Description

They are some of the best-loved film comedies ever created.Now, four of the most popular "Road" pictures, starring the unbeatable screen duo of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, are here together in this deluxe DVD collection.Join Bing and Bob as they travel the world and experience rollicking, fun-filled misadventures in the company of the alluring Dorothy Lamour in such screen gems as Road to Singapore, Road to Zanzibar, Road to Morocco and Road to Utopia.You'll laugh yourself silly with four of the titles that made Hope and Crosby one of the most successful comedy teams of the 1940s and which continue to charm and entertain audiences of all ages today. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Great Collection, But Where Are the Other Three?
This collection of the first four Road pictures is well worth having. The picture quality is excellent and all four films are loaded on one double-sided disc. But where are the remaining three Road pictures? This would have made the ultimate Road collection. Disappointing.

bob and bing are hilarious
bob hope and bing crosby are great together. their antics in these movie are so funny i had to laugh. i have seen these four movies and one other of the "on the road to" movies. they are comical. any classic movie love should love these. it is definately worth the $20.00 i spent on the 4 pack of moives.

Patty-Cake, Patty-Cake, Baker's Man...
Wow! The first four Hope and Crosby road pics on one DVD! What can you say? The first two, ROAD TO SINGAPORE and ROAD TO ZANZIBAR (though still funny) are still trying to flesh out the chemistry of the duo and the two actors adhere to the scripts. Then, they hit their stride of hilarity and break out in ROAD TO MORROCCO and continues in ROAD TO UTOPIA. However, in ROAD TO ZANZIBAR evidence of what is to come in Hope and Crosby's future pairings comes near the end of the film. The two are captured by cannibals in Africa and are tested to see if they are gods (sort of a variation of THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING). Hope's character is forced to wrestle a gorilla in a caged match. This is very funny as Hope shows his ability for physical comedy. Then, the climax is when they are about to be literally cooked for dinner. They use their patented "patty-cake" routine to escape from the cannibals. This is even more hilarious than the gorilla scene. Then, in ROAD TO MOROCCO, the famous ad-libbing and rapid fire delivery of dialogue is apparent and the film is zany from beginning to end as the duo are involved with a Moroccan Princess (Dorothy Lamour) and an angry Shiek (Anthony Quinn). Then, in ROAD TO UTOPIA the two go to Alaska for the gold rush and get involved in a case of mistaken identity. Overall, the four films showcase one of the great pairings in the history of entertainment and some of the funniest and successful film franchises. The DVD package has little extras except for a couple of sing-along features and liner notes, but having the four films on one disc at a price lower than some other collection discs is worth it.

Nothing like it before or since.
Reviewing Bing and Bob's "Road to" pictures is like saying of ice cream, "tastes good." We would no sooner think deeply about Rocky Road than "Road to Singapore." But I'm going to make a few observations anyway.

The spontaneity of Hope and Crosby in these films is legendary-- the way they turn to the camera from time to time and talk to the audience, and how they insert their own lines (each paying his own group of writers on the side to outdo the other in the laugh department).

Another aspect of these first four "Road" pictures (the best of the seven total) is their idealization of adolescent bachelorhood. These boys do their best to get away from their adult responsibilities-- wife, job, ashtrays for cigarettes.

With "patty cake, patty cake" and "pow!" they're off to far away places with strange sounding names, as much a male fantasy as the 007 pictures. Only they're not out to save the world, oh no. They're out to save themselves from a nasty, moustached Anthony Quinn, or a chanting pack of be-boned and painted cannibals.

The only fighting they do is over the beautiful Dorothy Lamour. Try to imagine any other actress in her role, and I'll lay you eight to five you won't find another. She's as essential to these pictures as Bing and Bob-- and she can sing!

