THE ROAD TO HONG KONG

UK, 1962, 91 minutes, Black and white.
Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, Joan Collins, Robert Morley, Walter Gotell, Felix Aylmer, Peter Sellers,
David Niven, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Jerry Colonna.
Directed by Melvin Frank.

The Road to Hong Kong is an enjoyable piece of Bing Crosby and Bob Hope nonsense. From The Road to Singapore in 1940, the duo with Dorothy Lamour starred in an enjoyable series of comedies which sent up movie traditions and conventions and benefited by the easy work between the two stars, ad-libbing, trying to cheat one another - and of course win Dorothy Lamour. Hope, with his image of the coward, somehow or other always lost.

There was a colour Road film in the early '50s: The Road to Bali. As the stars aged and their careers, especially that of Bing Crosby, went into a decline, there was no call for any more Road films. However, at the beginning of the'60s somebody thought it was a good idea. The film was co-written, produced and directed by the comedy-writing team of Melvin Frank and Norman Panama. They prevailed on Dorothy Lamour to take a guest role - although it was added to as production went along. The heroine for this film was Joan Collins (not looking unlike her appearances in Dynasty twenty years later!).

The film was made in black and white, by United Artists rather than by Paramount, the producers of the series. It was Filmed in London and benefits by an English supporting cast including Felix Aylmer as a Lama, Robert Morley as the arch villain (showing that he might have been very entertaining as an arch villain in a James Bond film). There are guest roles from Peter Sellers reprising his Indian Doctor from The Millionairess, a glimpse of David Niven, Jerry Colonna and Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra appear at the end.

The film takes its cue from the interests of the early '60s, especially the exploration of space, the intentions of sending astronauts to the moon, tears of nuclear bombs. It is all done with the light touch, espionage - in fact, very reminiscent of Dr. No and other Bond films.

The film offers the opportunity for Bing and Bob to sing (their credits song in 'Teamwork'). Bob Hope and his comic style endure the best - the one-liners, the slow takes etc. Bing, looking a bit old, is his suave self. Dorothy Lamour enjoys her guest appearance. There are some topical cracks about Khrushchev, President Kennedy, Spartacus, Lloyd Bridges etc.

An entertaining postscript to an enjoyable series. A further gloss on the careers of Crosby and Hope.