Road to Bali (1953)

Featured Audience Ratings

• xGary X

  
  The hapless duo go diving for sunken treasure in the South Pacific, which leaves ample scope for jokes about amorous gorillas, rubber giant squids and a wealth of glamorous island maidens. By this time, the Road movies had settled into a production line comfort zone, and the flat… More
  The hapless duo go diving for sunken treasure in the South Pacific, which leaves ample scope for jokes about amorous gorillas, rubber giant squids and a wealth of glamorous island maidens. By this time, the Road movies had settled into a production line comfort zone, and the flat direction which lacks the necessary pizazz of the great musicals combined with the deeply unconvincing sound stage bound locations means that Bali relies entirely on the amiability of its stars. But let's face it, these old pros were never going to disappoint. The stream of Vaudevillian skits and songs are very familiar to anyone who knows the series and Hope and Crosby's usual backstabbing and bickering is just as fun as always. It's a bit like watching an extended sketch from a Morecambe And Wise Christmas Special in that the knockabout charm of its stars outweighs the quality of the gags to the point where you can't help laughing at even the weakest of jokes; the groans are just as amusing as the chuckles! Very old school, but still fun.

• AJ V

  
  This should have been the last "Road" movie, it's a lot better than road to hong kong. I really liked this movie it's very funny and the story is good.

• Henrik S

  
  A light-hearted comedy and one of the better "Road To" movies featuring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope delivering one-liners and Hollywood inside jokes. The movie kicks off in classic slapstick fashion with Hope and Crosby bailing from the big city to remote South America, to find… More
  A light-hearted comedy and one of the better "Road To" movies featuring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope delivering one-liners and Hollywood inside jokes. The movie kicks off in classic slapstick fashion with Hope and Crosby bailing from the big city to remote South America, to find themselves at the peril of wicked native cults. So far, so good. Crosby and Hope's timing is perfect and you can tell how much of their dialogue is ad-libbed. Yet, despite being inspired by classic comic duos such as Laurel & Hardy or Martin & Lewis, they never reach the same quality. They comic genius of Laurel is nowhere to be found and the music numbers never reach the quality of Dino's. Still, the movie's humour is refreshingly surreal, constantly breaking the fourth wall and you cannot help laughing when Bob Hope proclaims: "He is going to sing now folks, time to get some popcorn". Hope and Crosby joke about the Oscars, other actors, other movies, their off-screen persona, the movie itself ("Is the Picture over ?"). The movie has a tendency to be very campy at times. Have you ever imagined Dorothy Lamour peddling in a lagoon within native ruins, singing and wearing nutin' for the butim' ? Well, here is your chance to see it. I highly recommend this movie if you are into classic Hollywood, the movie feels like taking a trip with some friends down the Hollywood Blvd. Watch it here: http://www.classiccinemaonline.com/1/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=200:road-to-bali-1952&catid=92:comedy&Itemid=290 Henrik