Zany and chaotic these adventures may be, but there's a certain class to them too, including the costumes and the sets, and most notably the timeless songs, many by Van Heusen and Burke: the ballads "Too Romantic," "It's Always You," "Moonlight Becomes You" and fun numbers of the I-don't-care-if-I'm-poor variety such as "Ain't Got A Dime to My Name." Hopefully younger audiences won't go "ho hum" to these old-fashioned tunes and press fast forward.

Each successive picture is funnier than the one before, culminating in the hilarious "Utopia" (which could have been "Alaska"). Yet "Morocco" is the best all-around, having a certain magic and polish, and some of the best one-liners. "Singapore" has a unique freshness to it because they still didn't know what they were on to-- maybe not as funny but it captures the essence of the single man who wants to be nothing but a nobody.

To say that the treatment of non-whites is "un-P.C." isn't doing justice to how badly they are portrayed. It seems that anybody with slightly dark skin can pass for the inhabitant of one of these "uncivilized" countries. And the two white dudes feel they are entitled to anything they want among the "savages." Young kids might need to be told that these portrayals are sort of stupid and mean.

Still, let's not get carried away-- the whole thing is *supposed* to be ridiculous and that's one reason it's so funny. Think of Apu in "The Simpsons." The people who are making the movies are laughing at their own ignorance.

It would be impossible to recapture the chemistry of Bing, Bob and Dorothy, to make movies that are so funny yet so musical, with humor that is safe enough for young kids but edgy enough for adults. And here they are-- the top four on *one* DVD. ... Read more

Amazon.com

It's a flimsy excuse to romp through more than two dozen Irving Berlin songs, but Blue Skies is good fun nonetheless (and one of the top-grossing films of 1946). Bing Crosby is a restless nightclub entrepreneur, Fred Astaire his Broadway buddy, Joan Caulfield the woman they both want. Ignore the plot and enjoy the numbers, especially Astaire's marvelous "Puttin' on the Ritz," which is breathtaking even before multiple images of Fred are introduced dancing in a row (who needs CGI, anyway?). Bing and Fred flash great showbiz chutzpah in "A Couple of Song and Dance Men," which wonderfully captures the appeal of both stars:Fred's heavenly precision, and Bing's "can-you-believe-they're-payin'-me-for-this?" sense of play.

Bing Crosby founds the first white Dixieland band in Birth of the Blues, a tuneful turn-of-the-century tale--if highly suspect as musical history. Borrowing hot licks from black musicians (Eddie "Rochester" Anderson comments, "Our music sure has gone highbrow"), Bing and his players struggle to invade the straight-laced clubs, succeeding only after songbird Mary Martin joins the band. Martin, in one of her infrequent movie appearances, has fun with Der Bingle jazzing up "Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nellie," a highlight of this breezily enjoyable nonsense. --Robert Horton ... Read more

Reviews (6)

THE BEST AT THEIR BEST!
BLUE SKIES: Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire at their musical and "glorious technicolor" best, singing and dancing to a plethora of Irving Berlin classics. What could be better? Certainly not the insipid copycat F. Sinatra and G. Kelly MGM musicals made a few years later! The "originals" are usually better, and this is surely true in this case. Astaire's dancing to "Puttin On the Ritz" is sublime, and Bing's crooning of "All By Myself" and "You Keep Coming Back Like A Song" to Joan Caufield has, if you look closely, an added debt of feeling for a usual more stoic Bing. Why? It has recently been revealed that Bing and Joan Caufield were having an affair when the movie was made! A must for and any movie musical fan's collection.
BIRTH OF THE BLUES: Although a somewhat standard black & white movie musical typical of the late 1930s, the movie contains a bevy of standard songs and jazz numbers performed by a top notch cast. Moreover, the movie is "spiced" by a young Mary Martin. Bing and Mary's duet to "Wait Til The Sun Shines Nelly" is the highlight of the movie.
IN CONCLUSION, A GREAT AND A BONUS GOOD MOVIE FOR A LOW BARGAIN PRICE. A GREAT AND MUST BUY!

