Road to Bali (1952)

Director:

Hal Walker

Writers:

Frank Butler (writer)
Hal Kanter (writer)

Release Date:

8 April 1953 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

Tagline:

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

Plot:

Having to leave Melbourne in a hurry to avoid various marriage proposals, two song-and-dance men sign on for work as divers...

Plot Keywords:

Wedding | Sequel | Beautiful Woman | Flute | Love Triangle

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

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 (1953) | Finland:K-8 (1965) | Australia:G | Sweden:15 | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Bing Crosby Productions

Trivia:

In her 1980 autobiography, "My Side of the Road," (co-written with Dick McInnes), Dorothy Lamour relates how disappointed she was at not being asked to sing on the Decca album which re-created the film score. In Miss Lamour's place, the label recruited an artist under contract, Peggy Lee, to croon the sultry "Moonflowers" and then go upbeat with Bing Crosby and Bob Hope and on "The Merry-Go-Runaround" (both songs having music by Jimmy Van Heusen, lyrics by Johnny Burke).

Goofs:

Continuity: When George and Harold meet Lala, Harold's coat is held on his right shoulder. But, between shots, Harold appears holding the coat in front of himself.

Quotes:

Princess Lala: [showing a portrait of a woman in regal dress] She was my mother, Queen Tama of Vaatu.
George Cochran: Hm, beautiful.
Princess Lala: [indicating the portrait next to it of a man in a kilt] And he was my father.
George Cochran: Didn't anybody in the family wear the pants?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 'White Christmas': A Look Back with Rosemary Clooney (2000) (V)

Soundtrack:

The Whiffenpoof Song

Fun with Hope & Crosby

I like all of the Hope and Crosby road pictures even if they were kind of silly. I grew up with them; even saw Hope on stage at the Palace Theater in Cleveland, Ohio in the old vaudeville days (they also had a picture show). Anyhow, as simple as they were, they were funny in their own way, and I loved Crosby singing, and Dorothy Lamour's vocaling in amour! Saw The Road to Bali on the tube AMC for the umpteenth time, and still enjoyed it; as usual the music is great, and the boys really didn't know how to end it! 6/10