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.
Showing posts with label road pictures. Show all posts
Showing posts with label road pictures. Show all posts
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Gaucho Serenade (1940)
I meant to post this yesterday in honor of "Fridays with the Flying A," but as Fridays are usually busy, the weekly Gene Autry post will now be on or around Friday instead. :-)
Intro.
So often Gene Autry films are overlooked in the history of American film; most academics scoff at the mention of "singing cowboy" pictures. I've heard a few colorful names for them, like oaters and B-Westerns. But if it wasn't for Gene Autry and the introduction of music to the films, the Western genre may very well have died off back in the 30s. Adding a rising radio singing star like Autry made Westerns appeal to more people, specifically women. More people meant more business and more money. Soon all kinds of singing cowboy pictures turned up, even with stars like Bing Crosby and John Wayne (needless to say, John Wayne had his singing dubbed!)
But it was the Lavender Cowboy himself, Gene Autry, that really led the charge. And of all the films he made prior to his enlistment in World War II, I think that Gaucho Serenade (1940) is arguably one of the best. The premise is similar to many of the "road" pictures common at that time (think It Happened One Night and Without Reservations) - strangers meet on the road West, join together through some outside cause, and at first fight then become friends.
Overview
This film starts with corrupt businessmen having framed a man for murder. As he is about to testify in a case against them, they decide to convince his 12 yr old son to come home from England to reunite with his father. They of course plan to hold him as a bit of blackmail. Anyway, the boy comes over, but mistakes Gene and Smiley Burnett for the businessmen and falls asleep in the back of their car. They don't have the heart to tell the boy that there's no such thing as "Rancho San Quentin" like his father wrote him about. Things get more complicated when the guys unknowingly pick up two women - one of which is a runaway bride (who stole the bridegroom's car no less). What follows is pure entertainment - from the girls and guys bickering, to dodging the cops and the crooked businessmen, to a runaway trailer and hold up, to a shootout on a moving train and even a jail break! It all works out, though: father and son reunite, justice is served to the bad guys and Gene gets the girl.
Review
What I like the most about this film is that it comes right at the middle of Gene's film years - he's learned a lot about acting since those 1936 pictures, but still has that vigor and lighthearted spirit that seemed to dim after the war. Perhaps it was because he wasn't competing with Roy Rogers quite yet. And his role is unusual - not only is he a bit out of his environment (on the road and in cities instead of on a ranch and in some frontier town), but his attitude is more spunky. I love the banter between him and the would-be bride Joyce (played by June Storey). I also love the songs - they fit a little better in the plot, and Gene's duets with Joyce's sister Patsy (played by Mary Lee) are superb.
Recommendation
All in all, if you ever want to see a Gene Autry film, I would recommend starting with this one. It's light, it's funny, has great songs and a great cast. What a great way to start off "Fridays with the Flying A!"
Interested in singing cowboy films? Check out the book Singing in the Saddle by Douglas B. Green and Back in the Saddle Again: Essays on the Western by Edward Buscombe and Roberta E. Pearson. You can also read more about Gene, Smiley and the rest of the cast at IMdB.
Intro.
So often Gene Autry films are overlooked in the history of American film; most academics scoff at the mention of "singing cowboy" pictures. I've heard a few colorful names for them, like oaters and B-Westerns. But if it wasn't for Gene Autry and the introduction of music to the films, the Western genre may very well have died off back in the 30s. Adding a rising radio singing star like Autry made Westerns appeal to more people, specifically women. More people meant more business and more money. Soon all kinds of singing cowboy pictures turned up, even with stars like Bing Crosby and John Wayne (needless to say, John Wayne had his singing dubbed!)
But it was the Lavender Cowboy himself, Gene Autry, that really led the charge. And of all the films he made prior to his enlistment in World War II, I think that Gaucho Serenade (1940) is arguably one of the best. The premise is similar to many of the "road" pictures common at that time (think It Happened One Night and Without Reservations) - strangers meet on the road West, join together through some outside cause, and at first fight then become friends.
Overview
This film starts with corrupt businessmen having framed a man for murder. As he is about to testify in a case against them, they decide to convince his 12 yr old son to come home from England to reunite with his father. They of course plan to hold him as a bit of blackmail. Anyway, the boy comes over, but mistakes Gene and Smiley Burnett for the businessmen and falls asleep in the back of their car. They don't have the heart to tell the boy that there's no such thing as "Rancho San Quentin" like his father wrote him about. Things get more complicated when the guys unknowingly pick up two women - one of which is a runaway bride (who stole the bridegroom's car no less). What follows is pure entertainment - from the girls and guys bickering, to dodging the cops and the crooked businessmen, to a runaway trailer and hold up, to a shootout on a moving train and even a jail break! It all works out, though: father and son reunite, justice is served to the bad guys and Gene gets the girl.
Review
What I like the most about this film is that it comes right at the middle of Gene's film years - he's learned a lot about acting since those 1936 pictures, but still has that vigor and lighthearted spirit that seemed to dim after the war. Perhaps it was because he wasn't competing with Roy Rogers quite yet. And his role is unusual - not only is he a bit out of his environment (on the road and in cities instead of on a ranch and in some frontier town), but his attitude is more spunky. I love the banter between him and the would-be bride Joyce (played by June Storey). I also love the songs - they fit a little better in the plot, and Gene's duets with Joyce's sister Patsy (played by Mary Lee) are superb.
Recommendation
All in all, if you ever want to see a Gene Autry film, I would recommend starting with this one. It's light, it's funny, has great songs and a great cast. What a great way to start off "Fridays with the Flying A!"
Interested in singing cowboy films? Check out the book Singing in the Saddle by Douglas B. Green and Back in the Saddle Again: Essays on the Western by Edward Buscombe and Roberta E. Pearson. You can also read more about Gene, Smiley and the rest of the cast at IMdB.
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