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Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, Bob Hope, Charles Coburn, Judith Barrett ... see more see more... , Anthony Quinn , Jerry Colonna , Johnny Arthur , Pierre Watkin , Miles Mander , Pedro Regas , Kitty Kelly , Roger Gray , Benny Inocencio , Gloria Franklin , Carmen D'Antonio , Paula DeCardo , Elvia Allman , Bobby Barber , Monte Blue , Harry C. Bradley , Don Brodie , Arthur Q. Bryan , Edward Gargan , Greta Granstedt , Grace Hayle , Richard Keene , Helen Lynd , Fred Malatesta , Belle Mitchell , Robert E. O'Connor , Marguerita Padula , Gaylord "Steve" Pendleton , Cyril Ring , Robert St. Angelo , Richard Tucker , Claire James , Jack Pepper

The story goes that such stars as Fred MacMurray, Jack Oakie and Burns & Allen had turned down The Road to Singapore before the leading roles went to Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. More conventionally stru... read more read more...ctured than future "Road" efforts, the film casts Crosby as Josh Mallon, the irresponsible son of shipping magnate Joshua Mallon IV (Charles Coburn). Though the elder Mallon wants his son to enter the family business and marry longtime fiancee Gloria Wycott (Judith Barrett), Josh would rather pal around with his carefree sailor buddy Ace Lannigan (Bob Hope). On the eve of his wedding, Josh escapes with Ace to Singapore, where the two of them cook up a get-rich-quick scheme involving a highly unreliable spot remover. The boys' friendship is strained when they both fall in love with cabaret dancer Mima (Dorothy Lamour), who is on the lam from her jealous partner Caesar (Anthony Quinn). Hiding out from the authorities, the three protagonists wind up in the midst of a native ceremony, where Ace and Mima rescue Josh from a hasty marriage to a local temptress. When Gloria shows up to drag Josh back to the altar, Mima nobly gives him up, pretending to be in love with Ace. Eventually, however, big-hearted Ace realizes that Mima belongs with Josh, and thus concocts another scheme to lure his pal back to the Far East. Though many of the earmarks of the "Road" series are evident in Road to Singapore (the "patty-cake" bit, the presence of such guest stars as Hope's radio stooge Jerry Colonna, etc.), the film lacks the spontaneous quality of the later Hope-Crosby-Lamour starrers. Even so, it's an awful lot of fun, especially when Bob and Bing team up on the novelty number "Captain Custard" and Dorothy croons her requisite "moon and stars" romantic ballads. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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68% liked it

3,354 ratings

Critics

100% liked it

9 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 26 min.

Directed by: Victor Schertzinger

Release Date: January 1, 1940

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DVD Release Date: March 5, 2002

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Stats: 117 reviews

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Bob Hope and Bing Crosby MS. LAMOUR ! Road to Singapore Road to Singapore
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Flixster Reviews (117)

  • ajv2688
    September 27, 2010
    ajv2688
    The first "Road" movie is enjoyable and fun for the most part, but there are some bumps on this road trip. The sequels offer more of the same, but some are funnier than others, and most are funnier than this one.
  • garyX
    December 10, 2009
    garyX
    Sea faring buddies Hope and Crosby dodge marriage vows and set up house together on a remote island paradise, until beautiful gypsy girl Dorothy Lamour appears and upsets their domestic bliss. This is one of those old style Hollywood films that seems hilariously naive by today's ... read morestandards. A pair of men who don't want to get married to glamorous women so they decide to live (and sleep!) together...okaaaay then! This was the first of their collaborations and so the formula hasn't quite found its feet; Hope is more of a sidekick to main man Crosby (even appearing below Dorothy Lamour on the credits) and so the screwball banter of their later outings is sorely missing. In fact there are far more songs than jokes so it can be seen more as a romantic musical than a straight comedy. There's not much in the way of plot either, but if you're in the mood for old school, undemanding fluff decorated with some 40s Hollywood glamour (involving some lovely costumes by Edith Head) and a few chuckles, this adequately fits the bill.
  • jam233
    July 25, 2009
    jam233
    It would be hard not to like this "Road" film. Anything Bing Crosby and Bob Hope make together is worth watching. Very entertaining and filled with a lot of inside jokes. Great fun.
  • keishahosler
    May 9, 2007
    keishahosler
    Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, do a great job together, their off screen friendship kind of comes to life on screen, and it works really well. You can tell they had fun making the movie.
  • jjgaut
    February 22, 2007
    jjgaut
    Not as funny as most of the other "Road to..." films (specifically, Morocco, Zanzibar, Rio, and Utopia), but Bob Hope and Bing Crosby make a truly classic pair, and it's still very amusing.
  • CodemanRaider
    February 22, 2007
    CodemanRaider
    Is there a better comedic legend than Bob Hope? I don't care when you were born...if you don't laugh at his jokes, you need to get a sense of humour.

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Critic Reviews

James Plath
October 30, 2004
James Plath, Reel.com

The Road picture that started it all isn't the funniest, but Hope and Crosby are still fun to watch.

Ken Hanke
January 8, 2003
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

The first 'Road' picture has its undeniable charms, but isn't as wild as the later entries.

Bob Bloom
August 12, 2002
Bob Bloom, Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

Hope and Crosby still a bit rough around the edges.

Frank S. Nugent
March 25, 2006
Frank S. Nugent, New York Times

Click to read the article Full Review

Emanuel Levy
July 1, 2005
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

Andy Klein
September 2, 2004
Andy Klein, Los Angeles CityBeat

No review available.

Carol Cling
August 22, 2003
Carol Cling, Las Vegas Review-Journal

No review available.

Nell Minow
June 20, 2003
Nell Minow, Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies

No review available.

Philip Martin
October 3, 2002
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

No review available.

Bob Grimm
July 26, 2002
Bob Grimm, Las Vegas Mercury

No review available.

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