Road to Bali
Encyclopedia
Road to Bali is a 1952 comedy film
starring Bing Crosby
, Bob Hope
and Dorothy Lamour
. It was released by Paramount Pictures
and is the sixth of the seven Road to … movies. It was the only such movie filmed in color and was the first to feature surprise cameo appearance
s from other well-known stars of the day.
, Australia, have to leave in a hurry to avoid various marriage proposals. They end up in Darwin
, where they take jobs as pearl divers for a prince.
They are taken by boat to an idyllic island on the way to Bali
, (the location is unclear, but possibly in the Maluku Islands
). They vie with each other for the favours of exotic (and half-Scottish) Princess Lalah, a cousin of the Prince. The hazardous dive produces a chest of priceless jewels, which the prince plans to claim as his own.
After escaping from the prince and his henchmen, the three are shipwrecked and washed up another island. Lalah is now in love with both of the boys and can't decide which to chose. Following further romantic complications, the boys participate in a traditional marriage ceremony, both thinking they're marrying Lalah. In fact, she's being unwillingly married to the already much-married King.
Harold conjures up Jane Russell
from a basket by playing a flute and thinks that he's going to get her. But she chooses otherwise and George walks off with both Jane and Lala. Harold is left alone on the beach, demanding that the film shouldn't finish and asking the audience to stick around to see what's going to happen.
, and was known during production as The Road to Hollywood. It was the sixth film in the series, and the next to last to be made, as well as the last "Road" film to star Dorothy Lamour. The film was a co-production of Bing Crosby Enterprises, Hope Enterprises and Paramount.
The giant squid
that threatens Bob Hope in an underwater scene was previously seen attacking Ray Milland
in the Paramount production Reap the Wild Wind
directed by Cecil B. DeMille
and the erupting volcano
climax was taken directly from the Paramount production Aloma of the South Seas (1941) also starring Lamour.
(Bing's brother), Humphrey Bogart
, by way of a clip from The African Queen, Jerry Lewis
, Dean Martin
, and Jane Russell
, as her character from the 1952 film Son of Paleface
. The cameo by Martin and Lewis
were part of a 'comedy trade' where they made an appearance in this movie, while Hope and Crosby appeared in Martin and Lewis's Scared Stiff the following year. Martin and Lewis also made films for Paramount at the time.
Music for all songs is by Jimmy Van Heusen, with lyrics by Johnny Burke
.
When Decca Records
was recording the songs from the movie, they did not use Dorothy Lamour. Peggy Lee
recorded the Lamour part of the vocals.
, with Woody Woodpecker
and Buzz Buzzard
in the Hope and Crosby roles. The cartoon was released by Universal Studios
, which currently owns the first four Road to... films
.
setting, which takes Crosby and Hope from Melbourne, Australia, to the exotic island of Bali
, many of the jokes contain references to Argyle socks, Australian opera singer Dame Nellie Melba, Tasmania
n-born Errol Flynn
, and a dance routine featuring Scottish
bagpipes
.
As with the other Road movies, Bob Hope breaks the "fourth wall
" several times to make side comments to the audience. For example, as the music for a song sung by Bing Crosby begins, Hope looks to the camera and says, "He's gonna sing, folks. Now's the time to go out and get the popcorn."
Crosby breaks the fourth wall after Hope "notices" the audience is paying attention when he's about to tell Crosby how he escaped from the giant squid. Hope and Crosby walk away from the camera and Hope tells his story in exaggerated pantomime (out of earshot). Crosby then walks back toward the audience and shrugs at the camera, indicating Hope's description was indecipherable.
According to copyright law, when the "in notice" year is earlier than the calendar year of the official registration, the copyright term
begins in the earlier year (1952 in this case).
For films registered for copyright in 1950 and later, the window for a valid renewal was the 28th calendar year of the original copyright term. For Road to Bali, the 28th year was 1980.
