The way to Zanzibar
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The way to Zanzibar |
| Original title | Road to Zanzibar |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1941 |
| length | 85 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Victor Schertzinger |
| script |
Don Hartman , Frank Butler |
| production | Paul Jones |
| music | Victor Young |
| camera | Ted Tetzlaff |
| cut | Alma Macrorie |
| occupation | |
As well as without mentioning in the opening credits (selection): Iris Adrian , Al Bridge , John George , Paul Porcasi , Georges Renavent and Norma Varden | |
The way to Zanzibar , original title Road to Zanzibar , is an American comedy film in black and white from 1941. Directed by Victor Schertzinger . The script was written by Don Hartman and Frank Butler based on a story by Don Hartman and Sy Bartlett . The main roles were played by Bob Hope , Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour . It is the second of seven films in the series Der Weg nach… .
action
Chuck Reardon and Hubert 'Fearless' Frazier earn their living by performing in circus arenas. Chuck always comes up with new, dangerous actions that Fearless has to take, and which mostly go wrong. One day, Fearless portrayed a human cannonball flying through a fire. In fact, Fearless is hiding and a dummy is shot down. This catches fire, and the whole circus is on fire. Chuck and Fearless have to flee. In a club they are caught by the police and flee onto the stage, but have to realize that there is no way out from there either. Shortly before their capture, they give another performance that the mine owner Charles Kimble likes so much that he stands up for the two of them so that they stay at large. For the $ 5,000 they saved on the drive home to America, Chuck Kimble buys a mine. However, the two soon discover that Kimble's signature is not worth much. Fearless manages to sell the practically worthless mine to the seedy Lebec for $ 7,000. Soon they will have to flee again.
One day the two meet Julia Quimby, who asks for help. Her friend Donna Latour was kidnapped and is now to be sold into slavery. Chuck and Fearless buy Donna free, not knowing that Julia and Donna are cheating on them. When the two women notice that Chuck and Fearless have even more money, Donna asks them if they would like to organize a safari for them to look for their dying father. In fact, she is looking for her rich fiancé. Fearless becomes suspicious, but Chuck and Fearless take over the costs. During the trip together, they both fall in love with Donna. When she goes missing one day after a bath and her clothes are found torn by leopards, Chuck and Fearless fear the worst. Donna will reappear soon. When the two learn that they have been cheated on by Donna and Julia, they part ways. Now without the local guides, Chuck and Fearless soon fall into the hands of cannibals. They are unsure whether they can eat them or whether they should be worshiped as white gods. To clarify, Fearless has to fight a gorilla, and he loses. After they have been briefly fattened, the two can just escape the saucepan and escape with valuable jewelry.
Chuck wants to use the gold to get the tickets for the trip home, but meets Julia and Donna, who is over with their fiancé. The four now want to perform together, with Fearless and Julia presenting the sawed-up virgin .
production
Production company
The Road to Zanzibar was produced by Paramount Pictures .
Cast & Crew
Paramount wanted to repeat the great success of The Way to Singapore soon. For this purpose, a script for a film, which was originally to be called Find Colonel Fawcett and which had been put on hold because it was too similar to the 1939 film Stanley and Livingstone , was adapted to Bing Crosby and Bob Hope .
Edith Head was responsible for the costumes in The Way to Sansibar , and Hans Dreier and Robert Usher for the production design .
Filming
The shooting for The Way to Zanzibar ran from November 23rd to the end of December 1940. The location was Paramount Studios.
music
In addition to the film music of Victor Young playing in The Road to Zanzibar , the songs presented an important role as in any other film in the series. The songs written by Jimmy Van Heusen (music) and Johnny Burke (lyrics) were You're Dangerous (sung by Dorothy Lamour), You Lucky People, You (sung by Bing Crosby), It's Always You (sung by Bing Crosby and later by Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour and Bob Hope), African Etude and Road to Zanzibar. Another song, Birds of a Feather , was not sung in the film.
In 1941, Bing Crosby published the singles It's Always You with You Lucky People, You as the B-side and You're Dangerous with Birds of a Feather as the B-side.
Premiere
The way to Zanzibar had its world premiere on April 11, 1941 in Saint Petersburg , Florida . The film was released on DVD on March 5, 2002. The film was distributed by Paramount Pictures .
