Although Bob Hope has been the subject of many biographies, no book has yet fully explored the comic persona which he created in vaudeville and radio, was brought to fruition in dozens of films, and had a lasting influence on comedians from Woody Allen to Conan O'Brien. Now, in The Road to Comedy, noted film comedy authority Donald W. McCaffrey finally places Hope in his well-deserved position among the top film comedians of his era. Drawing on archival materials and interviews with collaborators, McCaffrey analyses each major film in depth, with due attention to particular sequences that reveal how Hope created a unique comic personality that lasted over dozens of very popular films, from the "Road movies" with Bing Crosby to such underrated classics as Son of Paleface, Monsieur Beaucaire, and Casanova's Big Night. McCaffrey introduces readers to a Bob Hope now overshadowed by his own reputation. We see here that Hope's significance has been greater than any appearance entertaining the troops, or on a television special might suggest. Because many of these movies have recently been made available on DVD - the first time in decades that they have been easily available to the general public - the volume will also serve as an excellent introduction for those seeing these films for the first time.