The Road to Morocco (1942)

Intro.
The third of the Bob Hope and Bing Crosby road pictures, The Road to Morocco definitely has the most memorable theme song!  It had been a long, long time since I had seen any of the "Road" pictures, so when TCM held a night filled with Bob and Bing, I had to catch up with this one.  It certainly illustrates the crooner-comedian format that defined many comedies of the forties and fifties and even 64 years later continues to entertain and delight audiences.

Overview
In this parody of Arabian swashbuckling adventures, Orville (Bob Hope) and Jeff (Bing Crosby) have been stranded on a raft in the ocean.  After nearly starving and getting sick of each other, they land on a sandy beach and climb aboard a camel that takes them through the desert and into a bustling city somewhere in Morocco.  Once there, Orville gets noticed by a princess (Princess Shalamar, played by Dorothy Lamour) and Jeff gets his hands on $200.  The only problem is, Jeff gets the dough by selling Orville!  Jeff's conscience gets the best of him, so he goes out to rescue Orville.  Only thing is, Orville has been sold to the Princess and is set to marry her.  But when Orville finds out that the first husband of the princess is fated to die within a week of the wedding, he tries to get Jeff to take his place.  It almost works until sheik Mullay Kassim takes them all hostage in order to marry the Princess himself.  The prophecy is found out to be false, so Bob and Bing must escape and save Dorothy and make it back to the good ole USA! 

Highlights
I love this movie.  Bob and Bing always make a terrific pair, but here is one of their best performances.  I think what makes the movie such a standout is that it doesn't take itself seriously.  Throughout the film, the boys are constantly breaking "the fourth wall" - in their opening song, they sing "I'll bet you eight to five that we meet Dorothy Lamour!"  Later, and perhaps my favorite gag, is when the sheik throws the boys in jail, Orville starts going through all of what's happened up to that point.  When Jeff says he knows all that, Orville replies, "well, the people who just came into the movie don't know that." 

I'm not normally a huge Bing Crosby fan.  Don't get me wrong, I like him and I think he can really sing well, but I guess I'm more of a Frank Sinatra girl.  But when Bing sings "Moonlight Becomes You" I have to admit, I kind of swooned.  If you ever want to know why millions of women went nuts for Bing, listen to him sing this ballad.   

Celebrity Spotings
Anthony Quinn plays Mullay Kassim.  According to Robert Osborn, Anthony was often cast in a wide range of ethnic supporting roles because of his appearance.  He was of Irish-Mexican descent, yet he looked a little Middle Eastern.  He would later go on to play in The Guns of Navarone and The Old Man and the Sea, and would win Oscars for Viva Zapata! and Lust for Life.  And he is both strong and funny as the sheik.  Also of note is Dona Drake, who plays one of the princess's handmaidens who falls in love with Orville and helps him escape.  I had to look her up on IMDb because she looked so familiar - I had seen her in Without Reservations (ironically enough, another funny road movie).  She's pretty awesome in this one too, and can keep up with Bob's quick humor.

Review
The Road to Morocco is what good family comedy is all about.  There's enough humor for everyone to enjoy and will endure as a comedy classic for a long, long time.  If you want to see a Bob Hope Bing Crosby film, I strongly urge you to start with this one - you won't regret it!  (And I'll bet you eight to one that you get the theme song stuck in your head!)

As always, read more at IMDb.com.  Want to hear the theme song?  Check it out here.