The Comedy Hour begins and ends with inspirational Christmas songs performed by the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine's Choir. Guest star Bob Cummings enjoys Christmas sketches with Bob as department store Santas. Lily Pons performs the Market Scene from the opera Lakme' and Robert Maxwell lends polish with his harp instrumental, but it's a vivacious tap routine that brings back an upbeat mood. There are holiday songs with the Hopes and Christmas messages from New York's Mayor Vincent Impelletteri, Bob himself, and special guest Former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt reciting George Washington's 1776 message to the nation.
In Time Life's latest release for this season's Christmas holidays, Bob Hope: Hope for the Holidays, the supreme entertainer presents vintage seasonal sketches from his December 15, 1993 NBC Special: Bob Hope's Bag Full of Christmas Memories. His wife Dolores and Bob open the presentation preparing to welcome invited guests into their home for a Christmas celebration. The house is beautifully decorated and the table abounds with holiday goodies, as friends and family enter the threshold to spend time reminiscing Christmases Past.
These two NBC Christmas Specials are featured in Bob Hope: Hope For The Holidays. In the first presentation, Bob Hope’s Bag Full of Christmas Memories opens the festivities with Loni Anderson (WKRP in Cincinnati), Barbara Eden (I Dream of Jeannie), Naomi and Wynonna Judd, Joey Lawrence (Blossom), Ed Marinaro (Hill Street Blues) and Pittsburgh Steelers' Lynn Swann and wife Charena greeting their hosts Dolores and Bob Hope. At Bob's request, the Judds reunite to perform "Beautiful Star of Bethlehem" to an audience of friends, children and grandchildren.
There are clips from USO shows overseas including guest stars Raquel Welch, Charo, Brooke Shields and Barbara Eden, with troops giving messages like "We Haven't Lost Hope."
You'll see vintage sketches such as the Judds getting a kick out of Bob dressed in drag in his parody of Steel Magnolias; Loni Anderson and Joan Van Ark have a special surprise for Bob when he plays George Washington; and Loni and Phyllis Diller do a robot sketch with Santa's toymaker. Red Skelton plays "Freddie the Freeloader" with a Christmas miracle; Red Foxx and Bob appear as complaining reindeer; Jack Benny invades Santa's Enchanted Workshop; Macaulay Culkin as Tiny Tim with Reba McEntire as his mother, giving Scrooge a Christmas gift; Phil Silvers plays a Hollywood cop at Christmas; and Brooke Shields and Emmanuel Lewis are left-behind toys at Christmas. You will enjoy clips with Lucille Ball and Bing Crosby, and see Lee Marvin break up in a hospital sketch. And, there's a conversation with the "Duke" John Wayne. The home is filled with holiday cheer while Joey Lawrence waits beneath the mistletoe.
Do be aware that due to the age of the recordings, there are some audio and video imperfections, however I found Bob Hope: Hope for the Holidays very entertaining as Hope has always been and enjoyed taking a step back in time while remembering what variety shows were like in the 50's and beyond. This is a great gift for this time of the year and you can all watch Bob Hope: Hope for the Holidays after enjoying a wonderful Christmas meal and singing Hope's favorite song, "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Forever."