LACK LUSTER MOVIES IN GLORIOUS TRANSFERS
"Birth of the Blues" is the rather unispiring tale of a New Orleans musician who 'discovers' jazz. "Blue Skies" is the completely uninspired musical that mixes low melodrama with some incredibly awful tunes from Irving Berlin. Neither film can lay claim to any sort of greatness, although "Blue Skies" does contain three very dynamic performances. The first of these is Fred Astaire's brilliantly staged rendition of "Puttin' On The Ritz" in which he nimbly dances with 10 copies of himself, using the split screen process. The second musical number of merit is the Astaire/Crosby duet, "A Couple of Song And Dance Men" in which both performers lampoon the other's artistry through a series of skits. The final spark of greatness is "Running Around In Circles", a tender poignant ballad that is wholly wasted on the tripe of this movie's dead end plot.
TRANSFER: "Blue Skies" was shot in Technicolor, and although the original camera negative is nearly 70 years old, there is little in the way of age related artifacts to suggest that much time has passed. Colors are exceptionally bold, vibrant and well balanced. Black levels are...well, black and contrast and shadows are gorgeously rendered. There are no digital artifacts to worry about, although a bit of video noise is present. "Birth of the Blues" is somewhat more problematic. A B&W production, there is a visible grain structure evident throughout the film, as well as scratches and other age related artifacts. In a few scenes there is slight shimmering and edge enhancement. The audio for both movies is MONO but very nicely balanced.
EXTRAS: NONE! What were you expecting?
BOTTOM LINE: If you're a Bing Crosby or Fred Astaire fan than you might want to consider adding this DVD to your collection. While the film's are nothing to write home about, their transfer quality - particularly "Blue Skies" is worth taking a second look!

Blue Skies...smilin' at me...
-and I'm smilin' right back. Three cheers to "Universal" for doing this double feature justice. Both films look and sound wonderful, better than ever. Clearly done with care. "Birth of the Blues" is great fun, featuring excellent and exciting small group dixieland jazz playing. "Blue Skies" is a little hokey-but who cares? Great numbers with Bing and Fred.Not to crazy about leading lady Joan Caulfield though. I just wish they would have cast a girl with more charisma...like Rita Hayworth. Imagine, Fred and Rita dancing in technicolor...don't get me started. Of course, this film contains one of Fred Astaire's best routines-the amazing "Puttin' On The Ritz". Is there anyone on this earth who could rival Astaire's class, timing and smoothness factor in this number? No,there isn't!

Really blue "Blue Skies"
I, too, was hesitant to purchase this DVD (or any in the Universal series), both due to the low price and that it's a double feature. However, the quality of both the picture and sound is superb.

"Blue Skies" is a wonderful movie musical. While the plot may not glue you to the screen, it's not a bad story of boy meets girl, boy wins girl, boy loses girl, and boy wins girl back again. The Irving Berlin tunes selected are top notch, and actually enhanced my appreciation of a few of the songs. "A Couple Of Song & Dance Men" is great fun with Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby, and once again demonstrates that Crosby could succeed in dance numbers, as long as you aren't expecting perfection. "Puttin' On The Ritz" really led me to respecting Astaire's dancing far more than I did when I was young. He really could out-dance Gene Kelly! Billy DeWolfe really isn't so bad, in fact he has his moments as a second banana. If you like musicals and the technicolor look, it will be difficult for you not to enjoy this film!

"Birth of The Blues"...well, I'm glad it was part of a double bill and not the sole reason for the DVD. There are some mildly entertaining musical numbers and a few laughs.

REAL TREAT
I was a bit hesitant when ordering this item - it smelled pretty much of cheap production values and low quality. The happier I am to inform everybody that we are dealing with a double bill DVD that boosts high picture/sound quality. Sure, there are no extras, but two good and perfectly preserved films with about 50 good songs should be quite enough. Marvellously priced product, and I'm on my way to order more from the same series. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Changes must be expected when a classic book or stage show becomes a movie. Inthis 1939 Mikado, efforts were made to respect the original. Stars of the D'OylyCarte Company were hired for key roles and performed them in theirtraditional style, with the D'Oyly Carte Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra, and a director (Victor Schertzinger) who was also a conductor and knew the music.

