Born in 1903 in London and then raised for a time in Bristol, Bob Hope and his parents emigrated to the US when he was just 5. One of the most versatile celebrities of his days, Hope appeared in the wildly successful Road To… series of films with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour from 1940-1952 and was one of Paramount’s biggest stars in the 1950s. Radio made him one of the best-known entertainers in North America and he hosted the Academy Awards ceremony 18 times between 1939 and 1977. Also winner of 5 Honorary Oscars – not least for his work entertaining US troops during WWII, he was married his wife Dolores for 69 years until his death, aged 100, in 2003. Bob Hope, in his first Technicolor performance, plays Jim Taylor: Louisiana congressman and the unwitting victim of his corrupt superiors in this lively musical satire. When straight-laced Senator Loganberry (Victor Moore, Gold Diggers of 1937, Ziegfield Follies) comes to investigate manifest corruption in the State and Jim finds the finger of blame directed squarely at him, he tries every trick at his disposal to get himself off the hook. A madcap plan to incriminate the senator with compromising photos of him and a beautiful Viennese refugee is hatched, but soon takes a turn for the worse when Jim falls for his stooge and she in turn takes a liking for the senator… Adapted from the hit Broadway musical and featuring music and lyrics by Irving Berlin, Louisiana Purchase is a lively look at how the world of politics can easily “spin” out of control.

Contact the STUDIOCANAL Publicity Team