Road to Bali (1952)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Hal Walker

Writers:

Frank Butler (writer)
Hal Kanter (writer)
(more)

Release Date:

8 April 1953 (France)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical

Tagline:

TOGETHER AGAIN!...in the BEST and FUNNIEST "Road" Picture Yet!

Plot:

Having to leave Melbourne in a hurry to avoid various marriage proposals, two song-and-dance men sign on for work as divers...

Plot Keywords:

Shipwreck | Tiger | Reference To Errol Flynn | Poison Dart | Regression

Cast

Bing Crosby	...	George Cochran
Bob Hope	...	Harold Gridley
Dorothy Lamour	...	Princess Lala
Murvyn Vye	...	Ken Arok
Peter Coe	...	Gung
Ralph Moody	...	Bhoma Da
Leon Askin	...	King Ramayana
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michael Ansara	...	Guard (uncredited)
Besmark Auelua	...	Lesser priest (uncredited)
Robert Cabal	...	Native (uncredited)
Herman Cantor	...	Priest (uncredited)
Sue Casey	...	Handmaiden (uncredited)
Larry Chance	...	Attendant (uncredited)
Leslie Charles	...	Handmaiden (uncredited)
Jack Claus	...	Specialty dancer (uncredited)
Jean Corbett	...	Handmaiden (uncredited)
Harry Cording	...	Verna's father (uncredited)
Bob Crosby	...	Himself, Cameo Appearance (uncredited)
Patricia Dane	...	Handmaiden (uncredited)
Devi Dja	...	Bit Role (uncredited)
Shela Fritz	...	Chief's wife (uncredited)
Roy Gordon	...	Eunice's father (uncredited)
Bernie Gozier	...	Bo Kassar (uncredited)
Jerry Groves	...	Lesser priest (uncredited)
My Lee Haulani	...	Beautiful girl in basket (uncredited)
Carolyn Jones	...	Eunice (uncredited)
Mary Kanae	...	Old crone (uncredited)
Jan Kayne	...	Verna (uncredited)
Richard Keene	...	Conductor (uncredited)
Al Kikume	...	Warrior (uncredited)
Kukhie Kuhns	...	Fat woman in basket (uncredited)
Donald Lawton	...	Employment agent (uncredited)
Raymond Lee	...	Boy (uncredited)
Bunny Lewbel	...	Lala age seven (uncredited)
Jerry Lewis	...	Woman in Lala's dream (uncredited)
Sylvia Lewis	...	Temple dancer (uncredited)
Judith London	...	Handmaiden (uncredited)
Luukia Luana	...	Boy (uncredited)
Dean Martin	...	Man in Lala's dream (uncredited)
Charles Mauu	...	Warrior (uncredited)
Patti McKay	...	Handmaiden (uncredited)
Allan Nixon	...	Eunice's brother (uncredited)
Betty Onge	...	Handmaiden (uncredited)
Satini Pualoa	...	Warrior (uncredited)
Ethel K. Reiman	...	Chief's wife (uncredited)
Jane Russell	...	Cameo Appearance (uncredited)
Irene K. Silva	...	Chief's wife (uncredited)
Bhogwan Singh	...	Lesser priest (uncredited)
Chanan Singh Sohi	...	Lesser priest (uncredited)
Kuka Tuima	...	Warrior (uncredited)
Douglas Yorke	...	Verna's brother (uncredited)

Directed by
Hal Walker

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Frank Butler		writer
Hal Kanter		writer
William Morrow		writer
Harry Tugend		story

Produced by
Daniel Dare	....	producer
Harry Tugend	....	producer

Original Music by
Johnny Burke
Joseph J. Lilley

Cinematography by
George Barnes

Film Editing by
Archie Marshek

Art Direction by
J. McMillan Johnson
Hal Pereira

Set Decoration by
Sam Comer
Ross Dowd

Costume Design by
Edith Head

Makeup Department
Wally Westmore	....	makeup artist

Art Department
Dorothea Holt	....	illustrator

Sound Department
John Cope	....	sound
Gene Merritt	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Cliff Shirpser	....	assistant camera: Technicolor
Loyal Griggs	....	camera operator: second unit (uncredited)

Music Department
Van Cleave	....	orchestrator
Gerard Carbonara	....	composer: incidental music (uncredited)
Gus Levene	....	composer: incidental music (uncredited)
Leo Shuken	....	composer: incidental music (uncredited)
Van Cleave	....	composer: incidental music (uncredited)

Other crew
Charles O'Curran	....	choreographer

Production Companies

• Bing Crosby Productions
• Hope Enterprises
• Paramount Pictures

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1952) (USA) (theatrical)
• Platinum Disc (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Allumination Filmworks (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• BCI Eclipse (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Brentwood Home Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Brentwood Home Video (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Delta Expedition (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Passport International Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• UAV Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Front Row Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• GoodTimes Home Video (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Greatest Sports Legends (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Koch Vision (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Madacy Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Marengo Films (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• Alpha Video Distributors (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Brentwood Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Delta Expedition (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Diamond Entertainment Group (DEG) (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Passport International Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Westlake Entertainment Group (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2004) (worldwide) (VHS)
• St. Clair Vision (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Unicorn Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Reel Media International (2007) (worldwide) (all media)
• Bridgestone Multimedia (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Kabaya Foods (2004) (Japan) (DVD)
• Paramount-Films (1953) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Peter Rodgers Organization (????) (worldwide) (TV)
• Punto Zero (2008) (Italy) (DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1965) (Finland) (TV)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 (1953) | Finland:K-8 (1965) | Australia:G | Sweden:15 | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Iverson Ranch, Chatsworth, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Bing Crosby Productions

Trivia:

This was the only "Road" picture of the seven to be photographed in Technicolor. Ten years later, the British-made "Hong Kong" finale would revert to black and white.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the opening song and dance number, Hope goes offstage to the left ("stage left"), talks with some people and goes back on stage from the left. But his behind stage shot is clearly on the "stage right" side.

Quotes:

[a female ape has sat on Harold's lap]
George Cochran: Oh, buster, I don't like the look in her eye!
[the ape swings a paw at George]
Harold Gridley: George, get a rock, a club, anything! Kill one of us!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 'White Christmas': A Look Back with Rosemary Clooney (2000) (V)

Soundtrack:

THE MERRY GO RUNAROUND

The Bali High equivalent of Flying High

On a scale of one to a million this rates about a 999,999 on the silly scale. In colour and with beautiful production values ROAD TO BALI made in 1952 contains as many up to date movie and social references as an encyclopedia written by Ludwig Von Drake. In a huge theatre these ROAD films must have lifted the roof with laughter, and as a DVD diversion in 2006 any of them can be a generous and loony mood lifter. There is actually many laugh out loud moments still to be had even if you weren't born or aware of life in the early 50s. THE ROAD TO BALI (pronounced "Bally" by Americans; "Barley" by the rest of us) is basically flat-out hilarious with quips and ad libs galore. Even if you cringe at Bing Crosby as I do, there is enough genuinely funny lines and situations and terrible gags to overwhelm you...much like THE PRODUCERS released this year insists we find it relentlessly dementedly funny. To me Bob Hope has always been Daffy Duck (Groucho Marx was Bugs Bunny) and it is his vaudeville lunacy that carries Crosby inbetween squabbling over Lamour and pushing through all parts of the set. This film has some excellent special effects, very admirable for '52. A hilarious cameo from Jane Russell is the cherry on the icing. Some big dance scenes are an added bonus. Fun fun and demented fun. What a year 1952 was for hilarious films (look 'em up).