Road to Zanzibar

Starring:Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Una Merkel, Eric Blore, Douglass Dumbrille, Iris Adrian, Lionel Royce, Buck Woods, Leigh Whipper, Ernest Whitman, Noble Johnson, Joan Marsh, Luis Alberni, Robert Middlemass, Eddie Conrad, Paul Porcasi, Richard Keene, Al Bridge, Norma Varden
Director: Victor Schertzinger
Studio: Universal Studios
Product Type: DVD

Description

They are some of the best-loved film comedies ever created. Now, four of the most popular "Road" pictures, starring the unbeatable screen duo of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, are here together in this deluxe DVD collection. Join Bing and Bob as they travel the world and experience rollicking, fun-filled misadventures in the company of the alluring Dorothy Lamour in such screen gems as Road to Singapore, Road to Zanzibar, Road to Morocco and Road to Utopia. You'll laugh yourself silly with four of the titles that made Hope and Crosby one of the most successful comedy teams of the 1940s and which continue to charm and entertain audiences of all ages today.

Customer Reviews:

A RETURN TO NORMALCY.......2007-06-08

HAVING SEEN ALL OF THE ROAD MOVIES IN YEARS PAST, IT IS A GREAT PLEASURE ONCE AGAIN TO HEAR WONDERFUL VOICES, & COMEDIC ACTING AT SUCH A HIGH LEVEL. MUSIC & COMEDY DOES NOT HAVE TO BE VULGAR TO BE ENTERTAINING. WHERE HAVE YOU GONE BING CROSBY?

So Happy.......2007-04-27

I looked for the Road To movies a few years back with no luck. I checked back recently, and was pleased to find this collection of the first four- and, arguably, the best four- films in the series. The package is nice, and the movies are on one double-sided DVD, which is a nice change from the unnecessarily disc-heavy sets we see so often. The transfer of the movies isn't perfect, but they're old, and it's still fantastic in both sound and picture. All four movies are wonderful, though Road To Singapore is a bit slow in coming off the ground. Hope and Crosby are revered as one of the best comedy duos of all time, and this set proves why. I'm young, and I love these movies. They're great fun for all ages, and I highly recommend getting them. Especially for that price!

On the Road..........2007-03-10

Including four of the seven films in the series, "On the Road with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby" is a collection that I'm proud to own. The Bob Hope and Bing Crosby "Road" movies are a set of classic comedy musicals that are pointless but funny! This can only be appreciated by someone who understands the relationship between Hope and Crosby and the jokes that apply to the era. A great collection for the Hope, Crosby, or Lamour fan.

Enjoyable!.......2007-01-12

Couldn't wait to get this DVD and it was worth the wait. Got a charge out of seeing Bob and Bing together. Must order the other "Road" films.

road to comedy with bob and bing.......2007-01-10

a bargain collection of their best (save "Rio which should have been packaged with it - perhaps MCA-Universal did not have the rights).
Enjoy - nothing else needs to be said!

Bob Hope Tribute Collection - The Road Show Series (The Road to Morocco / The Road to Singapore / The Road to Utopia / The Road to Zanzibar)

Average customer rating:

Fine Family Vewing
OUTSTANDING - Bing is as always memorable - 5 STARS
Good quality- priceless entertainment
Ah yes....Thank you, so much....
"Patty Cake..Patty Cake...Baker's Man........"

Bob Hope Tribute Collection - The Road Show Series (The Road to Morocco / The Road to Singapore / The Road to Utopia / The Road to Zanzibar)
Starring: Bing Crosby , Bob Hope , Dorothy Lamour , Hillary Brooke , and Douglass Dumbrille
Director: Hal Walker , David Butler , and Victor Schertzinger
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

Road to Rio
Road to Bali
The Road to Hong Kong
Bob Hope Tribute Collection - Monsieur Beaucaire / Where There's Life Double Feature
The Ultimate Bob Hope Collection (The Great Lover / How to Commit Marriage / The Lemon Drop Kid / My Favorite Brunette / Paris Holiday / The Private Navy of Sgt. O'Farrell / Road to Bali / Road to Rio / The Seven Little Foys / Son of Paleface)

