Der Weg nach Bali

And, it was the only one of the "Road to..." movies that he and Bing Crosby ever did in Technicolor. The ad-libbed asides to the audience were something I had never seen or heard of before! Even more of a delightful surprise was the cameo appearance by General Burkhalter as a South Sea island chief!! The songs weren't bad, either. * "The Merry-Go-Run-Around" is probably my second-favorite song of Bob's. "Silver Bells" and "Thanks for the Memories" naturally tie for first-place.* With Bob having died this past Sunday, nostalgia channels like AMC and TCM will no doubt include this, and all his other films, in some kind of marathon movie memorial. *Which they really should have done BACK ON HIS CENTENNIAL!* Oh, well. Thanks to you, Bob, for all my merry, mirth-filled memories.

In this very lighthearted comedy, Bob and Bing ham it up in the South Pacific, in search of women and adventure. The plot, which involves deep-sea diving for sunken treasure, is super shallow ... so to speak. But of course the film is just an excuse to highlight the talents of the comic and the crooner. And talent they had. But here, neither the jokes nor the songs are memorable. Fortunately, Dorothy Lamour is on hand to spice things up. The sets are mildly interesting, in a tacky sort of way.

For me, the real value of the "road" movies is the perspective they bring to cinema viewing. My ... how movies have changed in fifty years, and not necessarily for the better. "Road To Bali" wouldn't fly today ... or float, for that matter. But for fans of Hope and Crosby, the film is a pleasant, harmless diversion, a reminder of a more innocent, bygone era in film-making.

This movie introduced me to the entire "Road to" series. This movie shows how movie chemistry never dies. In their sixth film together, Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, and Dorothy Lamour show the fun and happiness of making films could be. They were friends and the audience can surely see that. Being the only movie in color makes the elaborate scenery come to life. The jokes are similar to the earlier films, but they are still funny. Do yourself a favor and buy this movie, it's worth it.

On a scale of one to a million this rates about a 999,999 on the silly scale. In colour and with beautiful production values ROAD TO BALI made in 1952 contains as many up to date movie and social references as an encyclopedia written by Ludwig Von Drake. In a huge theatre these ROAD films must have lifted the roof with laughter, and as a DVD diversion in 2006 any of them can be a generous and loony mood lifter. There is actually many laugh out loud moments still to be had even if you weren't born or aware of life in the early 50s. THE ROAD TO BALI (pronounced "Bally" by Americans; "Barley" by the rest of us) is basically flat-out hilarious with quips and ad libs galore. Even if you cringe at Bing Crosby as I do, there is enough genuinely funny lines and situations and terrible gags to overwhelm you...much like THE PRODUCERS released this year insists we find it relentlessly dementedly funny. To me Bob Hope has always been Daffy Duck (Groucho Marx was Bugs Bunny) and it is his vaudeville lunacy that carries Crosby inbetween squabbling over Lamour and pushing through all parts of the set. This film has some excellent special effects, very admirable for '52. A hilarious cameo from Jane Russell is the cherry on the icing. Some big dance scenes are an added bonus. Fun fun and demented fun. What a year 1952 was for hilarious films (look 'em up).

I like all of the Hope and Crosby road pictures even if they were kind of silly. I grew up with them; even saw Hope on stage at the Palace Theater in Cleveland, Ohio in the old vaudeville days (they also had a picture show). Anyhow, as simple as they were, they were funny in their own way, and I loved Crosby singing, and Dorothy Lamour's vocaling in amour! Saw The Road to Bali on the tube AMC for the umpteenth time, and still enjoyed it; as usual the music is great, and the boys really didn't know how to end it! 6/10