Violence/Gore: The boys play paddy-cake before getting into a series of fights, which - while not WWF-style - do get a bit rougher than one might expect. Anthony Quinn and Dorothy Lamour do a dance involving some pretty close whip interplay (perhaps I should have put this in the sex/nudity category). Quinn also displays a violent temper.

Sex/Nudity: Dorothy Lamour wears alluring clothing. Bob Hope’s character, Ace Lannigan, has apparently knocked up a girl (suggested strongly).

Best Line: Costello: “Oh! Look, mister, tell the head man, would you please, tell him I’d like to die my own way.” L. Atwill: “How do you want to die?” Costello: “Of old age.”

Score:

Josh Mallon (Crosby), heir to a shipping empire, has just come into port after slumming on a freighter with his low class pal, Ace Lannigan (Bob Hope). After the boys make some cracks about the cons of marriage, the plot moves to where Ace is subjected to the prospect of a shotgun marriage for something he’s done with one of the local girls. After a violent brawl, the film shifts to Josh’s family; his stern father; Josh’s desire to be free to roam; Josh’s unpleasant, self-obsessed fiancée; and more of the same old same old ‘rich kid who wants to slum’ jazz (at the time of this film, Crosby’s ‘rich kid’ was 37 in real life).

After Josh’s engagement party, the boys take off/flee for Singapore, where they decide to shun women and live like slobs. Enter Mima (Dorothy Lamour), a beautiful native who both the boys fall in love with and who they take in to their abode - a little saucy undertone for 1940, don’t you think? Anyway, it’s all ‘who will get the girl’ after that, and since Bing Crosby gets top billing, your guess is as good as mine who will win Lamour’s heart.

Now you may be asking why Cinejunkie would delve into the world of the ROAD pictures. What makes a review of ROAD TO SINGAPORE essential for posting on an ostensibly sci-fi, horror and exploitation film site? Well the answer is simple:

Dorothy Lamour was one of the stars of CREEPSHOW 2.

As you can see, ROAD TO SINGAPORE has earned its place here, as have all the ROAD pictures, THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH, MY FAVORITE BRUNETTE and, hell, STAR SPANGLED RHYTHM for that matter.

It’s just a shame the thing couldn’t have been more entertaining. As the first of the ROAD pictures, this is the movie that set the tone for all future offerings, and apparently at this point the tone was mild comedy with an odd tendency toward dramatic flourishes. For a series that degenerated into seemingly spontaneous ad-libs, winks at the audience and topical in-jokes, one doesn’t quite know how to react to the “acted” scene where Bob and Bing force Dorothy to decide between them. Nor does one feel exactly comfortable watching Anthony Quinn manhandle Lamour in one sequence, even if he gets his comeuppance via the patented paddy-cake routine - that apparently no potential victim could figure out, in spite of the fact that it appeared to be the pair’s one and only way to lead into a fight.

These bizarre human moments aren’t the only jarring thing about the film. The leads haven’t quite developed their rapport either, and Hope’s mugging is second only to Mickey Rooney’s in becoming more obnoxious with each passing second. Fans of politically incorrect sequences involving generic white people donning tan makeup and going “native” will be suitably pleased/offended as well by the native feast sequence towards the end, where Bing and Bob smear themselves with mud and go to what turns out to be the local spousefinder.com ceremony.

Don’t expect to be enlightened about any of Singapore’s culture or customs in this picture. Heck, the film might as well be called ROAD TO NONDESCRIPT TROPICAL ISLAND.

The movie was directed by Victor Schertzinger, who was also a composer (he did the music for THE LOVE PARADE, remember that one?) and the man behind ROAD TO ZANZIBAR, PARAMOUNT ON PARADE and THE FLEET’S IN - an early vehicle for Eddie Bracken (Wally of ‘Wally World’ fame in NATIONAL LAMPOON’S VACATION) and Betty Hutton (ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN’S CREEK).

DVD Extras: The film is included on Universal’s “On The Road With Bob Hope and Bing Crosby” set, part of their “The Franchise Collection.” The DVD includes a bonus documentary, “Entertaining the Troops,” and a sing-along for the moderately amusing song “Sweet Potato Piper.” An earlier stand-alone version of this film was released on DVD as part of the “Bob Hope Collection” and featured more extras.

AH