(in joint venture with LBS Communications through what was then Colex Enterprises
) once had the television rights to this film in the 1980s, along with other Bob Hope movies from the 1940s and 1950s. This is evident in a home video release from the mid-1990s, where a CPT logo can be seen at the beginning and end of the film.
Because the film is in the public domain, there have been at least a dozen DVD releases from a variety of companies over the years. However, both CPT successor Sony Pictures Television
and what is now FremantleMedia
hold ancillary rights to this film, and official video releases have been issued under license from FremantleMedia (and its predecessor companies All-American Television and Pearson Television), the most recent DVD and HD-DVD releases coming from BCI Eclipse.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
starring Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby
Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
, Bob Hope
Bob Hope
Bob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
and Dorothy Lamour
Dorothy Lamour
Dorothy Lamour was an American film actress. She is best remembered for appearing in the Road to... movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope .-Early life:Lamour was born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton in New Orleans, Louisiana, the daughter of Carmen Louise Dorothy...
. It was released by Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
and is the sixth of the seven Road to … movies. It was the only such movie filmed in color and was the first to feature surprise cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
s from other well-known stars of the day.
Plot
George and Harold, American song-and dance-men performing in MelbourneMelbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia, have to leave in a hurry to avoid various marriage proposals. They end up in Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
, where they take jobs as pearl divers for a prince.
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
, (the location is unclear, but possibly in the Maluku Islands
Maluku Islands
The Maluku Islands are an archipelago that is part of Indonesia, and part of the larger Maritime Southeast Asia region. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone...
). They vie with each other for the favours of exotic (and half-Scottish) Princess Lalah, a cousin of the Prince. The hazardous dive produces a chest of priceless jewels, which the prince plans to claim as his own.
After escaping from the prince and his henchmen, the three are shipwrecked and washed up another island. Lalah is now in love with both of the boys and can't decide which to chose. Following further romantic complications, the boys participate in a traditional marriage ceremony, both thinking they're marrying Lalah. In fact, she's being unwillingly married to the already much-married King.
Harold conjures up Jane Russell
Jane Russell
Jane Russell was an American film actress and was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s....
from a basket by playing a flute and thinks that he's going to get her. But she chooses otherwise and George walks off with both Jane and Lala. Harold is left alone on the beach, demanding that the film shouldn't finish and asking the audience to stick around to see what's going to happen.
Production
Road to Bali was the first "Road to..." picture since 1947's Road to RioRoad to Rio
Road to Rio is a 1947 comedy film, directed by Norman Z. McLeod and starring Bing Crosby as Scat Sweeney, Bob Hope as "Hot Lips" Barton, and Dorothy Lamour as Lucia Maria de Andrade. It was the fifth of the "Road to …" series.-Plot:...
, and was known during production as The Road to Hollywood. It was the sixth film in the series, and the next to last to be made, as well as the last "Road" film to star Dorothy Lamour. The film was a co-production of Bing Crosby Enterprises, Hope Enterprises and Paramount.
The giant squid
Squid
Squid are cephalopods of the order Teuthida, which comprises around 300 species. Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head, bilateral symmetry, a mantle, and arms. Squid, like cuttlefish, have eight arms arranged in pairs and two, usually longer, tentacles...
that threatens Bob Hope in an underwater scene was previously seen attacking Ray Milland
Ray Milland
Ray Milland was a Welsh actor and director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985, and he is best remembered for his Academy Award–winning portrayal of an alcoholic writer in The Lost Weekend , a sophisticated leading man opposite a corrupt John Wayne in Reap the Wild Wind , the murder-plotting...
in the Paramount production Reap the Wild Wind
Reap the Wild Wind
Reap the Wild Wind is a serialized story written by Thelma Strabel in 1940 for The Saturday Evening Post, which was the basis for the 1942 film starring Ray Milland, John Wayne, Paulette Goddard, Robert Preston, and Susan Hayward, and directed by Cecil B. DeMille, his second picture to be filmed in...
directed by Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...
and the erupting volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
climax was taken directly from the Paramount production Aloma of the South Seas (1941) also starring Lamour.
