Road to Morocco (1942)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

David Butler

Writers:

Frank Butler (original screenplay) and
Don Hartman (original screenplay)

Release Date:

22 April 1943 (Australia)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Romance

Tagline:

You'll Shriek At These Shieks! . . . trying the double - Oh! on Sheikess Dorothy Lamour!

Plot:

Two carefree castaways on a desert shore find an Arabian Nights city, where they compete for the luscious Princess Shalmar.

Plot Keywords:

Princess | Desert | Castaway | Rescue | Camel

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win

Cast

Bing Crosby	...	Jeff Peters
Bob Hope	...	Orville 'Turkey' Jackson / Aunt Lucy
Dorothy Lamour	...	Princess Shalmar
Anthony Quinn	...	Mullay Kasim
Dona Drake	...	Mihirmah
Vladimir Sokoloff	...	Hyder Khan
Mikhail Rasumny	...	Ahmed Fey
George Givot	...	Neb Jolla

Runtime:

82 min (DVD) | 81 min (copyright length)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #8255) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Finland:S | Sweden:15 | UK:U | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Imperial County, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Paramount shot two endings for the film. The one not used had Bob Hope and Bing Crosby enlisting in the Marines and ended with the line "See you on the road to Tokyo."

Goofs:

Continuity: After Orville and Jeff emerge from splashing in the oasis, they are dry.

Quotes:

Princess Shalmar: [about Jeff] Now, Orville, I want you to tell me the truth. Do you know him?
Turkey Jackson: Well I used to but I kinda outgrew him, I don't dally much with riff-raff these days and he's a pretty raffy kind of a riff.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in History of the World: Part I (1981)

Soundtrack:

Moonlight Becomes You

Goofy Stuff, But Rather Enjoyable

With Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, and Dorothy Lamour all in good form, plus an interesting if wacky story, "Road to Morocco" is rather enjoyable despite the goofy nature of a lot of the material. It has a good variety of settings and comic material that help it keep going, and for all that much if it is silly, it is always good-natured and sometimes imaginative.

The desert setting and characters work all right as long as you don't take them too seriously or view it as any kind of commentary. The gently comic view of the characters and their habits is the source of some good gags, and the contrast between the locals and the two main characters is also used relatively well. There are several self-referential jokes (perhaps a couple too many) to make sure nothing is taken too seriously.

Besides Hope and Crosby, Lamour seems to relish her chance to play a princess, and Anthony Quinn is a suitably menacing adversary. Overall, it has to rank among the better of the stars' collaborations, not memorable so much for the material as for the chance to see the performers together.