Tag Archives: Bing Crosby

Musical Monday: Road to Bali (1952)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Road to Bali (1952) – Musical #157

Studio:
Paramount Pictures

Director:
Hal Walker

Starring:
Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Murvyn Vye, Peter Coe, Ralph Moody, Leon Askin, Patricia Dane (uncredited), Michael Jeffers (uncredited), Carolyn Jones (uncredited), Bhogwan Singh (uncredited), Chanan Singh Sohi (uncredited), 
Cameo: Humphrey Bogart (from archival footage), Bob Crosby, Jane Russell, Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin

Plot:
Two vaudeville performers, George Cochran (Crosby) and Harold Gridley (Hope), are in Australia. They (yet again) have to duck out of town when the fathers of two women are looking for the performers after they proposed marriage to their daughters. To get out of town, they accept jobs from Ken Arok (Vye) to dive for treasure in Bali, Indonesia. Little do they know that their boss doesn’t plan on staying alive to accept their pay. Ken Arok is related to Princess Lala (Lamour), who knows of his nefarious ways and tries to keep Harold and George alive. Though she succeeds, the trio has to flee to stay out of reach of Ken Arok.

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Musical Monday: Road to Rio (1947)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Road to Rio (1947) – Musical #813

Studio:
Paramount Pictures

Director:
Norman Z. McLeod

Starring:
Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Gale Sondergaard, Frank Faylen, George Meeker,
Frank Puglia, Robert Barrat, Nestor Paiva, Stanley Andrews, Harry Woods
Themselves: The Andrews Sisters, The Wiere Brothers, Jerry Colonna

Plot:
Vaudeville performers Scat Sweeney (Crosby) and Hot Lips Barton (Hope) travel the United States, and are frequently chased out of states after Scat woos women in each area. In one area, the duo’s act burns down an entire carnival. Fleeing the scene of their crime, Scat and Hot Lips stowaway on a ship to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where they meet wealthy Lucia Maria de Andrade (Lamour). Lucia’s finances and future nuptials are being controlled by her nefarious guardian, Catherine Vail (Sondergaard).

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Musical Monday: Road to Morocco (1942)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Road to Morocco – Musical #147

Studio:
Paramount Pictures

Director:
David Butler

Starring:
Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Anthony Quinn, Dona Drake, Vladimir Sokoloff, Mikhail Rasumny, Yvonne De Carlo (uncredited), Vivian Dandridge (uncredited), Richard Loo (uncredited)

Plot:
Jeff Peters (Crosby) and Orville “Turkey” Jackson (Hope) are adrift on a raft after their boat blows up (thanks to Turkey). When they find land, they find themselves in a desert and ride a camel towards town. They find themselves in an “Arabian Nights”-like setting. In need of money, Jeff sells Turkey. When Turkey sends Jeff a note saying he’s being tortured but to flee, Jeff sets out to save him. The note is a ruse, as Turkey is in the lap of luxury and cuddled up to Princess Shalmar (Lamour), who believes the stars have dictated that they should be married. Problems arise when Princess Shalmar falls in love with Jeff, and also is betrothed to Mullay Kasim (Anthony Quinn).

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Musical Monday: Road to Zanzibar (1941)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Road to Zanzibar (1941) – Musical No. 416

Studio:
Paramount Pictures

Director:
Victor Schertzinger

Starring:
Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Una Merkel, Eric Blore, Douglass Dumbrille, Iris Adrian, Lionel Royce, Buck Woods, Leigh Whipper, Ernest Whitman, Noble Johnson, Joan Marsh, Luis Alberni, Ruby Dandridge (uncredited)

Plot:
Chuck (Crosby) and Fearless (Hope) are carnival performers traveling through Africa. Chuck always has a gimmick that is at the expense of Fearless’s health and safety, from being shot out of a cannon to wrestling an octopus. One of their antics causes them to go on the lamb when they burn down the carnival and the police are looking for them. They continue to get into more trouble when they meet Charles Kimble (Blore), who sells them a diamond mine. After paying Kimble all of their money, they learn Kimble is eccentric and the mine is a fake. They then run into two women in distress – Donna Latour (Lamour) and Julia Quimby (Merkel) – who may not need as much help as they think. The four then travel through the jungle in search of Donna’s sick father, or so they say.

