''Road to Zanzibar'' is a 1941

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

semi-

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

comedy film starring

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with ...

, and

Dorothy Lamour Dorothy Lamour (born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton; December 10, 1914 – September 22, 1996) was an American actress and singer. She is best remembered for having appeared in the '' Road to...'' movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing ...

, and marked the second of seven pictures in the popular "'' Road to …''" series made by the trio. It takes place in the

Sultanate of Zanzibar The Sultanate of Zanzibar ( sw, Usultani wa Zanzibar, ar, سلطنة زنجبار , translit=Sulṭanat Zanjībār), also known as the Zanzibar Sultanate, was a state controlled by the Sultan of Zanzibar, in place between 1856 and 1964. The Su ...

Plot

The film starts with con-artist Chuck Reardon singing "You Lucky People, You" as a side-show caller at a circus advertising an act featuring his friend Hubert "Fearless" Frazier. "Fearless" poses as a human cannonball, but quickly substitutes a dummy at the last minute and hides in a secret compartment. The flaming dummy sets the big tent on fire and the two of them flee to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. At a fancy restaurant, they're sent

champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, ...

by diamond baron Charles Kimble, who convinces Chuck to spend all their money on the deed to one of Kimble's

diamond Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, b ...

mines. When they find out Kimble is an eccentric and the deed is worthless, Fearless ends their partnership. Later that evening, Fearless comes back with a fistful of money, claiming to have sold the diamond mine to a Monsieur LeBec for a profit. LeBec wants Chuck and Fearless to accompany them to see the mine. Chuck and Fearless manage to escape and jump onto a boat bound for the interior. Stranded, they are propositioned by Julia Quimby to help rescue her friend Donna LaTour from being sold at a slave auction. Unbeknownst to both of them, Julia and Donna are also con-artists who use the money to buy food. They convince Chuck and Fearless to take them along on safari, not telling them it's to see Donna's wealthy boyfriend. As their journey continues, Chuck and Fearless both vie for Donna's attention. Eventually, the men learn they've been duped from the beginning and angrily run into the jungle to confront Donna. While she is swimming in the nude, a pair of leopards tear her clothes while she hides in the reeds. Upon seeing her torn clothes, Chuck and Fearless assume she's dead and prepare a funeral. During their attempt at a eulogy, they admit that despite the fact she lied to them, they both loved her. Chuck and Fearless start to sing "It's Always You" and burst into tears, until Donna sings to them and then they both turn on her. They storm off into the jungle and the safari leaves without them. The men fight their way back to civilization, haggard, dirty and penniless until they sell gold nuggets they had received from the natives. They find the girls and Donna confesses her love for Chuck. The four decide to stay in Zanzibar and start a carnival, which features Julia being sawed in half.

Production

Paramount executives owned the rights to a story by

Sy Bartlett Sidney "Sy" Bartlett (born Sacha Baraniev; July 10, 1900 – May 29, 1978) was a Ukrainian American author and screenwriter/producer of Hollywood films. Early life Sy Bartlett was born on July 10, 1900 in the Black Sea seaport of Mykolaiv in th ...

titled "Find Colonel Fawcett" about two men trekking through the jungles of

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Afric ...

. They felt that its plot was so similar to the recently released ''

Stanley and Livingstone ''Stanley and Livingstone'' is a 1939 American adventure film directed by Henry King and Otto Brower. It is loosely based on the true story of Welsh reporter Sir Henry M. Stanley's quest to find Dr. David Livingstone, a Scottish missionary presum ...

'' (1939) that it could not be made as written without seeming too derivative, so they turned the project over to Frank Butler and

Don Hartman Samuel Donald Hartman (18 November 1900, New York - 23 March 1958, Palm Springs, California) was an American screenwriter and director and former production head of Paramount Pictures. He and Stephen Morehouse Avery were nominated for the Academy ...

, the writers on the wildly successful '' Road to Singapore'' which Paramount had released the year before. Thus reborn as a comedy and spoof of the

safari A safari (; ) is an overland journey to observe wild animals, especially in eastern or southern Africa. The so-called "Big Five" game animals of Africa – lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo – particularly form an impor ...

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other f ...

, the film resembled its predecessor in every important way, with plot taking a back seat to gags (many of them ad libbed), and music. The film was so successful that further "''Road to...''" pictures were assured.

Cast

as Chuck Reardon *

as Hubert 'Fearless' Frazier *

as Donna LaTour *

Charles Gemora Carlos Cruz Gemora (June 15, 1903 – August 19, 1961), commonly known as Charles Gemora, was a Hollywood makeup artist renowned as "the King of the Gorilla Men" for his prolific appearances in many Hollywood films while wearing a gorilla suit. ...

as Gorilla *

Una Merkel Una Merkel (December 10, 1903 – January 2, 1986) was an American stage, film, radio, and television actress. Merkel was born in Kentucky and acted on stage in New York in the 1920s. She went to Hollywood in 1930 and became a popular film ...

as Julia Quimby *

Eric Blore Eric Blore Sr. (23 December 1887 – 2 March 1959) was an English actor and writer. His early stage career, mostly in the West End of London, centred on revue and musical comedy, but also included straight plays. He wrote sketches for and appe ...

as Charles Kimble *

Douglass Dumbrille Douglass Rupert Dumbrille (October 13, 1889 – April 2, 1974) was a Canadian actor who appeared regularly in films from the early 1930s. Life and career Douglass Dumbrille ( ) was born in Hamilton, Ontario. As a young man, he was employed ...

