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
Douglass Dumbrille
Music by Leigh Harline
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date(s) February 27, 1946
Running time 90 min
Country U.S.
Language English
Preceded by Road to Morocco
Followed by Road to Rio
Allmovie 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. Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour starred, as they did in all but one of the series. The film is also the only "Road" film that did not take place in contemporary times. 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. In her autobiography, Dorothy Lamour said that the release of Road to Utopia may have been delayed by Paramount to not jeopardise the public's and Academy Awards committee's acceptance of Crosby as Best Actor for playing a priest in Going My Way.[1]Now in public domain[1].

Contents

[edit] Plot summary

From left to right: Lamour, Crosby, and Hope at the end of the film.
From left to right: Lamour, Crosby, and Hope at the end of the film.

At the turn of the century, Duke Johnson (Bing Crosby) and Chester Hooton (Bob Hope), two vaudeville performers, go to Alaska to make their fortune in the gold rush. On the ship to Skagway, they find a map to a secret gold mine, which had been stolen by McGurk (Nestor Paiva) and Sperry (Robert Barrat), a couple of thugs.

Meanwhile, Sal Van Hoyden (Dorothy Lamour) 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 and the gold.

[edit] Songs

  • "Good Time Charlie", performed by Bing Crosby and Bob Hope
  • "It's Anybody's Spring", by Bing Crosby and Bob Hope
  • "Personality", Dorothy Lamour
  • "Welcome to My Dream", Bing Crosby
  • "Put It There, Pal", Bing Crosby and Bob Hope
  • "Would You?", Dorothy Lamour

All lyrics by Johnny Burke, and music by Jimmy Van Heusen.

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ p.142 Lamour, Dorothy My Side of the Road Prentice-Hall 1980

Road to... refers to a series of seven comedy films starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour. They are also often referred to as "Road pictures."


v • d • e
Road to... series
Singapore • Zanzibar • Morocco • Utopia • Rio • Bali • Hong Kong


 This 1940s comedy film-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Languages