This DVD item from Universal Studios was reviewed on 11-Dec-2008.
Road to Singapore Reference DVD. Classifications : General Comedy Genres DVD Video Buddy Films By Theme Comedy Genres DVD Video Cons & Scams By Theme Comedy Genres DVD Video Love Triangle Love & Romance By Theme Comedy Genres DVD Video Classic Comedie . Click the following link to view the cover of Road to Singapore. Related topics: 1940-03-22. General. Comedy. Genres. DVD. Video. Buddy Films. By Theme. Comedy. Genres. DVD. requestid: 1d7a81f9-4e24-427d-952d-eb7904cad324
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1) DVD DVD Road to Singapore by Universal Studios. I´m typing this as I´m watching the movie. The songs and dance were really good but the settings were very peculiar. I can´t very well tell if they were in some mexican village or Singapore. Mexican cantina or spanish-sounding store owners were far from being realistic in Singapore in the 40s!
However, the movie itself is very entertaining if one can overlook the strange settings!¤ 2) DVD DVD Road to Singapore by Universal Studios. This is the first of seven road pictures (starring Bing and Bob) and it is a good one. I read where the movie was originally set to star George Burns and Gracie Allen in the two lead roles ... when it was then adapted for Bing and Bob.
Some good acting here. The later road pictures put the zany actics and funny gag lines way up front ... as they should ... for our enjoyment, but The Road to Singapore has more of a credible plot and better acting. Dorothy Lamour is an excellent actress. Her one scene near the end, on the ship deck with Bob, is pretty special.
My rank for this road picture (among the seven) is third or fourth. And it´s just fun to see the boys at the beginning of what would become a great series of motion pictures.
¤ 3) DVD DVD Road to Singapore by Universal Studios. "Road to Singapore" is the first of the "Road" pictures starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour. They are all wonderful, crazy, silly and just plain fun films as Bing and Bob wreak havoc along everything they encounter. In this first film, plenty of that is done, probably more likely in any other ´Road" picture as they head for Singapore and rescue the fair Mima from a bullwhipper. Some of my favorite sequences are the "patty-cake, patty-cake" scenes in which it becomes a running gag in every "Road" film, especially this. Filled with crazy antics, hilarious crack-ups, exotic dance numbers and s omuch more to enjoy even though the film is quite underrated and a bit quirky.¤ 4) DVD DVD Road to Singapore by Universal Studios. I don´t know why so many of the past reviewers put this film at the bottom of the list of "The Road to . . ." series. This is the film that started it all! It may lack some of the easy play and banter between Hope and Crosby as seen in the later films, but keep in mind this is the first time (1939-40) that Bing and Bob have been in a film together. As the years progressed, they were given more freedom to do what they liked given their bigger star status and the box-office successes of the earlier pictures. Despite what others may say, "Singapore" is an enjoyable film all the way through. It´s embedded with gems like "Captain Custard" and "Sweet Potato Piper". The chemistry between Hope, Crosby, and Lamour is great -- you can tell they must have had a fun time making this movie :)I would definitely not leave this one out of my "Road" collection.¤ 5) DVD DVD Road to Singapore by Universal Studios. The first of the much-vaunted "Road To" series, and an inkling of things to come... Beset on all sides by would-be wives, Bing Crosby and Bob Hope skip town to form an Asian branch of the He-Man Woman-Haters Club, predictably getting sidetracked by drippy Dorothy Lamour (is it just me, or is her likeness to Katie Holmes... check her out in profile... a little eerie?) Anyway, the plot is paper thin, the pacing is sluggish and the gags are as flat as the tunes by songwriter Johnny Burke. It´s kind of goofy seeing Hope in a supposedly manly-man role, but maybe that´s just in hindsight. Most significantly, this marks the beginning of Crosby´s descent into unmitigated pop culture corn... It´s a so-so oldie; better that you should stick with Crosby´s earlier "Waikiki Wedding," which at least has some cool music.¤ 6) DVD DVD Road to Singapore by Universal Studios. Here´s the first trip in what would become one of Paramount Pictures´ most profitable film series of the ´40s. When this comedy was released in 1940, Bing Crosby and Bob Hope had separately achieved stardom, though Crosby was an established power and Hope still a hot comedian new to movies. In fact, Hope is billed third in Road to Singapore, below Der Bingle and Dorothy Lamour. The script establishes what would be a constant in the Road series: a ramshackle plot, a handful of songs, and plenty of irreverent banter between the two boys. Crosby plays Josh Mallon, scion of a wealthy family, who prefers the vagabond life to his stuffy family; his pal Ace Lannigan (Hope) is only too happy to escape. They end up sharing a waterfront shack in Singapore and vying for the affections of a sarong-clad local (Lamour), amidst stabs at conning the natives with a dubious elixir variously known as "Spot-O" (stain remover) and "Scram-O" (cockroach killer). Singapore isn´t as loose as some of the wacky subsequent entries in the series, but it already shows Crosby and Hope grooving to each other´s perfectly timed burlesque rhythms in scenes that clearly depart from the script. They specialized in muttered asides, show-biz in-jokes, and gratuitous insults--and this one´s got a song and dance number with an ocarina. No wonder it became a franchise. --Robert Horton¤ Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 8-Jan-2009, 0783255268025192123122, 72B-F7B-F8B-F9B-FAB-30B-8 
Road to Singapore, DVD, Image © Universal Studios
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