Between 1940 and 1962, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, and Dorothy Lamour made seven films together which have become collectively referred to as "the Road movies".
For those unfortunate few who may not have had the pleasure of enjoying these classics, I can tell you plot of all of them in just a few words, as the story is always the same:
Two rascals on the lamb (Hope and Crosby) wind up in an exotic locale, where the agree to stay out of trouble by swearing off dames. This lasts only until the meet up with a charming local vixen (Dorothy Lamour), after which their friendship dissolves into a contest for her affections. The plot thickens through a variety of intrigues, some pretty silly songs, and ad-libs that made the Paramount writers pull their hair out, until in the end they are back on the road again....
None of these films are particularly "multiculturally sensitive" in any modern sense, as evidenced in the music and dance of "exotic natives" that clearly shows a greater influence from Buzby Berkely than Zimbabwe. But more interesting than what these films fail to say about other cultures is what they say quite effectively about American culture at the time: A pie-eyed view of themselves and the world as a simpler place where the tough foreign policy issues can be solved by giving an Arab prince the hotfoot.
As part of an ongoing research project with the assistance of visual anthropologist and cultural diagnostician Tiffany Hope,we are reviewing all seven of the Road movies, examining them for their rich cultural iconography as well as their cheap slapstick gags.
Our initial findings are presented below. Missing or erroneous data will be updated as research continues. If you have information or observations about the films that you'd like to share, drop an email to RoadMovies@FourthWorld.com.
Road to Singapore
1940
Co-starring Charles Cob urn, Judith Barrett, Anthony Quinn, and Jerry Colonna
Screenplay by Don Hartman and Frank Butler, based on a story by Harry Hervey
Produced by Harlan Thompson Directed by Victor Schertzinger
1 hour, 25 minutes
This was the first of the series, originally intended as a one-shot comedy but the public response was so great that the producers kept 'em coming.
Among other oddities is a scene in which Anthony Quinn uses a whip on Dorothy Lamour as lounge entertainment. Here in Los Angeles, some things don't change.
Road to Zanzibar
1942
Co-starring Una Merkel, Eric Blore
Screenplay by Frank Butler and Don Hartmen
based on a story by Don Hartman and Sy Bartlett
Produced by Paul Jones
Directed by Victor Schertzinger
1 hour, 32 minutes
This film may be seen as the most culturally offensive to folks sensitive to such things, as the climax of the film rests on the premise that tribal natives are easily amused by punching one another. Then again, if you've seen John Wayne and Dean Martin slug it out repeatedly in "The Sons of Katie Elder", it appears this may not be a racially-specific problem Hollywood has.
But regardless of whether one agrees that interpersonal violence should be portrayed as playful, the set of the drum room toward the end of the movie is certainly the envy of any would-be teenage heavy metal percussionist. Personally, I think this set was the inspiration for the band Gwar.
Road to Morroco
1944
This is the one with the aforementioned "hotfoot" scene. No gag was below Hope and Crosby, and we must all thank Paramount for recording in film a gag that might otherwise have died with vaudeville, so that future generations may understand and revere the "hotfoot".
And if you like swing, the film offers a pretty catchy tune by Crosby called "Ho Hum" about a third of the way into the film as he saunters the streets of midnight Morroco in a well-tailored suit and dashing fez as only Suave King Bing could do.
Road to Utopia
1946
Screenplay by Norman Panama and Melvin Frank
Produced by Paul Jones
Directed by Hal Walker
1 hour, 30 minutes
Being something of a tiki nut, this one, set in the Yukon, is my least favorite visually. But in all fairness, it does have some of the best comedic writing of the whole series, and critics at the time called it the best of the lot.
Road to Rio
1947
Special appearance by the Andrew Sisters
1 hour 40 minutes
This one has some of the best gags, especially the Brazillian musicians posing as a Chicago jazz ensemble who are taught only three English phrases to use in any circumstance. These phrases are "You're telling me", "You got it, Jackson", and "I'm outta here". You'd be surprised how often these can be used at random to comprise valid responses to modern English conversation.
Writing good endings seems to be one of Hollywood's ongoing problems, but at least the writers for this movie weren't afraid of being honest about it. It can't be described here - you just gotta sit through the hour and a half experience to really appreciate it.
Road to Bali
1952
Produced by Harry Tugend
Directed by Hal Walker
1 hour 31 minutes
The first color Road movie. By the time they got around to making this one, the writers and director had pretty much given up on expecting Hope and Crosby to stick to the script, so the ad-libs go a little further than before:
At one point, Hope and Crosby are crossing through a jungle when Bob exits the screen and Bing stands in front of the camera, calling to someone off the set. Bob Crosby appears for the first and only time in the film, fires a rifle into the air, thanks his brother, and walks off. Bob Hope comes back on camera, fully in character, alarmed about the gun shot: "What was that?" To which Bing replies, "That was my brother. I promised him a shot in the movie."
Road to Hong Kong
Only half of the research team has seen this movie at all, and then only several years ago. A copy has recently been located, and a viewing is being scheduled.