ASIN: B00005UMFD
Release Date: 2002-03-05

Amazon.com

Road to Singapore
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

Road to Zanzibar
The second Road movie from Paramount Pictures finds barnstorming con artists Chuck Reardon (Bing Crosby) and Hubert "Fearless" Frazier (Bob Hope) at liberty after their act goes haywire. (In these movies, Crosby generally lures the suckers into the tent, while Hope is always stuck getting shot out of the cannon.) A phony map to a diamond mine brings our boys into the middle of Africa, which means there's a good chance they'll end up sitting in a cauldron while natives perform a cannibal dance around them. These stereotypes would be offensive if the movie wasn't actively parodying the kind of jungle movie popular in 1941 (just as Road to Morocco would satirize the Arabian nights picture). Dorothy Lamour is along for the ride, of course, and her scene in a tight clinch with Hope established a tradition of steamy comic exchanges through the series (as she croons a love song to him, he checks to see if his wallet is still in his pocket). This is the first Road movie to actively wink at the audience; in one scene, Lamour mocks the way movies always have characters break out into song in the middle of nowhere with a full orchestra backing--which is exactly what happens next. The chatter between Crosby and Hope already feels improvised, and it should be noted that the secret of their chemistry is not a sentimental friendship but a cheerfully hostile rivalry between the two characters, a cheeky approach that must've delighted audiences used to the Andy Hardy niceness of most Hollywood movies of that era. Oh, and they do their patty-cake routine, too. --Robert Horton

Road to Morocco
Road to Morocco, number three in the series of breezy comedies teaming Bing Crosby and Bob Hope, may be the funniest of the bunch. Bing and Bob find themselves Morocco-bound ("like Webster's dictionary"), caught in an elaborately faked-up world of harems, palm trees, and other Arabian Nights bric-a-brac. Naturally, Dorothy Lamour is also there, as she was the customary target of male rivalry in the Road scenarios. There is something so loose and ingratiating about the patter between Hope and Crosby that it doesn't ultimately matter if half the jokes don't land; these guys had their own comfortable rhythm, fueled by cheerful one-upmanship. Their sense of spontaneity broke the fourth wall between movie and audience in a way only the Marx Brothers had really accomplished before, and audiences--feeling in on the joke--ate it up. Songs (including "Moonlight Becomes You"), topical references, and ancient vaudeville routines fill out the program. --Robert Horton

Road to Utopia
I feel sorry for people who can't appreciate Hope and Crosby Road pictures. This is the fourth in the series, and has the boys masquerading as the killers Sperry and McGurk, from whom they've stolen the map to a gold mine, but which really belongs to Dorothy Lamour, but which... and you know it really doesn't matter anyway. The point is they've got this thin plot on which to hang a series of hit-and-miss jokes, coming fast enough to make it just all right and a certain amount of time to see who gets Dorothy Lamour, while maintaining their fierce and friendly and wisecracking rivalry. They're in the Klondike this time around, which doesn't stop the film from working in a glimpse of Dorothy in her sarong. Along the way, animals talk, including the humorist Robert Benchley, whose thoroughly dispensable introduction and running commentary I wouldn't dispense with for anything. This is arguably the goofiest of the road pictures. My favorite joke is when Bob is bested in fishing with Bing. Bob remarks, "My worm must have B.O." Bing comes back with "Couldn't B.U." You may not care where you're going, just as long as you're with them. Put it there, pal, put it there. --Jim Gay

Customer Reviews:

Fine Family Vewing.......2005-08-05

Where has the Golden Age of Hollywood gone? It's available in one box. Bing Crosby and Bob Hope keep you laughing in this collection of endearing films. Bing Crosby woos the ladies with his Crooning, Bob Hope keeps them entertained with his sly wit. As the series progress they make refrences to their previous adventures, and they even take time to include you the veiwer in on the joke.
The On The Road series of films revolve around the premise that Bob and Bing are broke knock around guys, that fall for the same woman (Dorthy Lamour) and the antics that suround them as they both try to win the girl and save the day.
These movies set the tone for all "Buddy" flicks that have followed. A great set of movies for the family to sit around and watch on a Friday night. Don't forget the pop corn. I highly recommend this Box set.

OUTSTANDING - Bing is as always memorable - 5 STARS.......2003-12-21

What to say. As a younger viewer, 18, of the road to series, mostly Bing Crosby, I can only tell you that this is not only funny and sweet. It's a movie for all ages, without the needed worrying of partial nudity or inappropriate language for younger viewers, or mature viewers. Bing and Bob, Hope and Crosby : ), have excellent chemistry, they ad-lib mostly because of the fact that they work so well together. This has great picture quality, and humor for all times. I recommend this set and all others that follow. The only drawback of the pack, is that it only contains the first four, (Road to Singapore, Zanzibar, Morocco, and Utopia), it is missing the hilarious other 3, (Road to Rio, Bali, and Hong Kong), and the title being attributed to Bob Hope. I love them both, but Bing steals the scenes. For Hope and Crosby fans alike. GREEAAAAAAAAAAT!!!

