Road to Bali
| Road to Bali | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Hal Walker |
| Written by | Frank Butler Hal Kanter |
| Produced by | Daniel Dare |
| Starring | Bing Crosby Bob Hope Dorothy Lamour |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date | 19 November 1952 (USA) |
Running time | 91 min. |
| Language | English |
Road to Bali is a 1952 comedy film starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour. It was released by Paramount Pictures and is the sixth of the seven Road to... movies. It was the only such movie filmed in color and was the first to feature surprise cameo appearances from other well-known stars of the day.
Plot
Having to leave Melbourne in a hurry to avoid various marriage proposals, two song-and-dance men sign on for work as divers. This takes them to an idyllic island on the way to Bali where they vie with each other for the favours of Princess Lala. The hazardous dive produces a chest of priceless jewels which arouses the less romantic interest of some shady locals.
Songs
- "Chicago Style", performed by Bing Crosby and Bob Hope
- "Moonflowers", by Dorothy Lamour
- "Hoot Mon", Bing Crosby and Bob Hope
- "To See You Is To Love You", Bing Crosby
- "The Merry-Go-Run-Around", Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, and Bob Hope
All lyrics by Johnny Burke, and music by Jimmy Van Heusen.
Crosby's version of "To See You Is to Love You" is featured in Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954) without giving credit to Crosby or the songwriters.
Cameos
Among the celebrities who made token "gag" appearances in this film are bandleader Bob Crosby (Bing's brother), Humphrey Bogart (by way of a clip from The African Queen), Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, and Jane Russell. The cameo by Martin and Lewis were part of a 'comedy trade' where they made an appearance in this movie, while Hope & Crosby appeared in Martin & Lewis's Scared Stiff the following year.
Production
The giant squid that threatens Bob Hope in an underwater scene was previously seen attacking Ray Milland in the Paramount production Reap the Wild Wind directed by Cecil B. DeMille and the erupting volcano climax was taken directly from the Paramount production Aloma of the South Seas (1941) also starring Lamour.
Mistakes
Hope says "...we can get our speedometers turned back..." The odometer is the part on a used car that gets turned back to make it appear to be new.
Cultural References
This film was parodied the following year (1953) by Universal Pictures' animated short Alley to Bali, with Woody Woodpecker and Buzz Buzzard assaying the Hope and Crosby roles.
Miscellaneous
In keeping with the film's Commonwealth setting, which takes Crosby and Hope from Melbourne, Australia, to the exotic island of Bali, many of the jokes contain references to Argyle socks, Australian opera singer Dame Nellie Melba, Tasmanian-born Errol Flynn, and a dance routine featuring Scottish bagpipes.
As with the other Road movies, Bob Hope breaks the "fourth wall" several times to make side comments to the audience, e.g. "He's (Crosby) gonna sing, folks. Now's the time to go out and get the popcorn."
DVD Release
Due to irregularities with it's copyright, Road to Bali has lapsed into the public domain. As such, there have been at least a dozen DVD releases from a variety of companies over the years.
See also
External links