Cast
- Bing CrosbyBing CrosbyHarry Lillis "Bing" Crosby was an American singer and actor. Crosby's trademark bass-baritone voice made him one of the best-selling recording artists of the 20th century, with over half a billion records in circulation....
as George Cochran - Bob HopeBob HopeBob Hope, KBE, KCSG, KSS was a British-born American comedian and actor who appeared in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in radio, television and movies. He was also noted for his work with the US Armed Forces and his numerous USO shows entertaining American military personnel...
as Harold Gridley - Dorothy LamourDorothy LamourDorothy Lamour was an American film actress. She is best remembered for appearing in the Road to... movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope .-Early life:Lamour was born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton in New Orleans, Louisiana, the daughter of Carmen Louise Dorothy...
as Princess Lalah McTavish - Murvyn Vye as Prince Ken Arok
- Peter Coe as Gung
- Ralph MoodyRalph MoodyRalph Moody was one of early drivers of NASCAR. However, he eventually became the most famous as team co-owner of Holman Moody.-Background:...
as Bhoma Da - Leon AskinLeon AskinLeon Askin was an Austrian actor best known for portraying the character "General Burkhalter" on the TV sitcom Hogan's Heroes.-Early life:...
as King Ramayana
Cameos
Among the celebrities who made token "gag" appearances in this film are bandleader Bob CrosbyBob Crosby
George Robert "Bob" Crosby was an American dixieland bandleader and vocalist, best known for his group the Bob-Cats.-Family:...
(Bing's brother), Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was an American actor. He is widely regarded as a cultural icon.The American Film Institute ranked Bogart as the greatest male star in the history of American cinema....
, by way of a clip from The African Queen, Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
, Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
, and Jane Russell
Jane Russell
Jane Russell was an American film actress and was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s....
, as her character from the 1952 film Son of Paleface
Son of Paleface
Son of Paleface , is a western comedy film and sequel to The Paleface , directed by Frank Tashlin and written by Tashlin, Joseph Quillan and Robert L. Welch. It stars Bob Hope, Jane Russell and Roy Rogers.-Plot:...
. The cameo by Martin and Lewis
Martin and Lewis
Martin and Lewis were an American comedy team, comprising singer Dean Martin and comedian Jerry Lewis as the comedic "foil". The pair first met in 1945; their debut as a duo occurred at Atlantic City's 500 Club on July 24/25, 1946....
were part of a 'comedy trade' where they made an appearance in this movie, while Hope and Crosby appeared in Martin and Lewis's Scared Stiff the following year. Martin and Lewis also made films for Paramount at the time.
Songs
- "Chicago Style" - performed by Bing Crosby and Bob Hope
- "Moonflowers" - by Dorothy Lamour
- "Hoot Mon" - Bing Crosby and Bob Hope
- "To See You Is To Love You" - Bing Crosby
- "The Merry-Go-Run-Around" - Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour and Bing Crosby
- "The Road To Bali" - Bing Crosby and Bob Hope (Song was recorded commercially, but was not used in the film)
Music for all songs is by Jimmy Van Heusen, with lyrics by Johnny Burke
Johnny Burke (lyricist)
Johnny Burke was a lyricist, widely regarded as one of the finest writers of popular songs in America between the 1920s and 1950s.-Biography:...
.
When Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
was recording the songs from the movie, they did not use Dorothy Lamour. Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee
Peggy Lee was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress in a career spanning six decades. From her beginning as a vocalist on local radio to singing with Benny Goodman's big band, she forged a sophisticated persona, evolving into a multi-faceted artist and...
recorded the Lamour part of the vocals.
In popular culture
Road to Bali was parodied in 1953 in the animated short Alley to BaliAlley to Bali
Alley to Bali is the 53rd animated cartoon short subject in the Woody Woodpecker series. Released theatrically on March 15, 1954, the film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by Universal International.-Plot:...
