that would make one care about their silly dilemmas. Indeed, at times their eccentric behavior is fun to observe, but there is just not enough quality material for something bigger and more engaging. They all have a few special moments where they shine, but the more time they spend rehashing the same meaningless exchanges, the clearer it becomes that the script has plenty of limitations.

Hope and Sommer are the undisputed stars of the film, but it is Diller that is actually a lot more comfortable with her (admittedly too kooky) character. Perhaps the film would have been a lot more entertaining if she was cast to play the spoiled actress, though the producers probably would have had to create an entirely new character for Sommer.

Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, George Marshall's Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films.

The film has a slightly dated appearance, but it looks quite good in high-definition. If I had to guess I would say that the master that was used to produce the release was prepared a while ago because density and color saturation most certainly can be better, but for the most part definition and clarity remain pleasing. Colors are also rather nice, though ideally saturation should be all-around better. The best news is that no attempts have been made to resharpen and repolish the film, so even though there are few softer than usual areas, you will not see traces of distracting recent digital corrections. Overall image stability is very good. Finally, there are no large cuts, debris, damage marks, stains, or warped/torn frames to report. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio does not appear to have been recently remastered, but it is essentially problem-free. The dialog is stable, clean, and very easy to follow, and there are absolutely no dynamic fluctuations whatsoever. I don't think that it needs any rebalancing work either. It is possible that the segments with police cars could see some minor improvements, but in terms of density and fluidity the lossless track never disappoints.

Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number!. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080p).

Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Even long-time fans of Bob Hope and Elke Sommer will have to admit that Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number! should have been a much better film. It has its moments, especially during the final twenty or so minutes, but its story is instantly forgettable. Olive Films' technical presentation of the film is good, but once again the only bonus feature on the Blu-ray is an original trailer. RENT IT.