Good quality- priceless entertainment.......2003-11-17

Bing Crosby and Bob Hope are hilarious together in these films. The quality of the dvds is excellent in both picture sharpness and sound. And the bonus features, of which there are several (photos from the sets put to music, sing-alongs, tribute to Bob Hope etc), are delightful. It is wonderful collection of the Road films and you would not go wrong purchasing this particular collection.

Ah yes....Thank you, so much...........2003-10-19

Pre-"Call Me Bwana" Bob Hope!! Is there anything better? NO ONE was better with a one-liner or an ad lib than old Ski-Nose! And Bing playing against him, never ceasing to amaze with his OWN ability to toss off a few!

Of the movies in this collection, "Utopia" is the best, with the slyest one liners, some fourth-wall breaking and lots of "in" jokes. And ALL the movies, at least on the VHS version, were crisp as could be!

The one thing you'll notice about the "Road" movies, is that the humor in them seems WAAAYY ahead of its time....like something you'd see in the fifties or sixties rather than the forties. Hope and Crosby were to comedy films what "Citizen Kane" and "The Wizard of Oz" were to late thirties drama.... trendsetting and exceptional! You couldn't possibly go wrong getting this set...if only it had "Hong Kong" and "Bali" in it....! (Not to mention "Rio"...)

Who is ever going to replace these two guys? George Clooney and Brad Pitt? Mike Meyers and Dana Carvey? I don't think so.

We'll miss you...Bob, Bing, Orson, Audrey, Cary, Frank, Sammy, Lucy, Desi, Kubrick, Federico, Henson, etc., etc.,.....

Somewhere up in heaven, someone is being entertained royally....

"Patty Cake..Patty Cake...Baker's Man........".......2003-10-13

"Bake A Cake as Fast As You Can...."...because you will not want to miss one second of the first four entries in The Road Series flicks with Bob,Bing and Dorothy!

This attractively boxed "Tribute Collection" is a must have for fans of these guys. The films, all from the early fourties,all Black and White, are beautifully restored and transfered on Dual layer discs. Although each has the special feature "Bob Hope and the Road to Success", the rest of the bonus material is different on each one. There are fun "Sing-Alongs","Entertaining the Troops", "Command Performances", photo galleries, DVD ROM and more.

The films themselves, are classic laugh out loud stuff, as in each story we follow our guys on their misadventures around the world. They never get old, each "road" brings new laughs and new plots.Always on the run from the bad guys, always some new money making scheme, and of course there's always the girl..the beautiful Dorothy Lamour. Will their "patty-cake" routine help them get away, will they become rich..will Bob EVER get the girl??? It's a pleasure watching on these DVDs.

Adding to all the laughs, are the wonderful song and dance routines, the exquiste costume design and the fabulous scenery. There are also always some terrific guest stars. Keep a look-out for these famous faces..Jerry Colonna, Una Merkel, Charles Coburn, Yvonne DeCarlo and the great Anthony Quinn.

So travel The Roads to Singapore,Zanzibar,Morocco and Utopia,with this famous trio. You'll be glad you did!

One note on "The Road to Utopia"..for some reason my DVD player was sensitive to this one, and would not load it, but I tried it on another player and it played perfectly...go figure!

Amazon.com

The second Road movie from Paramount Pictures finds barnstorming con artists Chuck Reardon (Bing Crosby) and Hubert "Fearless" Frazier (Bob Hope) at liberty after their act goes haywire. (In these movies, Crosby generally lures the suckers into the tent, while Hope is always stuck getting shot out of the cannon.) A phony map to a diamond mine brings our boys into the middle of Africa, which means there's a good chance they'll end up sitting in a cauldron while natives perform a cannibal dance around them. These stereotypes would be offensive if the movie wasn't actively parodying the kind of jungle movie popular in 1941 (just as Road to Morocco would satirize the Arabian nights picture). Dorothy Lamour is along for the ride, of course, and her scene in a tight clinch with Hope established a tradition of steamy comic exchanges through the series (as she croons a love song to him, he checks to see if his wallet is still in his pocket). This is the first Road movie to actively wink at the audience; in one scene, Lamour mocks the way movies always have characters break out into song in the middle of nowhere with a full orchestra backing--which is exactly what happens next. The chatter between Crosby and Hope already feels improvised, and it should be noted that the secret of their chemistry is not a sentimental friendship but a cheerfully hostile rivalry between the two characters, a cheeky approach that must've delighted audiences used to the Andy Hardy niceness of most Hollywood movies of that era. Oh, and they do their patty-cake routine, too. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

"He Musta' Seen the Picture!".......2005-04-29

Bing and Bob's second outing is about as much fun as you can have at the movies. Bing's "Rhythm on the River" director of the previous year, Victor Schertzinger, allowed the boys to ad-lib so much screenwriters Don Hartman and Frank Butler must have been frantically turning pages trying to see where that line came from! The end result of Bing and Bob's great chemistry was a delightfully funny film with a couple of nice songs and a formula that lovely Dorothy Lamour and the boys would make legendary.

