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Road to...

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For the series of Family Guy episodes, seeRoad to... (Family Guy).
Hope, Lamour and Crosby inRoad to Bali(1952)
Hope, Crosby and Lamour inRoad to Bali
Hope and Crosby sing and dance during "Chicago Style" inRoad to Bali(1952)
WithJane RussellinRoad to Bali

Road to...is a series of seven comedy films starringBing Crosby,Bob Hope,andDorothy Lamour.They are also often referred to as the"Road"picturesor the"Road"series.The movies were a combination of adventure, comedy, romance, and music. The minimal plot often took a back seat to gags, which appeared improvised but were usually scripted.[1]

Films in the series[edit]

Each film is not simply a comedy, but a satire of some of the popular film genres of the day, including jungle, Arabian nights, Alaskan adventure and high seas.

In 1977, an eighthRoad to...movie was planned, titledRoad to theFountain of Youth,but Crosby died that year of a heart attack.[2]

In 1947,Astor Picturesreleased a compilation film of several of Crosby'sEducational Picturesshort subjectscalledThe Road to Hollywoodto evoke the series. TheUnited States Navyalso commissioned Hope and Crosby to produce the 1945 short filmRoad to Home.[3]

Running gags[edit]

Beginning withRoad to Singaporethe films also includedin-jokereferences to other Hollywood actors and jabs atParamount Pictures,the studio that released all the films except forThe Road to Hong Kong.There are also frequent instances in which Bob Hope breaks thefourth wallto address the audience directly, such as inRoad to Bali,in which he says, "[Crosby]'s gonna sing, folks. Now's the time to go out and get the popcorn."[4]

Hope and Crosby would usually play some form ofconfidence mentrying to make a lot of money, with Bing coming up with the ideas and Bob usually doing most of the dirty work.[5]Another common set-piece in the films is a monologue by Crosby "telling it like it is" to the Dorothy Lamour character, only to fall into traditional Crosby-singing-a-ballad; an example fromThe Road to Rio(1947) features the Crosby character analyzing the true love-encounters of a (fictional) film scene, followed by his singing "But Beautiful"(Jimmy Van Heusen/Johnny Burke).[6]

When confronted by the villain, Hope and Crosby would use a "patty cake" routine before throwing punches, though this would sometimes not work, as inRoad to Morocco:"That gag sure gets around, huh?" "Yeah, right back to US!" The only film in the series in which the routine was not used was inRoad to Utopia.

Both characters would usually promise to not allow women to interfere with their plans, and both would immediately see a woman and forget that promise. Crosby would almost always get the girl, with the exceptions being inRoad to UtopiaandRoad to Rio(although hypnosis was involved in the latter case).

Hope's character usually would have a nickname with which he would be referred to throughout the film, as inRoad to Morocco,when he was called "Turkey", andRoad to Zanzibar,in which he was called "Fearless".

Crosby credited writer Barney Dean with standing off-camera and continuously coming up with jokes.[7]

Hope would also break the fourth wall continuously to over-act, often with an upbraiding from Crosby. Hope would then blame his overacting on his attempt to win anOscar.In reality, Hope never won any Oscar for his work, although he did receive honorary Oscars. Later, when Hope was a regular Oscar host, he incorporated his "Oscar bait"whines into his monologues there.

Reception[edit]

Box office performance for theRoad to...films
Film U.S. release date US/Canadatheatrical rental
Road to Singapore[8] March 14, 1940 $1,600,000*
Road to Zanzibar April 11, 1941 TBD
Road to Morocco[9] November 10, 1942 $3,800,000
Road to Utopia[9] February 27, 1946 $4,500,000
Road to Rio[9] December 25, 1947 $4,500,000
Road to Bali[9] December 25, 1952 $3,000,000
The Road to Hong Kong[10] May 23, 1962 $2,600,000
Total $20,000,000

*Worldwidetheatrical rental

Homages and other influence[edit]

