IT CAME FROM THE BOTTOM SHELF!

On March 26th, Kino Lorber Studio Classics will release the first four films in the popular Bing Crosby and Bob Hope Road picture series individually on Blu-ray. As a classic comedy fanboy since grade school, the new releases provide a good excuse for me to revisit the series chronologically.  I previously reviewed Road to Singapore (1940), Road to Zanzibar (1941), and Road to Morocco (1942), so now let’s join Bing, Bob, and Dorothy Lamour as they take a road into the past.

Road to Utopia is told mainly in flashback.  Bookended by scenes of elderly versions of the trio looking back on events of 40 years in the past, the film tells the story of a search for an Alaskan goldmine.  The map to the goldmine is stolen from the father of Sal Van Hoyden (Lamour) by a couple of murderous thugs.  However, it quickly slips through their fingers and into the hands of a couple of vaudevillians, Duke Johnson (Crosby) and Chester Hooton (Hope).  Sal joins forces with a friend of her father, saloon owner Ace Larson (Douglass Dumbrille), to get back the map.  However, she is unaware that Larson plans to leave her out in the cold.  Of course, none of it matters much, as it is all an excuse for a barrage of jokes.

Road to Utopia signals its comic intentions from the outset with an intoduction by legendary humorist, lecturer, and Algonquin wit, Robert Benchley.  Benchley dryly announces that he has been tasked by the studio with explaining the rather incomprehensible story that follows.  What does follow is the most unhinged “anything goes” installment in the series.  While the story takes place primarily at the turn of the 20th century, there are numerous anachronistic jokes about subjects such as Frank Sinatra and his bobby-soxers, Hope & Crosby’s radio sponsors, Crosby’s race horses, and recent politics.   There are also “fourth wall”-breaking gags, including multiple instances of Hope speaking directly to the audience, an actor walking through a scene on his way to another movie set, numerous references to the studio and the movie itself, and periodic interruptions by Robert Benchley (which fail to clarify anything).  As the icing on the cake, we get cartoon-like jokes involving talking animals, and an appearance by Santa Claus.  Most importantly, all the excess craziness adds up to added laughs.  I think it is the funniest of all the Roads.

I’m still singing snippets of songs from the prior series entry, Road to Morocco.  Being that it’s predecessor had the most memorable mix of songs in the series, how does Road to Utopia stand up music-wise?  To be honest, it’s a bit of a mixed bag.  Once again, the songs are contributed by the team of Jimmy Van Heusen (who provided the music in all seven Road pictures) and Johnny Burke (who wrote the lyrics for the first six series entries).  However, if you can complain about any aspect of Utopia, it’s that it is padded out with too many songs that interrupt the flow of the jokes.  A couple of truly great songs are mixed in with five that are less than memorable.  You could probably drop three of the numbers and improve the picture.

Since the comedic scenes in Road to Utopia are so strong, the songs that come off best are the novelty tunes that are peppered with jokes.  “Put It There, Pal” is another back-and-forth number for Bing and Bob, obviously modeled on “Road to Morocco.”  While “Morocco” is more iconic, I’d argue that “Put It There, Pal” is actually a better song.  It’s both funnier and has a bouncier tune.

The other standout number is Dorothy Lamour’s spotlight, “Personality.”  Dottie was an extremely talented songstress with great comedic timing, but she was often upstaged by the two old hams with which she was partnered.  “Personality,” with it’s jaunty tune and somewhat suggestive lyrics was tailor-made for Lamour’s talents, and her performance is electric.  It is her best showcase in the entire Road series.

While Bing fairs rather poorly in terms of love songs, he gives his best comedic performance in the series, relishing opportunities to play the unprincipled con man.  Hope gets ample opportunity to show off his whipcrack comic timing, as well as a bit of his dancing skills.  Finally, Dorothy Lamour fairs much better than she did in previous outings.  She enters the story from the opening, rather than the middle of the picture, gets to play comedy (including underneath little old lady makeup), and has a bigger role in the story throughout.  Overall, all three stars shine a little brighter in Road to Utopia than they did in prior Roads.

Road to Utopia is my personal favorite of the seven-film series.  It is just as funny (I’d say funnier) than Road to Morocco, including more “fourth wall”-breaking content, while containing none of the cringe-worthy stereotypes that badly date parts of the earlier films.  The picture, released in the UK in late 1945 and the US in early 1946, was another major hit for Paramount.  The total box office take was larger than the prior film, though slightly lower when compared to the box office for all films of the year (#9, whereas Morocco hit #4).  Consequently, Bing, Bob, and Dottie would be quickly sent down the Road again.

USA/B&W-90m./Dir: Hal Walker/Wr: Norman Panama and Melvin Frank/Cast: Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Hillary Brooke, Douglass Drumbrille, Jack La Rue, Robert Barrat, Nestor Paiva, Robert Benchley

For Fans of: If you love classic comedy teams (Abbott & Costello, Laurel & Hardy, The Marx Brothers, Martin & Lewis, etc.) but you haven’t seen the Road pictures, you should give Bing & Bob a try.

Video: Kino Lorber’s Blu-ray release of Road to Utopia looks and sounds fantastic. The Black & White image is near flawless. The picture is sharp, has great contrast, and the grain structure of the 35mm film is intact.  The original mono audio is clear, and the musical sequences sound terrific.  In addition, the special features from prior DVD releases have been ported over onto the Blu-ray, along with new ones.

Special Features:

• Audio Commentary by filmmaker Greg Ford and film & music historian Will Friedwald
• Bob Hope and the Road to Success: A 14-minute vintage featurette covering how the Road picture series originated.  This feature is included on Kino Lorber’s Blu-ray releases of all of the first four Road pictures.
• Hollywood Victory Caravan: Filmed shortly after the end of the war, this star-studded 20-minute short was meant to drum up funding for the Victory Loan campaign to bring troops home and pay for medical care of disabled vets.  Amongst the actors featured are Road to Utopia stars Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Robert Benchley.
• Theatrical Trailers for the first four Road pictures
• Optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature

Streaming: The Road to Utopia can be rented or purchased in digital streaming format on Amazon, but it isn’t currently streaming on any of the major subscription services, such as NetFlix or Hulu.

More to Explore: By the end of this month, all the Road pictures will be out on Blu-ray— Road to Singapore, Road to Zanzibar, Road to Morocco, Road to Utopia, Road to Rio, and Road to Bali from Kino Lorber Studio Classics and Road to Hong Kong from Olive Films. They are all worth a watch. However, the middle three are generally considered the best.

Trivia: While many consider Road to Utopia to be the pinnacle of the series, it is an anomaly in several ways.  It is the only Road picture that doesn’t have the name of a real place in the title; it is the only one that takes place in a cold climate; and it is the only one that is mainly set in the past.  It is also the only one that doesn’t include the “patty-cake” routine.  Although, it does have a variation on the gag, in which the boys literally pull the rug out from under their adversaries.

For More Info: There have been many film references and individual biographies written about Bing, Bob, and Dottie, but for coverage of the Road series specifically, let me suggest the book Road to Box Office: The Seven Film Comedies of Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour, 1940-1962 by Randall G. Mielke.