Astronauti per forza

Chester and Harry are con-men working their way around Asia. When an accident puts Chester in hospital with memory loss, the two contact a doctor who advises them of a ancient herb that will bring back all his memories. The herb also gives him the ability to memorise anything he reads.

A mix-up at the airport with an agent of a cult puts Chester in possession of formulae for a space rocket which the cult plan to use to put weapons on the moon and take control of the earth. The cult pursue the two leading to a range of crazy situations on earth.......and beyond!

That's the plot and, to quote Dorothy Lamor in this film "That's the plot so far? I'd better hide you.....from the critics!". The plot is, as always, a flimsy excuse for banter between Hope and Crosby. However in other "Road to...." movies the plot has been a little less silly. Here it's daft and too complicated to be totally forgotten about. And unfortunately the banter feels a little tired between the two, the other road movies felt fresher.

And it feels like they know it too - there's lots of tired routines, "special effects!" for one, and they have too many self-deprecating jokes. They're quite funny but after a while you realise that they're just saying it before anyone else does. However there still is much to like here - Hope and Crosby are still funny in a bad movie and some of their banter is still great, although the situations that give them the dialogue are daft.

Hope and Crosby play their characters with well rehearsed ease. A young Joan Collins is OK but comes over as a little over earnest. The larger-than-life Robert Morley plays the cult leader with seriousness and Peter Sellers wins the film with his Indian doctor cameo. There are a range of small cameos, some funny some not - Dorothy Lamor returns to the Road series, David Niven turns up for a few silent seconds and Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra take a gentle swipe at their rivals (although it's not very funny -"special effects!").

Overall this is a gentle comedy that you'll enjoy because of Hope and Crosby. The ridiculous plot takes away from it a lot (did they have to make it quite so silly?), and the musical numbers slow it down a bit. But to be honest, there's much better movies in the road series that this one.

There are no bad ROAD movies, and I do not except this one from that statement. As someone once said of the Marx Brothers film AT THE CIRCUS (and I paraphrase) in the career of any other comedy team this picture would be considered a classic. It not only holds its own with the rest of the series but I actually prefer it to ROAD TO RIO, which (while still adhering to the Road Rule stated above) always seemed like the weakest of the series to me. It's funny the reasons some other posters have given for not liking the film: It looks like it was made in the Sixties (it was), the stars looks like they're nearing their sixties (they were, and so what?), it's not as funny as the others in the series (in any given horse race one horse will come in last, but he still had to be pretty damn good to get into the race in the first place). And nobody seems to much like Joan Collins. Well, she was gorgeous and a competent enough actress and in a movie like this who cares anyway? It's Bob and Bing's movie and despite what anyone says they prove they've still got the goods and deliver them with ease. I say quit carping and enjoy.

Yes, Bob and Bing are almost elderly and Dotty only gets a minor role in it but I really enjoy watching this, the last of the Road films. I am old enough to rightly claim that I saw it as a kid when it first hit the screen and it has gotten better as I have grown older. I certainly didn't get some of the quips like "I think this guy rolls his own" in response to the supreme leader's rant about dominating the world from his bases on the moon. I didn't know why Peter Sellers was so funny as he spoofs his Indian doctor from "The Millionairess". I didn't know why David Niven was sniggering as he was remembering "Lady Chatterleys Lover". I loved the dynamic between Bob and Bing. I enjoyed the songs - no classics but very catchy and witty. There was some broad comedy and the salute to Chaplin's "Modern Times" as the machines designed to feed and comfort the apes rather than humans whilst in space go out of synch and at double speed. There was the usual breaking of the fourth wall and cameo that became a staple in the series. The film was almost prescient in being a spoof on Bond films that had not been made. Walter Gotell playing the cold blooded right hand man in much the same manner as he did in "From Russia with Love". There is a super villain who plans to take over control of the world from space. There is a beautiful agent to be won over to the side of right and good. Even the chess master in "From Russia with Love", Peter Madden, turns up as a monk who tells Bing and Bob that money and women are of no importance. To which Bob retorts, "He needs to spend a weekend in Vegas". Another strangely prescient quip that only a year later was echoed by Major Kong in "Dr Strangelove". But I digress - as does the film. I suppose the film is a case of the film being like an old vaudeville show. It's got all sorts of bits and pieces cobbled together with the storyline being of least importance. At one point Bob asks Bing why he is foolishly going to try to fly with a "malted milkshake machine" strapped to his behind. Bing explains it in terms of the money etc. But then adds, " Besides it's a plot point". Again, that one flew over my head as a kid but today it gives me a smile if not a laugh. Yes, people who are not of my vintage and sensibilities are free to not enjoy the film but I am glad to be able to enjoy the last of Bob and Bings' teamwork.

This is actually the first Cosby/Hope "Road" picture I ever saw. I knew it was the last (after a 10 year break) and (for some reason) was in b&w--probably because Cosby and Hope looked better that way. I also heard it was pretty bad. While it's not great, I sort of enjoyed it.

The plot was REALLY silly and involves the boys in espionage with Joan Collins along for the ride and a (surprisingly) very bad job by Robert Morley as the lead villain. Dorothy Lamour decided to not costar in this one but she does pop up (playing herself) in an amusing cameo and sings one song (Cosby sings too). There's also a really silly and pointless bit when Cosby and Hope are sent to outer space. And the ending is desperate.

Still, it was well-made and Cosby and Hope were a wonderful team--their easy banter is great to watch and they made the worst lines seem funny. Also it's fun to see Collins (who's quite good) so young and full of sex appeal.

So, it's enjoyable way to kill 90 minutes. I'm seen better but I've seen worse too.

The Road to Hong Kong is the seventh and final film in the "Road To" series of films starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. It's directed by Norman Panama and Panama co-writes the screenplay with Melvin Frank. Music is by Robert Farnon and cinematography is by Jack Hildyard. Plot pitches Hope and Crosby in the middle of a mistaken identity scenario and thus mixed up with an organisation intent on world domination via the moon!

There had been a ten year gap since The Road to Bali was released in 1952, but such was the success and popularity of the series the boys were once again trundled out for one last "Road To" hurrah. Behind the scenes squabbles and stipulations tainted it some what, most notably the shunting out of the way of the series' previously leading lady Dorothy Lamour (who ends up making an extended cameo), who was replaced by a youthful Joan Collins. So with some scratchy back history and a word of mouth reputation as the worst of the series, with claims of the dynamic duo being too old and long past their best, The Road to Hong Kong must be a stinker then? Right? Actually no.

Sure it lacks some of the energised nuttiness of previous instalments, but this definitely isn't a stinker. Yes the boys are a bit long in the tooth, and Collins, whilst no Lamour in screen presence and chemistry value with the duo, is sexy, spunky and grounds some of the more older frayed edges. The sci-fi plot is delightfully bonkers, very much capturing the space age zeitgeist of the 60s, and there's a whole bunch of great gags as usual (my favourite is about an elephant thermometer). Not all the intended humourous scenes work, but most do, while there's even a quite surreal one involving banana feeding machines! Bonus sees a cameo from the great Peter Sellers as his patented Indian Doctor, a scene where you can see Bing and Bob looking on and thinking the torch is being passed, while a strong support cast includes Robert Morley, Walter Gotell and Felix Aylmer. Funky opening credit sequences as well!

Worst in the series? Well that's a harsh statement, more like it's a lesser light than the rest it is probably more fairer to say, but it's a fun film that adds weight to what fine entertainment value Bing and Bob were. 6.5/10