Road to Utopia (1945)

Two vaudeville flops pose as bad guys and join the Klondike gold rush with a saloon singer.

Director:

Hal Walker

Writers:

Norman Panama (original screenplay), Melvin Frank (original screenplay)

Stars:

Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour

Nominated for 1 Oscar.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Bing Crosby	...	Duke Johnson
Bob Hope	...	Chester Hooton
Dorothy Lamour	...	Sal Van Hoyden
Hillary Brooke	...	Kate
Douglass Dumbrille	...	Ace Larson
Jack La Rue	...	LeBec (as Jack LaRue)
Robert Barrat	...	Sperry
Nestor Paiva	...	McGurk
Robert Benchley	...	Narrator

Storyline

At the turn of the century, Duke and Chester, two vaudeville performers, go to Alaska to make their fortune. On the ship to Skagway, they find a map to a secret gold mine, which had been stolen by McGurk and Sperry, a couple of thugs. They disguise themselves as McGurk and Sperry to get off the ship. Meanwhile, Sal Van Hoyden is in Alaska to try and recover the map; it had been her father's. She falls in with Ace Larson, who wants to steal the gold mine for himself. Duke and Chester, McGurk and Sperry, Ace and his henchmen, and Sal, chase each other all over the countryside, trying to get the map.

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Plot Keywords:

road movie | map | alaska | vaudeville | mistaken identity | 

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Taglines:

IT'S A SLEIGH RIDE OF HILARITY...WITH BING, BOB & DOTTY! (print ad - Lubbock Morning Avalanche - Tower Theatre - Lubbock, Texas - September 6, 1946 - all caps)

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Musical

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

Duke tells Sal, "Here's a little TL for you." TL stands for "two-liner" - which refers to a two-part statement, one being the setup and the second being the substance. Crosby's character also used this term during the raft scene at the beginning of "Road to Morocco (1942)" when he explains why he flipped a coin.

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Goofs

The right arm of the person holding the talking fish is visible.

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Quotes

Duke Johnson: He thinks he's a dog. His mother was frightened by a Pekingese.

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Crazy Credits

Narrator Robert Benchley credits himself orally in a precredit sequence.

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Connections

Featured in Paramount Presents (1974)

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Soundtracks

Jingle Bells
(1857)
Written by James Pierpont
In the score when Duke and Chester meet Santa Claus

User Reviews

gags and cast triumphant

Bob and Bing pal through this in their breezy manner, ably assisted by Dottie Lamour and especially the dry witty commentary of humorist Robert Benchley. Students of film and lovers of movies will appreciate the quality of the production, and rejoice in the knowledge that not everything funny was created after 1990.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 March 1946 (USA)

Also Known As:

Road to Utopia

Filming Locations:

June Lake, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1