An introductory scene was added to clarify the plot, and other small adjustments were made. Several songs were left out or abbreviated, and one song, "The sun, whose rays," was sung twice, by Nanki-Poo and by Yum-Yum, for whom it was written. A popular tenor of the time, Kenny Baker, sang Nanki-Poo with good, light tone, but in his own non-traditional style. These departures from tradition may infuriate hard-core Gilbert and Sullivan fans, but others will hardly notice. The visuals are gorgeous, the sound not up to present standards but clear and accurate. This is not a definitive Mikado, but an interesting one and timeless in style.--Joe McLellan ... Read more

Description

Hollywood favorites James Cagney (Yankee Doodle Dandy), William Frawley (I Love Lucy), and Gene Lockhart (Miracle on 34th Street) star in this delightful musical comedy about a New York bandleader and hoofer, Terry Rooney, whose wife joins him for a trip to Hollywood where the star system gets turned upside down in a series of hilarious complications. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Musical fun for those who still believe love conquers all
Dance, dance, dance! Sing, sing, sing! Throw in a few costume and set changes and you have the winning formula for a musical. To make it charming, though, you need a decent story and charismatic actors -- both of which are in ample supply in the classic musical Something to Sing About.

Jimmy Cagney boisterously portrays a "hoofer, not an actor" in this cheesy but still undeniably loveable musical. Having just gotten his big break in Hollywood, Cagney must leave behind the loves of his life -- his beautiful songbird fiancee and his job as the orchestra leader at a hoppin' New York club -- to pursue his dream of singing and dancing his way to stardom in a major motion picture. The plotline is more or less predictable but Cagney fans won't be disappointed by the smile-inducing fancy footwork and surprisingly lovely songs that make up for any bits of story telling that could use refinement.

QUICK TAKE: $$$$$ Fair price
Considering this movie was made in the 30s, the quality is pretty darn good. But compared to modern films, this dvd doesn't have all the usual bells and whistles which is why I gave it only four stars. Had the studio gone to the trouble of adding at least a smattering of goodies, I certainly would have been tempted to raise it five stars.

VERDICT: ***** Buy it!
If you're a Cagney fan -- or simply a fan of old school musicals -- it's definitely worth every penny to add it to your collection.

Forget Maltin's review
If you appreciate James Cagney for the quality and spunk of his dancing, this film is for you!

Sure, the plot is nothing to sing about, but this film is to be watched for Cagney alone.

He has several hilarious episodes as he enters Hollywood as a small time bandleader from NY. He is measured, analyzed and critiqued by a voice coach, hair dresser and tailor, and his reactions to all the poking and prodding show him as one of the underrated but awesome comedic actors. (Anyone who doesn't recognize Cagney as a great comedic actor hasn't seen enough of his films.)

Another great scene is when he does some great Vaudevillian slapstick facial pantomimes of "the take, the double take, and the double take with the fade-away."

Now the dancing! Cagney, who always billed himself as a song and dance man, never danced enough in his movies. But this has four great scenes of him him at his best -- a combination of down-to-earth hoofing and ballet. He does one scene with Johnny Boyle and Harland Dixon, the former who danced for George M. Cohan and helped Cag choreograph dancing sequences for "Yankee Doodle Dandy." Much of Cagney's dancing style is taken from Boyle.

No one could say that Cagney is the greatest dancer, but he injected a street attitude into his dancing along with exquisite grace that made him incomparable.

A must see! ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Classic Hollywood
No one dose it better then Bob Hope and Bing Crosby! I love this movie.If you like classic hollywood you will love this one.

WONDERFUL MOVIE, AWFUL BOX
ROAD TO ZANZIBAR has always been one of my two or three favorite Road movies, in part because it's more of a comedy and less of a musical than many entries as well as having the bonus of having that great comedienne Una Merkel along for the ride. And the great Dorothy Lamour is incredibly sexy here (wasn't she always!!)