  • The 1944Famous StudiosPopeyecartoon "We're On Our Way to Rio" is a parody of these films.
  • The April 20, 1966 episode ofThe Danny Thomas Show,titled "The Road to Lebanon," featured Bing Crosby scouting locations in Beirut for a new Road picture without Bob Hope.[11]
  • In the 1981 Mel Brooks filmHistory of the World, Part I,on escaping from the Romans, Brooks and co-star Gregory Hines parody the series' "We're off on the road to..." signature song by singing "We're off on the road to Judea, we certainly do get around..."
  • The 1985 filmSpies Like Us,starringDan AykroydandChevy Chase,is an homage to the films; Hope makes a cameo as himself in one scene. The phrase "Road to Dushanbe" is uttered several times throughout the movie.Dushanbeis near the ultimate destination of the protagonists.
  • The 1987 filmIshtarwas envisioned by writer/directorElaine Mayas an homage to the "Road" series.[12]
  • The 1990They Might Be Giantssong "Road Movie to Berlin" references the films in its title.
  • TheTaleSpinepisode "Road to Macadamia" pays tribute to the series, including spoofs on the songs.
  • Three episodes of the 1991–1995 animated seriesTaz-Maniaspoofed theRoad to..movies, starring Hugh Tasmanian Devil, Taz's father and a Crosby parody. Taz's uncle Drew would later be introduced, naturally parodying Hope. They featured in the episodes "Road to Taz-Mania," "Return of the Road to Taz-Mania Strikes Back" and "Yet Another Road to Taz-Mania."
  • TheDuckmanepisode "Road to Dendron" spoofs the series.
  • The 2000 animated filmThe Road to El Doradois an homage to the Road movies and contains many popular beats, including creating a distraction before fighting an opponent.
  • In the 2001–2003 Disney animated seriesThe Legend of Tarzan,the characters Hugo and Hooft are loosely based on Hope and Crosby (though not in appearance).
  • The animated TV seriesFamily Guyhas had eight "Road to..."episodes thatspoofthe original Road pictures, starringBrianandStewie Griffin:"Road to Rhode Island","Road to Europe","Road to Rupert","Road to Germany","Road to the Multiverse","Road to the North Pole","Roads to Vegas",and"Road to India".In addition, the series' 2009 episode"Spies Reminiscent of Us"is an homage toSpies Like Us,even guest starring Aykroyd and Chase, which in turn was based on the "Road" films.
  • The television seriesMy Little Pony: Friendship is Magicepisode "Road to Friendship"from September 1, 2018, was paying homage to these films with the episode title and a song by the same name.
  • In the 1980s,Eric Idlewanted to make a film calledThe Road to Mars,but became so frustrated by executive meddling at Hollywood studios that he wrote it as anovelinstead.

References[edit]

  1. ^Gary Giddins, relying on Paramount scripts and other documentation, inBing Crosby: A Pocketful of Dreams — The Early Years, 1903–1940(NY: Little, Brown, 2009), 39.ISBN9780316091565
  2. ^"The 'Road...' Films of Hope, Crosby and Lamour".h2g2.2004-10-09.Retrieved2009-10-25.
  3. ^Road to Homeis available for free viewing and download at theInternet Archive
  4. ^Wes D. Gehring, "Hope & Crosby:Road to Bali(1953), inMovie Comedians of the 1950s: Defining a New Era of Big Screen Comedy(Jefferson NC: McFarland, 2016), 72–83;ISBN1476626928
  5. ^One example, fromThe Road to Rio(1947), involves getting $200 to ride a bicycle across a wire; indeed, the Crosby character makes the deal and the Hope character does the deed; or, rather, half of it: Hope appears to cross halfway, before accidentally setting the circus on fire, at which point Crosby bounces Hope into a waiting wagon with horses, to make their escape to the cruise boat which takes them to Rio de Janeiro.
  6. ^Analyzed in detail by Steven Cohan, "Almost Like Being at Home: Showbiz Culture and Hollywood Road Trips in the 1940s and 1950s", in Cohan and Ina Rae Hark, eds.,The Road Movie Book(London: Routledge, 1997), 113–42. (119–22)ISBN9781134824366
  7. ^Gilliland, John (July 8, 1971)."Pop Chronicles Interviews #133 – Bing Crosby".UNT Digital Library.
  8. ^"Which Cinema Films Have Earned the Most Money Since 1914?".The Argus.Melbourne. 4 March 1944. p. 3 Supplement: The Argus Weekend magazine.RetrievedJune 25,2020– via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^abcdCohn, Lawrence (October 15, 1990). "All-Time Film Rental Champs".Variety.p. M182.
  10. ^"Big Rental Pictures of 1962".Variety.January 9, 1963. p. 13.
  11. ^"BING magazine".BING magazine.
  12. ^"Elaine May in conversation with Mike Nichols".Film Comment. July–August 2006.

External links[edit]

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