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Musical Monday: Road to Singapore (1940)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Road to Singapore (1940) – Musical No. 156

Studio:
Paramount Pictures

Director:
Victor Schertzinger

Starring:
Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, Bob Hope, Charles Coburn, Judith Barrett, Anthony Quinn, Jerry Colonna, Edward Gargan (uncredited), Cyril Ring (uncredited), Steve Pendleton (uncredited)

Plot:
Josh Mallon V (Crosby) is in the Navy, but his wealthy father (Coburn) wants him to settle down and work at the shipping business and marry wealthy Gloria Wycott (Barrett). Josh brings his pal, Ace (Hope), to his and Gloria’s engagement party. At the party, I fight breaks out when Gloria’s brother (Pendleton) makes snide remarks. Josh and Ace then run away to Singapore. There, they meet beautiful Mima (Lamour). The two fight over Mima, while Josh’s family searches for him to bring him back to the United States.

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Musical Monday: Duffey’s Tavern (1945)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

duffys tavernThis week’s musical:
Duffey’s Tavern (1945) – Musical #787

Studio:
Paramount Pictures

Director:
Hal Walker

Starring:
Ed Gardner, Barry Fitzgerald, Victor Moore, Marjorie Reynolds, Barry Sullivan, Charles Cantor, Eddie Green, Ann Thomas, Howard Da Silva, Billy De Wolfe, Walter Abel, Frank Faylen (uncredited), Matt McHugh (uncredited), Noel Neill (uncredited),
Themselves: Bing Crosby, Betty Hutton, Paulette Goddard, Alan Ladd, Dorothy Lamour, Eddie Bracken, Brian Donlevy, Sonny Tufts, Veronica Lake, Arturo de Cordova, Cass Daley, Diana Lynn, Robert Bencley, William Demarest, Joan Caulfield, Gail Russell, Hlen Walker, Jean Heather, Maurice Rocco, Dennis Crosby, Gary Crosby, Lindsay Crosby, Phillip Crosby, Olga San Juan,

Plot:
During World War II, a record manufacturer closes down because a shortage of Shellac. While the factory is closed, the out of work employees eat for free and drown their sorrows at Duffy’s Tavern on credit, which is run by Archie (Gardner). The record company owner, Michael O’Malley (Moore), tries to find finances and a way to open the plant. Archie and O’Malley also learn that a bevvy of celebrities will be in town, they ask them to host a benefit for out of work soldiers returning from the war.

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Musical Monday: Anything Goes (1956)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

Screenshot 2024-10-19 114732This week’s musical:
Anything Goes (1956) – Musical #785

Studio:
Paramount Pictures

Director:
Robert Lewis

Starring:
Bing Crosby, Donald O’Connor, Mitzi Gaynor, Zizi Jeanmaire, Phil Harris, Kurt Kasznar, Richard Erdman, Walter Sande, Archer MacDonald, Argentina Brunetti, Alma Macrorie, Dorothy Neumann, James Griffith, Macel Dalio (uncredited), Nancy Kulp (uncredited), Ruta Lee (uncredited)

Plot:
Broadway veteran Bill Benson (Crosby) is soon to be cast in a show with up-and-coming television star, Ted Adams (O’Connor). They just need to find a leading lady for the show. Separately, Bill signs Patsy Blair (Gaynor) as the leading lady and Ted signs Gaby Duval (Jeanmaire). The two then have to figure out how to pick the best actress and break the news to the girl not selected for the show.

