On the Road with Bing and Bob!
Chris Hallam looks behind the scenes to discover the truth behind the making of the legendary Road movies…
First, there was Road to Singapore (1940). Then, there was Zanzibar, Morocco, Utopia, Rio, Bali and finally, after a decade’s hiatus, The Road To Hong Kong (1962). Throughout the Second World War and way beyond, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour entertained filmgoers in one of the most celebrated comedy series in cinema history. On screen, all three seemed to get along famously with Crosby and Hope particularly seen as the perfect screen buddies. The reality was rather more complicated than that.
THREE’S COMPANY?
From the outset, Bing was the bigger star. Although he and Bob Hope were almost exactly the same age (both had been born in May 1903), Bing, a noted musician, was by far the bigger name in the Thirties.
Despite this, the British-born Bob developed an easy camaraderie with Bing, bantering with him on stage soon after their first meeting in 1932. “The gags weren’t very funny I guess,” Bob admitted later. “But the audience laughed because Bing and I were having such a good time – and I guess it was clear we liked each other.” It was this quality that led directly to the two being cast in Road to Singapore. The script was cobbled together from an old unused screenplay written for Crosby and, as with the subsequent Road movies, was essentially just used as an excuse for the duo to lark around in a foreign location.
Producers and director alike grew alarmed when Crosby and Hope attempted to transfer the freewheeling style of their stage shows to the film set, even bringing in their own private scriptwriters to beef up the gag count. These methods didn’t suit the film’s female lead Dorothy Lamour at all. “I kept waiting for a cue that would never come,” she later recalled. “So finally, in exasperation, I asked, “Please guys, when can I get my line in?” They stopped dead, broke up, and laughed for ten minutes.”
But Crosby and Hope’s methods worked. Road to Singapore was a hit. And though it was never
intended as such, it became the first in a long series of films.
BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL
As the films wore on, the actors became more comfortable in their roles, establishing familiar screen personas. Crosby’s character, would typically be a cool customer, who nearly always got the girl. Hope, in fact, a lifelong womaniser off-screen, on-screen would be overanxious and would usually lose out in any romantic rivalry. Lamour enjoyed herself more over time too. Hope grew particularly accomplished at “breaking the fourth wall,” that is surprising the audience by appearing to address them directly. Shortly before Crosby begins a musical number in Road to Bali, for example, Hope turns wearily to the camera. "He's gonna sing, folks,” he warns. “Now's the time to go out and get the popcorn."
Similarly, one scene in the film Road to Morocco sees Hope briefly detailing his escapades in the film so far.
“I know all that!” says Crosby. “Yeah, but the people who came in the middle of the picture don’t,” replies Hope.
The same film even features a brief talking part by a camel: (“This was the screwiest picture I was ever in!”).
A camel later spits on Hope, prompting laughter from Crosby: a genuinely spontaneous moment which made it into the finished film.
TROUBLE ON THE HORIZON
With the films growing expensive, it was initially decided that the third film, Road To Utopia would be the last. Crosby and Hope were keen to carry on, so a threeway co-production deal was agreed between Hope, Crosby and Paramount. The deal paid off. The next film, Road to Rio, was one of the biggest box office hits of 1947.
But there was a downside; Dorothy Lamour was deeply offended at not being offered a stake in the film at all. The same was true of the later films. Indeed, for the final (disappointing) film The Road To Shanghai, she was treated appallingly, her role reduced to a single scene cameo with Hope. By now in her late 40s (still well over a decade younger than Hope and Crosby), most of her part was filled instead by a rising young British actress, Joan Collins. Lamour was right to be upset. In reality, she had played an essential comic role in the Road films. Relations remained initially cordial with Hope but the row exposed a dark side of Crosby’s character. Often a very cold man, Crosby totally disregarded Lamour’s complaints dismissing her as a ‘broad’ who was lucky to have a role with talents like him and Hope.
THE END OF THE ROAD
Were Bob Hope and Bing Crosby friends? The simple answer is no. Both men generally got on well while working and were keen golf enthusiasts. But they rarely socialised otherwise even though they lived near each other. Hope was a workaholic, a sociable man who enjoyed fame. Crosby was a cold fish who preferred going hunting or fishing. When a special all-star dinner was thrown for Hope in 1947, Crosby didn’t go. “My friendship with Bob does not depend on appearing at testimonials for him,” was Crosby’s chilly explanation. Hope was apparently deeply hurt.
“You know, I never liked Bing.
He was a son of a bitch,” Hope confessed privately to an astonished TV producer in his old age. But when news came of Bing’s sudden death following a heart attack in 1977, Bob Hope was genuinely upset. The two had actually been planning to make a final Road movie together.
But it wasn’t just professional disappointment. Like him or loathe him, Bing Crosby had played a huge part in his life. Together, along with Dorothy Lamour, Crosby and Hope had created comedy gold.