, with Woody Woodpecker
Woody Woodpecker
Woody Woodpecker is an animated cartoon character, an anthropomorphic acorn woodpecker who appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz animation studio and distributed by Universal Pictures...
and Buzz Buzzard
Buzz Buzzard
Buzz Buzzard is a fictional animated cartoon character who appeared in several films produced by Walter Lantz Productions in the 1940s, '50s, and 70’s.-History:...
in the Hope and Crosby roles. The cartoon was released by Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
, which currently owns the first four Road to... films
EMKA, Ltd.
EMKA, Ltd. is an in-name-only division of Universal Studios' television unit whose sole function is overseeing Paramount Pictures' pre-1950 sound feature film library. EMKA was formed by MCA in 1957 .In the aftermath of the landmark 1948 United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc...
.
Miscellany
In keeping with the film's CommonwealthCommonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
setting, which takes Crosby and Hope from Melbourne, Australia, to the exotic island of Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
, many of the jokes contain references to Argyle socks, Australian opera singer Dame Nellie Melba, Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
n-born Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Early life:...
, and a dance routine featuring Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
bagpipes
Bagpipes
Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and Irish uilleann pipes have the greatest international visibility, bagpipes of many different types come from...
.
As with the other Road movies, Bob Hope breaks the "fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
" several times to make side comments to the audience. For example, as the music for a song sung by Bing Crosby begins, Hope looks to the camera and says, "He's gonna sing, folks. Now's the time to go out and get the popcorn."
Crosby breaks the fourth wall after Hope "notices" the audience is paying attention when he's about to tell Crosby how he escaped from the giant squid. Hope and Crosby walk away from the camera and Hope tells his story in exaggerated pantomime (out of earshot). Crosby then walks back toward the audience and shrugs at the camera, indicating Hope's description was indecipherable.
Copyright status
This movie was copyrighted under registration LP2200 1 January 1953. That registration entry also shows "in notice: 1952", meaning that is the year in the copyright notice on the film. The copyright was renewed under RE105899 dated 1 September 1981.According to copyright law, when the "in notice" year is earlier than the calendar year of the official registration, the copyright term
Copyright term
Copyright term is the length of time copyright subsists in a work before it passes into the public domain.- Length of copyright:Copyright subsists for a variety of lengths in different jurisdictions. The length of the term can depend on several factors, including the type of work Copyright term is...
begins in the earlier year (1952 in this case).
For films registered for copyright in 1950 and later, the window for a valid renewal was the 28th calendar year of the original copyright term. For Road to Bali, the 28th year was 1980.
Release
Columbia Pictures TelevisionColumbia Pictures Television
Columbia Pictures Television was the second name of the Columbia Pictures television division Screen Gems . The studio changed its name on September 4, 1974.-1974-1982:...
(in joint venture with LBS Communications through what was then Colex Enterprises
Colex Enterprises
Colex Enterprises was a joint venture company between Columbia Pictures Television and LBS Communications, Inc., active from 1984 to 1988. The joint venture's name was a combination of the two companies' names .The company was responsible for distributing the Screen Gems...
) once had the television rights to this film in the 1980s, along with other Bob Hope movies from the 1940s and 1950s. This is evident in a home video release from the mid-1990s, where a CPT logo can be seen at the beginning and end of the film.
Because the film is in the public domain, there have been at least a dozen DVD releases from a variety of companies over the years. However, both CPT successor Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television, Inc. is an American and global television production/distribution subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment. In turn, the latter is part of the Japanese conglomerate Sony.-Background:...
and what is now FremantleMedia
FremantleMedia
FremantleMedia, Ltd. is the content and production division of Bertelsmann's RTL Group, Europe's second largest TV, radio, and production company...
hold ancillary rights to this film, and official video releases have been issued under license from FremantleMedia (and its predecessor companies All-American Television and Pearson Television), the most recent DVD and HD-DVD releases coming from BCI Eclipse.