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Musical Monday: High Society (1956)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

high society5This week’s musical:
High Society (1956) – Musical #111

Studio:
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Director:
Charles Walters

Starring:
Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, Frank Sinatra, Celeste Holm, Louis Armstrong, John Lund, Louis Calhern, Sidney Blackmer, Margalo Gillmore, Lydia Reed, Gordon Richards, Richard Garrick
Louis Armstrong’s band: Edmond Hall, James Young, Arvell Shaw, Billy Kyle, Barrett Deems

Plot:
Days before the wedding of socialite Tracy Lord (Kelly) and George Kittredge (Lund), Tracy’s ex-husband C. K. Dexter-Haven (Crosby) returns back to Newport, Rhode Island, to host a jazz festival. While Tracy is annoyed that her ex-husband is around, matters are complicated further when a reporter Mike Connor (Sinatra) and photographer Liz Imbrie (Holm) arrive from SPY Magazine to cover the wedding.

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Musical Monday: If I Had My Way (1940)

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It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

if I had my way2This week’s musical:
If I Had My Way (1940) – Musical #747

Studio:
Universal Pictures

Director:
David Butler

Starring:
Bing Crosby, Gloria Jean, Charles Winninger, El Brendel, Allyn Joslyn, Claire Dodd, Donald Woods, Moroni Olsen, Nana Bryant, Kathryn Adams, Verna Felton (uncredited), Rafael Alcayde (uncredited), Rod Cameron (uncredited)
Specialty Acts: Six Hits and a Miss, Julian Eltinge, Trixie Friganza, Grace La Rue, Eddie Leonard, Blanche Ring, Paul Gordon

Plot:
Construction workers Buzz Blackwell (Crosby), Fred Johnson (Woods) and Axel Swenson (El Brendel), are about to complete their work on the Golden Gate Bridge. When Fred is killed in an accident, Buzz and Axel take Fred’s young daughter Patricia (Jean) to New York City to live with her uncle, Jarvis Johnson (Joslyn). Not wanting to take responsibility, Jarvis Johnson sends Patricia to her great aunt and uncle, Joe and Marian Johnson (Charles Winninger, Nana Bryant), who welcome the child with open arms. While Buzz is ready to move on to another construction project in Arizona, Axel spends all their money while drunkenly buying an unsuccessful restaurant. Buzz works to transform the restaurant into a vaudeville-themed café to help support Patricia.

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Watching 1939: East Side of Heaven (1939)

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In 2011, I announced I was trying to see every film released in 1939. This new series chronicles films released in 1939 as I watch them. As we start out this blog feature, this section may become more concrete as I search for a common thread that runs throughout each film of the year. Right now, that’s difficult.

east side of heaven1939 film:
East Side of Heaven (1939)

Release date:
April 7, 1939

Cast:
Bing Crosby, Joan Blondell, Mischa Auer, Irene Hervey, C. Aubrey Smith, Robert Kent, Jerome Cowan, Baby Sandy, Jane Jones, Helen Warner, Rose Valyda, Jack Powell, Matty Malneck, Chester Clute (uncredited), Phyllis Kennedy (uncredited), Sterling Holloway (uncredited), J. Farrell MacDonald (uncredited),
Specialty Acts: The Music Maids

Studio:
Universal Pictures

Director:
David Butler

Plot:
Denny Martin (Crosby) is a singing cab driver is engaged to telephone operator Mary Wilson (Blondell), but they have had to postpone their wedding four times. Their nuptials are again in danger of being put on hold when Denny is saddled with a baby (Baby Sandy). His friend Mona Barrett (Hervey) is in the process of divorcing her alcoholic husband Cyrus Barrett Jr. (Kent). In response to the split, her father in law Cyrus Barrett, Sr. (Smith) decides Mona and Junior’s baby (Baby Sandy) needs to stay in his care and tries to legally take the baby away from her. To protect her baby, Mona leaves him with Denny who tries to secretly care for the baby with his roommate Nicky (Auer), while the whole town is searching for the baby.

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