Road to Bali

• Directed by Hal Walker
• November 19, 1952

Two unemployed song-and-dance men take treasure-diving work in Bali for a local princess who is also half-Scottish.

The only one in the series in color, Road to Bali opens in Australia and loses almost no time in engaging in corny jokes based on low hanging fruit such as boomerangs. Never think too hard about these or if you do you might question why Harold Gridley (Bob Hope) continues to hang around with George Cochran (Bing Crosby) considering George regularly throws Harold to the wolves such as in the opener when he leaves his friend to get out of an engagement to a girl both proposed too.

The jokes once again reference common pop culture elements that may be elusive to modern audiences like a placard to Sadie Thompson who was a character played by Gloria Swanson. This is in conjunction to a handful of celebrity cameos like Bing’s bandleader brother, Humphrey Bogart in a clip from The African Queen, Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin in a dream bubble, and Jane Russell as her character from Son of Paleface.

I found this film a little funnier than the others in the series. Though I have long been a consumer of older movies I am assuming many of the previous references went over my head with some of the ones I could pick up on failing to as strongly resonate as the do here. That is mitigated by some dad-esque jokes and a generally more cartoonish sensibility to the humor with that fourth wall getting broken once or twice by Bob.

Bing and Bob eventually find themselves on an island near Bali where they meet Princess Lala (Dorothy Lamour) and Prince Ken Arok (Murvyn Vye). Desperate for work the headlining duo took a job to dive for sunken treasure. The Prince has his own plans for the jewels.

Lamour is more of a character here than before though almost inconsequential to the story. She does more and is better written but weirdly her part could have been reduced without hurting too much of the story.

The costuming and interior sets take full advantage of the color process. Everything is bright and vibrant and occasionally garish but not in a way that makes you wince. It is rather beautiful to look at. You can tell the transition between set and exterior. Sometimes it occurs when an actor moves from A to B and they do not enter a building. I ALWAYS hated that.

They tossed a little more money at this. Sets and costumes aside, we get a devastating erupting volcano in a moment that runs somewhat counter to character logic. One would think the Prince at the minimum would humor the locals even if he did not believe that the volcano was an actual god of the island. This is not stock footage but a practical effects shot that was not cheap.

For the only time in color, Road to Bali has a more focused plot and more solid structure making it funnier than most of its predecessors. With smoother integration of gags, you will laugh and enjoy yourself.