It's hard to believe now, but the 'Road' movies, seven in all, were the most popular series of movies ever made - until James Bond came along, that is...
It's very hard to believe, but that's written there in black and white in the production notes to one of the 'Road' movies in this set, so it must be true. So forget the Thin Man series, shelve Tarzan, or Charlie Chan for that matter. This is the big pre-Bond series.
I've got to say it's very hard to believe on the evidence of this movie. It's the first 'Road' movie I've seen, and I'm told fairly authoritatively that they do improve after the first effort, but we'll just have to wait and see.
The 'Road' movies were planned as a starring vehicle for Bing Crosby, who was no slouch as a crooner, but who must be one of the most painful try-hard actors to ever grace the silver screen.
Still, he was huge box office back in 1940, and well deserved his own specially-tailored bit of light schlock. Bob Hope, then a much lesser star than we remember, but already a close golfing buddy of Bing, was selected as his sidekick in this pioneering 'buddy' movie. And for love interest, in came the sultry 1940s slightly exotic vamp (but still somehow as wholesome as the girl next door), Dorothy Lamour.
There's a lot of indulgent ad-libbing between Bing and Bob as they cruise the Pacific Ocean and enter into high-jinks with Hawaiian-style supposedly Singaporean chorus-girls. It's all a bit flat, but I've got to admit there's a certain naive simplistic charm about it all, despite what would now be regarded as the politically incorrect racist and sexist plotlines.
Bing gets to croon a couple of numbers - very undistinguished they are too - and there are a couple of 'novelty' tunes too, which are so bad that they must have stank even then. Watch for the early entry of Anthony Quinn in one of his very first villain roles. Not as menacing as in La Strada, but showing promise.
Well, it's back on the road in the next day or so for the second in the series - and here's hoping our two Hobbits, Bing and Bob, manage this time to find gold.
It's always refreshing to see a black and white movie of this vintage given a reasonably sharp and clear transfer.
This is not perfect, there is still some evidence of print or negative damage along the way, but the overall effect is very pleasing. There is little film grain in evidence; the whole film has a slick and glossy feel to it. Blacks are blacks and whites are whites, and the pretty finely managed gradients do mean that the two do regularly meet.