Road to Bali (1952)

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 ... See full summary »

Director:

Hal Walker

Writers:

Frank Butler (screenplay), Hal Kanter (screenplay),

Stars:

Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Bing Crosby	...	George Cochran
Bob Hope	...	Harold Gridley
Dorothy Lamour	...	Princess Lala
Murvyn Vye	...	Ken Arok
Peter Coe	...	Gung
Ralph Moody	...	Bhoma Da
Leon Askin	...	King Ramayana

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

regression | vaudeville | poison dart | elephant | sequel | 

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Taglines:

TOGETHER AGAIN!...in the BEST and FUNNIEST "Road" Picture Yet!

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Musical

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 April 1953 (France)

Also Known As:

Der Weg nach Bali

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch - 1 Iverson Lane, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bing Crosby Productions, Hope Enterprises, Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was the only "Road" picture of the seven to be photographed in Technicolor. Ten years later, the British-made "Hong Kong" finale would revert to black and white.

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Goofs

When Lala comes ashore after the shipwreck, her dress is torn but reaches to mid-calf or lower. Later when they arrive at the abandoned hut, the dress is now mid-thigh length.

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Quotes

[Harold has been caught in a tree snare, proving the island is inhabited]
George Cochran: I wonder what the locals are like?
Princess Lala: I hope they're not cannibals or headhunters!
Harold Gridley: I hope they're orange pickers, I want to get out of this tree!
George Cochran: Oh, stop squawking, you'll fall off when you're ripe!

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Connections

Features Aloma of the South Seas (1941)

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Soundtracks

"CHICAGO STYLE"
Music by Jimmy Van Heusen
Lyrics by Johnny Burke
Sung by Bob Hope and Bing Crosby

User Reviews

The Bali High equivalent of Flying High

On a scale of one to a million this rates about a 999,999 on the silly scale. In colour and with beautiful production values ROAD TO BALI made in 1952 contains as many up to date movie and social references as an encyclopedia written by Ludwig Von Drake. In a huge theatre these ROAD films must have lifted the roof with laughter, and as a DVD diversion in 2006 any of them can be a generous and loony mood lifter. There is actually many laugh out loud moments still to be had even if you weren't born or aware of life in the early 50s. THE ROAD TO BALI (pronounced "Bally" by Americans; "Barley" by the rest of us) is basically flat-out hilarious with quips and ad libs galore. Even if you cringe at Bing Crosby as I do, there is enough genuinely funny lines and situations and terrible gags to overwhelm you...much like THE PRODUCERS released this year insists we find it relentlessly dementedly funny. To me Bob Hope has always been Daffy Duck (Groucho Marx was Bugs Bunny) and it is his vaudeville lunacy that carries Crosby inbetween squabbling over Lamour and pushing through all parts of the set. This film has some excellent special effects, very admirable for '52. A hilarious cameo from Jane Russell is the cherry on the icing. Some big dance scenes are an added bonus. Fun fun and demented fun. What a year 1952 was for hilarious films (look 'em up).