Introduction
The Hypothesis
My Favorite Brunette
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This comedy-mystery was directed by Bob Hope, and stars him as leading man Ronnie Jackson. Released in 1947, this film was created during the classical era of Noir films and is regarded by Wes D. Gehrig in his book Parody as Film Genre with the following glowing statement, “It would be difficult to highlight a more thorough genre parody” (98). This film occupies elements of the traditional mock-heroism parody and, according to Gehrig, offers some “creative criticism” of the Noir genre. To start off, let’s begin with the main character.
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As the film opens, we meet Ronnie Jackson imprisoned awaiting his execution as he begins to recount his tale in flashback (and subsequently in true Noir fashion). Jackson is an everyday wisecracking Noir-detective wannabe stuck in his day job as a baby photographer. When his friend and idol Sam lets him act as a temporary secretary for his private detective business, Ronnie meets the mysterious Carlotta and poses as Sam to dive headfirst into the world of Noir corruption and adventure.
Over the course of the film,
we learn that Ronnie’s
main traits are:
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Cowardly
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Horny (and entitled)
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And cunning
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He’s very much aligned with Noir heroes when it comes to being confused and vulnerable in a vicious world, and his cowardice highlights this. However, while the Noir hero “is often no further ahead in solving the mystery than a member of the audience” (Gehrig 100), Gehrig writes that traditionally “the film noir detective is tough” (100). Replacing toughness and a hard boiled interior with a cowardice and meekness is a way that the text inserts a sense of mock heroism and defines itself as parody instead of a comedic Noir.
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In his moral failures and general weakness in standing up to bad guys of the film, though, Ronnie takes the vulnerability of the Noir man to an extreme as he represents a failed version of masculinity. Ronnie fails to perform as a "traditional" man in the gif above with his inability to handle alcohol, as well as perform in emblematic tasks of masculine characters of the 1940's like fighting and driving.
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However, with the failure of the masculine patriarchal comes an opportunity for the femme fatale in this film to get a bit more of the heroic spotlight.
Carlotta excels in some of the actions that a traditional masculine Noir protagonist would. The gif on the right pictures her ability to end a fight between Ronnie and a nurse that turns the table on him with a judo throw onto the bed. In the film she also does the driving for the couple and generally takes a more active role than many female noir sidekicks while not being labeled as a wicked femme fatale. Parody in this instance has opened up a dialogue that reinforces gender roles when the audience laughs at Ronnie's failed version of masculinity, but disrupts them as viewers praise Carlotta's move to heroism.
My Favorite Brunette is just one example of a Film Noir parody from this era. Another example with a completely different protagonist is Beat the Devil.