The film has a hilarious opening as Fearless Frazier (Bob) is about to be shot out of a cannon at a carnival by his pal Chuck (Bing). When things go south and the carnival burns to the ground, they take the show on the road. Chuck always has the ideas, as usual, which have "Fearless" doing everything from wrestling an octopus to becoming the human bat. One of Chuck's greatest ideas is to put Fearless in a lead coffin and submerge it in water. As for how Fearless is to escape, well Chuck hasn't quite worked out all the details yet!

And so it goes. There is some usual nonsense about a diamond mine the boys get hoodwinked into buying and in turn snooker someone else into buying, but it's only an excuse for the boys to end up in darkest Africa with the gorgeous Lamour. Donna Latour (Lamour) and her pal Julia (Una Merkel) are running a con pretending to be captured by slave traders when Julia discovers all that dough Chuck and Hubert (Fearless!) made off their diamond mine map and the girls decide to take them on safari, and take them for a ride!

Lamour is sexy and mischievous in her knee high socks and gorgeous hats but begins to worry her pal Julia when she starts to fall for one of the boys. Fearless thinks it's him, of course, when she gets his motor going singing "You're Dangerous" on a moonlit night. But the audience knows it's Chuck, even if there is a complication involving the rich guy named J. Theodore Bradley she's suppose to marry.

Some of the best moments come when the boys get lost and discover some drums in an old cave and begin to have fun. You can guess the rest! Will the boys be supper for the natives in the interior of darkest Africa? Will Lamour go with her heart and go for Chuck? It's certainly fun finding out as Bing and Bob throw the script out the window, filling Zanzibar with their easygoing charm and funny one-liners.

Dorothy Lamour is really pretty here and was the perfect choice to partner with the boys. They just seem like they belong together, both then and now. Victor Young does the music score and Bing gets to sing to Lamour while they're rowing on the river. Watching this one is a fun way to remeber Bing and Bob, who are no longer with us. But as long as great films like this one are available, their memories will remain forever.

Excellent Road Picture.......2005-01-22

This road picture is my off again, on again pick for the best one. Utopia and Zanzibar both are excellent.

The first half hour of this movie just flies by everytime I watch it. It always seems like the pace slows down once they hook up with Dorothy Lamour. Nothing against Dottie, per se, but she is not funny. Great actress, great singer, but she couldn't get a laugh if her life depended on it. Some pretty good lines are given to her, and they fall flat every time.

But the boys are in top form here. Great scene at the night club where they are forced to do an impromptu dance and comedy routine.

The plot doesn't always make sense, but it doesn't seem to matter. I read where the competition between Bing and Bob to be the funnier guy was pretty intense during the filming of Zanzibar ... and maybe that's why the final product is so very funny.

A lot of laughs in The Road to Zanzibar.

Classic Hollywood.......2003-06-26

No one dose it better then Bob Hope and Bing Crosby! I love this movie.If you like classic hollywood you will love this one.

WONDERFUL MOVIE, AWFUL BOX.......2003-02-27

ROAD TO ZANZIBAR has always been one of my two or three favorite Road movies, in part because it's more of a comedy and less of a musical than many entries as well as having the bonus of having that great comedienne Una Merkel along for the ride. And the great Dorothy Lamour is incredibly sexy here (wasn't she always!!)

Now for the "awful packaging" why on earth has MCA Universal Video failed to picture Ms. Lamour on the box as well as the boxes of nearly ALL of the other Road movies. She was an EQUAL star to Hope and Crosby - one of the biggest women stars of the era. She has a lot of fans even today who are probably passing on the prerecorded tapes to this series because of this slight. Wake up Universal and reissue this series picturing the third STAR of these movies on the boxes! (Ms. Lamour is pictured on the DVD box to this ROAD movie but not on several of the other films.)

Not quite a classic, but darn fun.......2002-05-28

This is not the best of the "Road" pictures, but it's still a lot of fun to watch the chemistry between Hope and Crosby. The plot is a bit preposterous, and just how dumb can Hope's character be to be anything but Fearless? However, the hijinks are first rate scams, and there are nice turns by Dorothy Lamour and Una Merkel. The tunes are not the best of the "Road" series, although Bing's voice always seems stronger in films than in comparably dated records. Get this one not because it's a classic (not quite), but just because it's fun.

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