On R List of Movie Reviews
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Road to Singapore (1940)
Rate:
3
Viewed:
7/04, 3/08
3/08:
If Bing Crosby donned a hockey mask during the 80's, he would look exactly like Jason Voorhees, and an interesting
coincidence is that one of his sons appeared as Bill in Friday the 13th.
Of course, I'm digressing. When I saw Road to Singapore for the first time, I thought it was a funny film. Now, seeing it again,
and er...it's not so funny anymore and is perhaps now outdated. Most of the reason is due to nonexistent story, loose subplots, and
numerous stop-and-sing moments.
Mainly a radio star who got cast in a breakthrough role, Bob Hope would've turned Road to Singapore into a riotous
picture had he been used more often. However, let's be fair: it's the beginning of Bob Hope-Bing Crosby collaboration.
They work really well together, and it's easy to see them ad-libbing many times. Bob and Bing would go on to make six more
films for the Road to... franchise. Dorothy Lamour appeared in all of them and was quite beautiful in her time. The very
young-looking Anthony Quinn makes his appearance.
By far the best moment is when Bob Hope and Bing Crosby do the patty-cake thing before getting the hell out of dodge.
Interestingly, the title indicates the setting takes place in Singapore, but the whole time, it's been Kaigoon which doesn't
exist in real life. So, why not call it Road to Kaigoon?
All in all, if Road to Singapore was more of a laugh-a-minute than stop-and-sing picture, I would've enjoyed it more.