as Slave trader *

Iris Adrian Iris Adrian Hostetter (May 29, 1912 – September 17, 1994) was an American stage, film actress and dancer. Life and career Adrian was an only child, born in Los Angeles, California, to Florence (née Van Every) and Adrian Earl Hostetter, who ...

as French

soubrette A soubrette is a type of operatic soprano voice ''fach'', often cast as a female stock character in opera and theatre. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means "conceited" or "coy". Theatre In theatre, a soubrette is ...

in café *

Lionel Royce Lionel Royce (born Leon Moriz Reiss; March 30, 1891 – April 1, 1946) was an Austrian-American actor of stage and screen, also known during his European career as Leo Reuss. He began his career in theater in Vienna, Austria, in 1919, before ...

as Monsieur Lebec * Buck Woods as Thonga * Leigh Whipper as Scarface *

Ernest Whitman Ernest Whitman (February 21, 1893 - August 5, 1954) was an American stage and screen actor. He was also billed in some Broadway plays as Ernest R. Whitman. Early years Whitman was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and was educated at Tuskegee Ins ...

as Whiteface *

Noble Johnson Noble Johnson (April 18, 1881 – January 9, 1978), later known as Mark Noble, was an American actor and film producer. He appeared in films such as ''The Mummy'' (1932), ''The Most Dangerous Game'' (1932), ''King Kong'' (1933) and ''Son of ...

as Chief *

Joan Marsh Joan Marsh (July 10, 1914 – August 10, 2000) was an American child actress in silent films between 1915 and 1921. Later, during the sound era, she resumed her acting career and performed in a variety of films during the 1930s and 1940s. Ear ...

as Dimples, helper in Human Cannonball act *

Luis Alberni Luis Alberni (October 4, 1886 – December 23, 1962) was a Spanish-born American character actor of stage and films. Early years Alberni was born in Barcelona, Spain, on October 4, 1886. He acted in stock theater for four years in Marseille ...

as Native booth proprietor *

Robert Middlemass Robert Middlemass (September 3, 1883 – September 10, 1949) was an American playwright and stage actor, and later character actor with over 100 film appearances, usually playing detectives or policemen.(13 Feb 1937)Mrs. Susan C. Middlemass ...

as Police inspector

Reception

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' loved it. "Pity the poor motion picture which ever again sets forth on a perilous (?) African safari, now that Bing Crosby and Bob Hope have traversed the course! For the cheerful report this morning is that the Messrs. Crosby and Hope, with an able left-handed assist from a denatured Dorothy Lamour, have thoroughly ruined the Dark Continent for any future cinematic pursuits. Never again will we hear those jungle drums throbbing menacingly but what we envision Bing and Bob beating a gleeful tattoo upon them. And never again will we behold a file of natives snaking solemnly through the trees without seeing in our mind’s eye the gangling Crosby-Hope expedition as it ambles in and along the Paramount’s “Road to Zanzibar,” which arrived at that house yesterday. Yessir, the heart of darkest Africa has been pierced by a couple of wags... Needless to say, Mr. Crosby and Mr. Hope are most, if not all, of the show—with a slight edge in favor of the latter, in case any one wants to know. Miss Lamour, who is passingly amusing in her frequent attempts to be, assists in the complications and sings a couple of songs... Farce of this sort very seldom comes off with complete effect, but this time it does, and we promise that there’s fun on the “Road to Zanzibar.” This time, as Mr. Hope puts it in one of his pungent phrases, they’re cooking with gas." ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' was not so impressed. "‘Zanzibar’ is Paramount’s second coupling of Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour following their successful teaming in ‘Road to Singapore’. Although picture has sufficient comedy situations and dialog between its male stars to get over with general audiences in regular runs, it lacks the compactness and spontaneity of its predecessor...The story framework is pretty flimsy foundation for hanging the series of comedy and thrill situations concocted for the pair. It’s a fluffy and inconsequential tale, with Crosby-Hope combo, through their individual and collective efforts, doing valiant work to keep up interest... Comedy episodes generally lack sparkle and tempo of ‘Singapore’, and musical numbers are also below par for a Crosby picture. Bing sings two, ‘It’s Always You’ the best candidate..."

Songs

* "You Lucky People, You", performed by Bing Crosby * "African Etude / Road To Zanzibar", performed by Bing Crosby and a chorus while on safari * "You're Dangerous", performed by Dorothy Lamour * " It's Always You", performed by Bing Crosby * "Birds of a Feather" was written to be sung by Crosby but ultimately it was only included in background music. All lyrics by Johnny Burke, and music by

Jimmy Van Heusen James Van Heusen (born Edward Chester Babcock; January 26, 1913 – February 6, 1990) was an American composer. He wrote songs for films, television and theater, and won an Emmy and four Academy Awards for Best Original Song. Life and care ...

Bing Crosby recorded a number of the songs for

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American Decca's president. ...

. Crosby's songs were also included in the Bing's Hollywood series.

References

* Raymond Strait, ''Bob Hope: A Tribute'' (New York: Pinnacle Books, 2003)

Sources

External links

* * * * {{Victor Schertzinger , state=collapsed 1941 films 1940s adventure comedy films 1941 musical comedy films 1941 romantic comedy films American adventure comedy films American black-and-white films American buddy films American musical comedy films American comedy road movies American romantic comedy films American romantic musical films Films scored by Victor Young Films directed by Victor Schertzinger Films set in Tanzania Paramount Pictures films Self-reflexive films Zanzibar in fiction 1940s romantic musical films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films