Road to Morocco

source: Road to Morocco

A pleasure to see three old pros in action and to throw in the menacing Anthony Quinn as a foil to the boys is perfect. I love the music in every Road picture and this one is well above par for the course. What a joy to sit down to watch after a long, hard days' work.

Another of my all time favourite films, I must have seen it more than umpteen times over the decades. The 3rd of the 7 Road movies, and imho the best with a lovely romantic musical comedy adventure atmosphere with witty dialogue that by now I know by heart, good songs, and a fine production all round. What a classic! Story has 2 drifting Americans Crosby & Hope at loose ends in a strange country (buster) who get ravelled up with matrimonial astrological mishaps and Lamour, together with some Arab intrigues, but muddle through it all joyously and zanily. On the way we also meet spitting and talking camels, a noisy ghost, nodding statues, a monkeys uncle, drive-in waitresses hurling burgers out into the desert, and a myriad of slapstick characters. Favourite bits (from so many): Crosby selling Hope to a life of slavery – they took any old junk; Hope's imperiousness to all when elevated to temporary royalty – especially to the raffiest of riffs; Crosby crooning Moonlight Becomes You to Lamour; love-mad Quinn looking for the sons of cockroaches stealing his bride; the celebratory scenes in the tribal tent. Did any of that make sense to you? It's a film you really have to see to appreciate; comments about it cannot do it adequate justice. Maybe not sidesplitting humour and with nothing really offensive - although I'm sure some serious people would point at racial stereotyping and fun poked at the shop keeper with the speech impediment - but still a lovely little film, made with the sole aim of making money by making ordinary people happy. This type of film made me very happy when little, young and mature, sadly (or thankfully) people grow up faster harder and more demanding these days. But otoh I still live in hope that younger generations including my daughter will be able to sometimes remember there are always simpler nicer things they could be watching when they're being bombarded by the routine cynical filth passing as normal cinema in todays wonderful world.

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.

There are many reasons why this is the best "Road" picture.It blatantly rips off both "The Sheik" and "1001 Arabian Nights". Also,not only is this one of the best scripts, much of the dialogue between Bob and Bing is completely ad-lib. During the shooting of this movie,they tended to play hookie at their favorite golf course.... go figure. Scenes you shouldn't miss:the camel spits in Bob's eye... that was real, and so was Bing's reaction..the scene when a herd of horses (camels?) nearly runs them both over. That was real too. They didn't exactly have the whole safety thing down back then.Anyway, if you like Bob Hope, you will probably like this. I give it nine out of ten stars for being a lasting comedy for anyone with a brain.

Another enjoyable 'Road Show! One of my Favorites. Crosby and Hope are at their best in this one. Watch for the scene where Hope mimics a starving beggar in the street, its especially entertaining. No matter what Hope tries in the 'Road Shows' he is always foiled, with Crosby always the cool, smooth operator. Anthony Quinn does a superb performance as the domineering Sheik in this light hearted comedy, playing funny scenes as a straight man. Dorothy Lamour as the 'damsel in distress' is as Lovely as ever. Hope and Crosby are a delightful team, their playful banter and comedic timing are on the money with this one. This is a 'Must See' comedy!

This is a typical ROAD movie with the boys chasing Lamour as the audience waits to see who Dotty will wind up with. The script is pure escapist, light-hearted stuff and everyone seems to enjoy the tongue in cheek style of all the gags. Bing is his usual affable self, tossing off a few songs in the Crosby manner--the best of which is "Moonlight Becomes You". Dorothy Lamour is at her peak of lush beauty as the princess and manages to keep a straight face while the boys cut capers. Bob Hope shines in a part totally suited to his comic skills with one-liners and double takes that keep the high spirits flowing. If you're a fan of ROAD movies, you'll definitely enjoy this one--although my own personal favorite is still ROAD TO UTOPIA.

