Rating: Summary: Wonderful start for the "Road" pictures. Review: "Road to Singapore" is the first of the "Road" pictures starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour. They are all wonderful, crazy, silly and just plain fun films as Bing and Bob wreak havoc along everything they encounter. In this first film, plenty of that is done, probably more likely in any other 'Road" picture as they head for Singapore and rescue the fair Mima from a bullwhipper. Some of my favorite sequences are the "patty-cake, patty-cake" scenes in which it becomes a running gag in every "Road" film, especially this. Filled with crazy antics, hilarious crack-ups, exotic dance numbers and s omuch more to enjoy even though the film is quite underrated and a bit quirky.
Rating: Summary: The first Road movie is fun, light-weight entertainment Review: Hope and Crosby go on the road for the first time and meet a very young Dorothy Lamour in her trademark sarong. The songs are entertaining, as are most of the jokes (especially those involving Jerry Colona), but the result isn't quite as much fun as some later entries in the series. Highlights include a major production number near the end in which South Sea islands sing in the language Esperanto!
Rating: Summary: The first stop of many worthwhile destinations Review: I don't know why so many of the past reviewers put this film at the bottom of the list of "The Road to . . ." series. This is the film that started it all! It may lack some of the easy play and banter between Hope and Crosby as seen in the later films, but keep in mind this is the first time (1939-40) that Bing and Bob have been in a film together. As the years progressed, they were given more freedom to do what they liked given their bigger star status and the box-office successes of the earlier pictures. Despite what others may say, "Singapore" is an enjoyable film all the way through. It's embedded with gems like "Captain Custard" and "Sweet Potato Piper". The chemistry between Hope, Crosby, and Lamour is great -- you can tell they must have had a fun time making this movie :)I would definitely not leave this one out of my "Road" collection.
Rating: Summary: The first stop of many worthwhile destinations Review: I don't know why so many of the past reviewers put this film at the bottom of the list of "The Road to . . ." series. This is the film that started it all! It may lack some of the easy play and banter between Hope and Crosby as seen in the later films, but keep in mind this is the first time (1939-40) that Bing and Bob have been in a film together. As the years progressed, they were given more freedom to do what they liked given their bigger star status and the box-office successes of the earlier pictures. Despite what others may say, "Singapore" is an enjoyable film all the way through. It's embedded with gems like "Captain Custard" and "Sweet Potato Piper". The chemistry between Hope, Crosby, and Lamour is great -- you can tell they must have had a fun time making this movie :)I would definitely not leave this one out of my "Road" collection.
Rating: Summary: Least entertaining of the Road pictures Review: Of all the Crosby-Hope road pictures, this one has dated badly and the humor is mostly sophomoric. The boys really hadn't hit their stride yet and this first road outing lacks, through most of its length, the inspired zaniness of Road to Morocco, Utopia, and Rio. Recommended only to those who want all of the Road pictures for the sake of completeness.
Rating: Summary: My girlfriend is from Singapore Review: She is a singaporean. SHe thinks that this is a very authentic portrayal of life in Sin gap ore
Rating: Summary: TOO ROMANTIC Review: That's the title of the best-known tune which was introduced in this first entry in the immensely popular ROAD TO.... series. In this one, Josh Mallon, the scion of a straightlaced shipping magnate, and his free-spirited pal, Ace Lannigan, ridicule the institution of marriage. However, Josh's Dad is disgusted with his son's irresponsible antics & commits Josh to an office job and a marriage to socialite Gloria Wycott...The working title of this just-average first outing from the famed duo of Hope & Crosby was FOLLOW THE SUN. Other songs which are heard in the picture are: SWEET POTATO PIPER, KAIGOON, THE MOON AND THE WILLOW TREE & CAPTAIN CUSTARD (!). In 1940, the Ohio Censorship Board demanded that the studio (Paramount) make extensive cuts in the native dancing girl sequence.
Rating: Summary: The start of a great tradition Review: The first of the much-vaunted "Road To" series, and an inkling of things to come... Beset on all sides by would-be wives, Bing Crosby and Bob Hope skip town to form an Asian branch of the He-Man Woman-Haters Club, predictably getting sidetracked by drippy Dorothy Lamour (is it just me, or is her likeness to Katie Holmes... check her out in profile... a little eerie?) Anyway, the plot is paper thin, the pacing is sluggish and the gags are as flat as the tunes by songwriter Johnny Burke. It's kind of goofy seeing Hope in a supposedly manly-man role, but maybe that's just in hindsight. Most significantly, this marks the beginning of Crosby's descent into unmitigated pop culture corn... It's a so-so oldie; better that you should stick with Crosby's earlier "Waikiki Wedding," which at least has some cool music.
Rating: Summary: Good First Road Picture Review: This is the first of seven road pictures (starring Bing and Bob) and it is a good one. I read where the movie was originally set to star George Burns and Gracie Allen in the two lead roles ... when it was then adapted for Bing and Bob.
Some good acting here. The later road pictures put the zany actics and funny gag lines way up front ... as they should ... for our enjoyment, but The Road to Singapore has more of a credible plot and better acting. Dorothy Lamour is an excellent actress. Her one scene near the end, on the ship deck with Bob, is pretty special.
My rank for this road picture (among the seven) is third or fourth. And it's just fun to see the boys at the beginning of what would become a great series of motion pictures.
Rating: Summary: Opt for Morocco or Utopia instead Review: This was the first Road movie and also one of the worst. Bob and Bing had not yet patented their trademark rapid-fire style and there's actually more of Lamour than Hope in this film (a bad omen). Bob was still a sort of "juvenile" backup to Bing in this movie and isn't given much to do. It's tragic to see Hope wasted liked this, but in 1940, he was still known more as a radio star than a full-fledged equal to Bing Crosby.If you want to sample some great road movies, get Morocco, Utopia or Rio, all of which are vastly superior to this rather average and dated film. The plot is leaden, the songs indifferent and the interplay between the incomparable Hope and Crosby team is lacking in most scenes.
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