The German-language premiere was on July 1, 1950.
synchronization
The route to Zanzibar was dubbed by Elite Film Synchron GmbH from Berlin .
| role | actor | Voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Chuck Reardon | Bing Crosby | Paul Klinger |
| Donna Lucia Latour | Dorothy Lamour | Friedel Schuster |
| Hubert Frazier | Bob Hope | Georg Thomalla |
| Julia Quimby | Una Merkel | Tatiana Sais |
reception
Reviews
The way to Zanzibar was mostly judged by the humor. For example, Bosley Crowther of the New York Times found the film consistently funny, which films of this type rarely manage. He also feared that later films would be set in Africa because no one could take them seriously after this film. The critic of Harrison's Reports also found the film very good, because it doesn't have a story to speak of, but a lot of gags, and most of them are very funny. The film is even funnier than The Road to Singapore . Others said it was a weaker movie in the series but still found it amusing or silly and not very funny. At least Victor Schertzinger is allowed to do his job and maintain the formula for economic gain.
It turns out that Bob Hope and Bing Crosby dominate the film, and again shows that they play very well together. In this film, the two would have found the tone that led the other films in the series to success. However, The Way to Zanzibar is still too script-oriented so that the stars cannot get all the wits out of it. Dorothy Lamour is rated as funny or halfway amusing. It is primarily decorative, but it also creates a certain tension. Una Merkel and Eric Blore are also praised.
protest
Five prominent professional wrestlers at the time , including George Zaharias and Jim Londos , convicted Paramount of the scene in which Fearless battles a gorilla. They asked the studios not to belittle the wrestling profession and not to slander its dignity.
Award
The Road to Zanzibar was one of the ten best films of the year selected by the National Board of Review in 1941 .
Web links
- The Road to Zanzibar in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b The way to Zanzibar. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed October 14, 2018 .
- ↑ a b c d e Road to Zanzibar (1941). In: American Film Institute . Retrieved October 14, 2018 .
- ^ Rob Nixon: Road to Zanzibar (1941). In: Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved October 14, 2018 .
- ^ Bing Crosby With John Scott Trotter And His Orchestra - It's Always You / You Lucky People You. In: Discogs . Retrieved October 14, 2018 .
- ^ Bing Crosby - You're Dangerous / Birds Of A Feather. In: Discogs . Retrieved October 14, 2018 .
- ↑ 'Zanzibar' Given Teaser Premiere . In: Motion Picture Herald . March 29, 1941 ( Online at Archive.org [accessed October 14, 2018]).
- ↑ The way to Zanzibar at Rotten Tomatoes (English) , accessed on October 14, 2018.
- ↑ The Road to Zanzibar (1941). In: synchronkartei.de. German synchronous index , accessed on October 14, 2018 .
- ↑ a b c d Bosley Crowther : Bing Crosby, Bob Hope in 'Road to Zanzibar' at Paramount - 'The Penalty' at Criterion . In: The New York Times . April 10, 1941 ( online on the New York Times pages [accessed October 14, 2018]).
- ^ A b "The Road to Zanzibar" with Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour . In: Harrison's Reports . March 22, 1941, p. 47 (English, online at Archive.org [accessed October 14, 2018]).
- ↑ a b Derek Winnert: Road to Zanzibar *** (1941, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Una Merkel, Eric Blore) - Classic Movie Review 6979. In: Derek Winnert. April 29, 2018. Retrieved October 14, 2018 .
- ^ A b Leonard Maltin: Leonard Maltin Movie Review. In: Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved October 14, 2018 .
- ^ A b c Dennis Schwartz: Road to Zanzibar. In: Ozus' World. August 19, 2011, accessed October 14, 2018 .
- ^ A b Graeme Clark: Road to Zanzibar. In: The Spinning Image. Retrieved October 14, 2018 .
- ^ Hal Erickson : Road to Zanzibar (1941). In: All Movie. Retrieved October 14, 2018 .
- ↑ Wrestlers Defende Honor of Art . In: Motion Picture Herald . April 19, 1941, p. 40 ( Online at Archive.org [accessed October 14, 2018]).
- ↑ 1941 Award Winners. In: National Board of Review . Retrieved October 14, 2018 .