On the third stop in the Road series of pictures we find Bing Crosby and Bob Hope playing their usual sharpie and schnook. Crosby's schemes have a little more bite to them in this film, he sells Hope into slavery. Ah, but the catch is: Dorothy Lamour bought him to be her husband and is Bing put out about that. No worry there however, he sings a patented Crosby love ballad and Dottie the princess is his. Musically, Road pictures seem to break down into the usual choice of songs for the film. That ballad Crosby sang to woo Princess Dottie is Moonlight Becomes You, probably the biggest song hit ever to come from a Road picture. There's a song for Dottie, in this case entitled Constantly, performed in the sultry Lamour manner. You have a philosophical number Ain't Got A Dime To My Name for Bing which is his own genre. And finally the title tune which is one for Hope and Crosby to perform with their usual ad-libbing and banter. When Decca released an album of 78s for the Road to Morocco, Bing recorded all the numbers solo including the duet with Hope in the title tune. When they later did Road to Utopia, Crosby and Hope recorded Put It There Pal and then the flip side of that 78 included a duet version of Road to Morocco. Since it was a duet in the movie, the duet version of Road to Morocco became the only one after that. Bing's solo version of Road to Morocco disappeared into the Decca vaults, never to be heard again. It's one of his rarest items now, so if you have it, it's worth something providing it's in good condition. One thing about writing reviews for Road pictures is that there is no plot worth mentioning, just a frame to hang a lot of gags on. No worry of spoilers here. In this journey we have hotfoots, whoopee cushions, talking camels, mirages, dribble glasses and Bob and Bing kissing each other. Is that enough nonsense? One gag wasn't planned. At the beginning when Crosby and Hope are washed ashore on the Moroccan desert they find a camel. Without any warning the camel spits in Hope's eye. Director David Butler thought it so hilarious, he left it in the film.

When the ocean liner carrying Jeff and Orville is sunk, they find themselves washed up and on the way to Morocco. In pay for food Jeff sells Orville to a man only to find that Orville has been sold on to Princess Shalmar and is now to marry her. However the princess is only marrying Orville as her first wed is cursed to die within a week – leaving her free to marry Mullay Kassim. Like an old pair of shoes, the road to movies may not be fantastic but they're comfortable and safe. This is actually one of the better road movies, the plot, though silly, is quite focused and doesn't go off on flights of fancy like some others. The focus of the plot allows a safe environment for Hope and Crosby to do their double act within. The love interest is OK but really it slows the film down a bit. Crosby is good as ever and gets to do his songs on a regular basis, but really the star is Hope. His Orville is cowardly, treacherous and selfish – but he manages to be sympathetic and funny. This is all down to Hope's wit, timing and deliver – he is a genuine showman. Stars in the shape of Lamour and Quinn are diverting – but this is a Crosby/Hope vehicle all the way. One of the better Road movies this is funny in an old fashioned way.

What shocked me about THE ROAD TO MOROCCO is the self referential post modernism , ie the characters know they`re in a film . Bob and Bing sing a song about meeting Dorothy Lamour while later Bing turns to Bob and says " Hey if we were tied up how did we get out of the sacks ? " to which Bob replies " If I told you they`d < The audience > know too " and later on a camel ( And I`m not making this up ) turns to the camera and says " This is the loopiest movie I ever did see " . I didn`t actually know that people in the 1940s went in for a post modernist approach and had always believed it was a 1960s thing . One other thing that shook me was the portrayal of Arabs which I doubt would be allowed in these PC times , it`s a very strange experience seeing a comedy at the expense of stereotypical Arabs It`s a pity no one is allowed to poke fun at ethnic groups nowadays because I would have liked to have seen Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson in THE ROAD TO KABUL where our two heroes get involved in a Talebunnie wedding . What`s a Talebunnie Theo ? A Talebunnie is a member of the regime that used to rule Afghanistan untill a couple of years ago when an American led coalition intervened in the country and the Talebunnies hopped away like frightened rabbits Boing Boing Boing Don`t bomb us Mister coalition airforce . We were only obeying the will of Allah Boing Boing Boing