Now for the "awful packaging" why on earth has MCA Universal Video failed to picture Ms. Lamour on the box as well as the boxes of nearly ALL of the other Road movies. She was an EQUAL star to Hope and Crosby - one of the biggest women stars of the era. She has a lot of fans even today who are probably passing on the prerecorded tapes to this series because of this slight. Wake up Universal and reissue this series picturing the third STAR of these movies on the boxes! (Ms. Lamour is pictured on the DVD box to this ROAD movie but not on several of the other films.)

Not quite a classic, but darn fun
This is not the best of the "Road" pictures, but it's still a lot of fun to watch the chemistry between Hope and Crosby. The plot is a bit preposterous, and just how dumb can Hope's character be to be anything but Fearless? However, the hijinks are first rate scams, and there are nice turns by Dorothy Lamour and Una Merkel. The tunes are not the best of the "Road" series, although Bing's voice always seems stronger in films than in comparably dated records. Get this one not because it's a classic (not quite), but just because it's fun.

Great "Road" Picture!
I personally think that this movie is better than "Road to Morocco", the movie some claim to be the best of the "Road" pictures. It managed to get an Oscar nomination for it's screenplay! Crosby plays Chuck Reardon and Hope is "Fearless" Frazier, that right there is funny. Hope? Fearless! You must be joking lol. They are a couple of con men who perform varies "stunts" at a circus. Hope has to wrestle snakes and bears, and finds himself as the "human bullet". He gets shot out of a cannon. And, that's when all their trouble starts. They burn down the circus lol. And are on the run from the police. I love old-fashion comedies like these. Then again, my opinion may be a bit bias, since I grew up watching these type of movies. I just wish Hollywood could make more films like them. Once Hope and Crosby are on the run, guess who they run into? Dorothy Lamour! Legend has it Lamour had to literally fight to say her lines. Hope and Crosby we're ad-libing so much, sometimes the director had no idea what was going to happen! This is such a great silly, amusing film. You can tell everyone had a good time making this. Hope and Crosby started to play "in jokes" on us. By making several references that THEY ARE IN A MOVIE! All the way through the "Road to Zanzibar" I had a hugh smile on my face. And, how could one not enjoy this film. We have Crosby here to sing a few songs. Hope is here for the laughs, and boy can he provide them! And Lamour is here to keep me up at nights lol. It's just a winning combination. There are a lot of funny moments in this film, but, I don't want to spoil them by giving them away. Buy or rent this film if you're ever a bit down. Or you just want a good laugh. Una Merkel co-stars and Eric Blore has a small bit part (as usual).

a great insight to foreign kings
I watched this when I was a kid and I loved it. My girlfriend is from a foreign country so she doesn't get the movie very well, but I love ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Wonderful start for the "Road" pictures.
"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.

The first stop of many worthwhile destinations
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.

The start of a great tradition
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.

TOO ROMANTIC
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.

On The Road To Classic Comedy
While this first outing may not be the very best of the road pictures (I rate "Morocco" and "Utopia" as better), this is classic comedy, if not a classic film. Hope was new enough on the scene to get third billing (behind Crosby and Lamour), and it was amusing seeing an early Anthony Quinn and Jerry Colonna. The plot is better than some in the "Road" series (a bit of class warfare gets things started), and I always enjoy seeing Bing's "dad" in the film (Charles Coburn).

The rivalry between Hope and Crosby for Lamour's affection has an edge to it, but that makes it just about perfect.

In the extra features we learn that Hope and Lamour were not the first choices for the flick -- would you believe George Burns and Gracie Allen??? BTW, the extra features in all of the new Universal series of DVDs for the "Road" series are well done.

I hadn't seen this in years, and it is much better than my memory had it from years as cut up fodder on commercial television. This one is a keeper. ... Read more