Road to Utopia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Road to Utopia
1946 movie poster
Directed by	Hal Walker
Produced by	Paul Jones
Written by	Melvin Frank Norman Panama
Starring	Bing Crosby Bob Hope Dorothy Lamour Robert Benchley Hillary Brooke Douglas Dumbrille
Music by	Leigh Harline
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	February 27, 1946
Running time	90 min
Country	USA
Language	English
Preceded by	Road to Morocco
Followed by	Road to Rio
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Road to Utopia, filmed in 1943 but not released until 1946, is the only Road to... film without a real place in its title. It takes place on board a ship and in Alaska during the Gold Rush. Bob Hope as Chester Hooton, Bing Crosby as Duke Johnson (and as Chester and Sal's adopted son, Junior Hooton, at the end of the film) and Dorothy Lamour as Sal van Hoyden star, as they did in all but one of the series. As a “narrator”, humor essayist Robert Benchley provides some wry commentary that is interspersed throughout the movie. There are also jabs at Paramount Pictures (the studio that originally released the film) and a reference to Frank Sinatra, not to mention many instances of "breaking the fourth wall" and general wackiness.

Many consider this the best "Road" movie with a funny plot and good songs. At the turn of the century, Duke and Chester, two vaudeville performers, go to Alaska to make their fortune. On the ship to Skagway, they find a map to a secret gold mine, which had been stolen by McGurk (played by Nestor Paiva) and Sperry (played by Robert Barrat), a couple of thugs. They disguise themselves as McGurk and Sperry to get off the ship. Meanwhile, Sal Van Hoyden is in Alaska to try and recover the map; it had been her father's. She falls in with Ace Larson (Douglass Dumbrille), who wants to steal the gold mine for himself. Duke and Chester, McGurk and Sperry, Ace and his henchmen, and Sal, chase each other all over the countryside, trying to get the map.

For a screenshot of this movie, please see Maxine Fife, who appeared in the film.

[edit] Songs

"Good Time Charlie"

Lyrics by Johnny Burke - Music by Jimmy Van Heusen

Performed by Bing Crosby and Bob Hope

"It's Anybody's Spring"