Road to Utopia (1945)
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100% of critics liked it
(6 reviews) -
72% of users liked it
(2,598 ratings)
The first "Road" picture in three years (the last was The Road to Morocco), Road to Utopia is set during the Alaskan gold rush. Bob Hope and Bing Crosby play a pair of third-rate San Francisco entertainers, Chester Hooton and Duke Johnson, who are obliged to skip town in a hurry. They book… More The first "Road" picture in three years (the last was The Road to Morocco), Road to Utopia is set during the Alaskan gold rush. Bob Hope and Bing Crosby play a pair of third-rate San Francisco entertainers, Chester Hooton and Duke Johnson, who are obliged to skip town in a hurry. They book passage on a ship to Alaska, where they run afoul of escaped murderers Sperry (Robert H. Barrat) and McGurk (Nestor Paiva). Through a fluke, Chester and Duke overpower the killers, then get off the ship in Skagway disguised as Sperry and McGurk so that they themselves can evade the authorities. The boys can't understand why everyone is so afraid of them, nor why saloon owner Ace Larson (Douglas Dumbrille) and Larson's moll Kate (Hillary Brooke) are so chummy. It turns out that Sperry and McGurk had stolen a deed to a valuable gold mine before escaping to Alaska. Sal Van Hoyden (Dorothy Lamour) is the rightful owner of that deed, thus she too shows up in Skagway, hoping to extract the document from Chester and Duke. Whenever the plot threatens to become too difficult to follow, narrator Robert Benchley shows up to explain things -- which of course only adds to the confusion. At any rate, the whole affair ends up with Chester, Duke, and Sal running through the snowy wastes, with the villains in hot pursuit. Duke nobly stays behind to fight off the bad guys himself, handing the deed to Chester and Sal and wishing them Godspeed. Flash-forward to 1945: Chester and Sal, both old and wealthy, are reunited with their equally aged pal Duke, who wasn't killed after all. Sal tells Duke that Chester has been a wonderful husband and father. Yes, father...and wait till you see who plays their child ("We adopted him!"). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Hal Walker
- Written By
- Norman Panama, Melvin Frank
- Genres
- Classics, Comedy
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 1945 Wide
- On DVD
- Mar 5, 2002
- Studio
- MCA Universal Home Video
Critic Reviews
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Steve Crum, Dispatch-Tribune Newspapers
My choice as the funniest of Hope and Crosby's Road pictures. It is definitely the zaniest.
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Has plenty of quips.
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Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Bing and Bob off on another road, in the fourth -- and many say funniest -- of their famous 'Road' series. If nothing else, it may be their wildest.
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Cast
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Bing Crosby
as Duke Johnson
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Bob Hope
as Chester Hooton
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Dorothy Lamour
as Sal Van Hoyden
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Robert Benchley
as Narrator
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Hillary Brooke
as Kate
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Douglas Dumbrille
as Ace Larson
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Jack LaRue
as Le Bec
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Nestor Paiva
as McGurk
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George Anderson
as Townsman
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Stanley Andrews
as Official at boat
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Bobby Barber
as Bartender
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Robert H. Barrat
as Sperry
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William Benedict
as Newsboy
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Al Bridge
as Boat captain
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Romaine Callender
as Top Hat
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Larry Daniels
as Ringleader
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Edgar Dearing
as Official
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Jimmie Dundee
as Ringleader of henchmen
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Edward Emerson
as Master of Ceremonies
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Al Ferguson
as Policeman
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Art Foster
as Husky Sailor
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Donald Gallagher
as Man at Zambini's
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Charles Gemora
as Bear
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Brandon Hurst
as Man at Zambini's
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Ethan Laidlaw
as Saloon extra
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Arthur Loft
as Purser
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James Lono
as Eskimo
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George McKay
as Waiter
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Frank Moran
as Bartender
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Ferdinand Munier
as Santa Claus
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Paul Newlan
as Tough ship's purser
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Allen Pomeroy
as Henchman
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Jack Rutherford
as Man
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Lee Shumway
as Cop
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Jim Thorpe
as Passenger
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Pat West
as Bartender
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Charles C. Wilson
as Official Cop
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Will Wright
as Mr. Latimer
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Maxine Fife
as Girl
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Claire James
as Girl
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Jack Stoney
as Henchman
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Ronnie Rondell
as Hotel Manager
