It was 85 years ago today that Road to Singapore, starring Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour, premiered in New York City. It was the first of the seven "Road to..." movies, each of which starred Bing Crosby and Bob Hope and most of which starred Dorothy Lamour. While Bing Crosby and Bob Hope played different characters in each movie, the characters were all pretty much the same. They were generally con men who wanted to make a lot of money, and often found themselves getting in trouble doing so. Dorothy Lamour played the love interest in most of the films. The films were known for satirizing various movie genres, as well as their frequent pop culture references.
While Road to Singapore (1940) was the first movie in which Bing Crosby and Bob Hope appeared as a team, they had worked together before. In December 1932 Bob Hope was the master of ceremony at a show held for two weeks at the Capitol Theatre in New York City. Among the performers at the show was Bing Crosby. Bob Hope and Crosby came up with various comedy bits that proved to be a hit with the audience. Bob Hope would later be a guest on Bing Crosby's radio show The Kraft Music Hall. Still later, when Bing Crosby hosted a special Hollywood night at Del Mar, he and Bob Hope performed some of the bits that they had done at the Capitol many years before. Both men were signed to Paramount, so it was natural that the production chief of Paramount, William Le Barron, who suggested that the two make a movie together.
Given all of this, it might seem like a surprise that Road to Singapore was not originally intended as a movie starring Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. The origins of Road to Singapore are obscure, but it apparently originated as a script for Mr. Crosby entitled Follow the Sun. Follow the Sun was redone as a vehicle for George Burns and Gracie Allen called Road to Mandalay. Burns & Allen turned the film down, whereupon it was rewritten for Fred MacMurray and Jack Oakie. The two of them allegedly turned it down, although neither of them could remember doing so. It was after the script was reworked one more time and renamed Road to Singapore that it was offered to Bing Crosby and Bob Hope.
Road to Singapore starred Bing Crosby and Bob Hope as ne'er-do-wells Josh Mallon (Bing Crosby) and Ace Lannigan (Bob Hope). Romantic complications in their lives lead the two men to flee for Singapore. As it turns out, before they can reach Singapore their money runs about the time they reach the fictional island of Kaigoon. They they meet Mima (Dorothy Lamour), with whom they both fall in love.
Although "the Road to..." movies are often referred to as the "Hope-Crosby pictures," they would perhaps be better termed the "Hope-Crosby-Lamour" movies. Even in Road to Singapore, Dorothy Lamour was more than a romantic interest. She was effectively the third member of the team. She became even more a part of the team in the later "Road to..." movies. Dorothy Lamour learned on her first day on the set of Road to Singapore that it was useless to pay any attention to the script, as Bob Hope and Bing Crosby simply extemporised as they saw fit. Fortunately, Dorothy Lamour was a talented actress who was able to keep up with them.
Although today Bob Hope may be the most recognizable name of the three leads, he was billed third on Road to Singapore, beneath Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour. It would be the only "Road..." movie on which he received third billing. With Bob Hope's film career taking off, afterwards the billing would always be "Bing Crosby," "Bob Hope", and "Dorothy Lamour".
Road to Singapore proved to be a success. It received generally positive reviews from critics. It also proved to be a hit at the box office. In the end it would make $1.6 million. Quite naturally, the success of Road to Singapore led to a sequel, Road to Zanzibar (1941), which lead to further installments in the series.
Of course, it was Road to Singapore that established the format for the future "Road to... movies." Each of the movies was a musical comedy, with Bing, Dorothy, and even Bob singing various songs. The songs in Road to Singapore included ""The Moon and the Willow Tree (sung by Dorothy Lamour in the film)," "Sweet Potato Piper (sung by Bing Crosby, Dorothy Lamour, and Bob Hope in the movie)," and "Too Romantic (sung by Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour in the film)." Bing Crosby recorded "The Moon and the Willow Tree,' "Sweet Potato Piper," and "Too Romantic" for Decca Records, with both "Too Romantic" and "Sweet Potato Piper" proving to be hits.
Road to Singapore (1940) also established the many in-jokes and pop culture references that populate the movies in the series. The "patty-cake" routine, which Crosby and Hope use as a distraction to the villains, also originated in Road to Singapore. Road to Singapore also established the personalities of Bing Crosby and Bob Hope's characters. Bob Hope's character was high-strung and filled with bravado, even though he was a naturally born coward. Bing Crosby's character was more calm an collective, the smooth one of the two, and it was he who generally came up with their various schemes. Although both were ladies men, it was Bing's characters who usually got the girl. And, of course, both Bob and Bing's characters were con men.
Like the other "Road to..." movies, to a degree Road to Singapore has not aged well. Racist and sexist attitudes that were prevalent during the era are to found in the film. At the same time it is clear that Road to Singapore was not meant to be taken seriously, and they weren't meant to be mean-spirited or hurtful. It must be kept in mind that Road to Singapore and the other "Road to..." movies were very much products of their time.
Road to Singapore would have a lasting influence beyond setting the pace for the other "Road to..." movies. Years before the term metafiction was even coined, Road to Singapore and the other "Road to..." movies were meta. Being metafictional, Road to Snigapore would have an influence on everything from The Monkees to Moonlighting to Airplane! (1980). Over the years there have been many homages to the film, from theatrical cartons like the Popeye short "We're on the Way to Rio" to the Danny Thomas Show episode "The Road to Lebanon" to a segment of Mel Brooks's film History of the World, Part I (1981). Road to Singapore (1940) occupies a place in film history that few comedies do.
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