Road to Morocco (1942)

Synopsis:

In Morocco, an American drifter (Bing Crosby, The Country Girl) sells his best friend (Bob Hope, The Facts of Life) for food, only to regret his decision. The guilt-ridden drifter looks for his friend and is shocked to find him living in a palace and courting a beautiful Princess (Dorothy Lamour, The Greatest Show on Earth).

Reaction & Thoughts:

“You’re in Africa now. Strange things happen here.”

The third movie in the “Road to…” franchise doesn’t show any signs of fatigue. Road to Morocco is in fact my favorite movie in the series, so far. It’s a masterpiece of sheer lunacy. It doesn’t follow any story-telling rules. Logic gets thrown out of the window, and that makes the film endearingly loopy and hysterically funny.

Even though the script is credited to Frank Butler (Going My Way) and Don Hartman, I had this gut feeling that the best gags were improvised by Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. Whether I’m right or not, you often get the impression that Crosby and Hope are making things up as they go, and that’s precisely why the film is a blast.

Road to Zanzibar (1941) satirized jungle movies. Road to Morocco makes fun of Arabian desert movies. Crosby and Hope really step up their game. Hope is Hope, but I was surprised to see Crosby act so goofy. He is a riot, and Hope, perhaps sensing that his costar was stealing the show, seems to try harder than ever before — it’s fun seeing the charismatic actors fight each other for the viewer’s attention!

It should be noted that Crosby and Hope play adversaries here. Gone is the sweet friendship you saw in the first “Road to…” movie, the charming Road to Singapore (1940). The bromance is over, and the relationship is best described as frenemies. Dorothy Lamour is, as usual, letter-perfect as the target of the boys’ affections.

Anyhow, everything but the kitchen sink is thrown at the audience. Some of the best moments include a rowdy camel, a couple of talking mules, a wonderfully self-referential title song, and a hilarious joke aimed at the Academy Awards (Oscars). And Crosby and Hope break off the fourth wall constantly and imprudently.

Conclusions & Final Thoughts:

Fast-paced and unabashedly silly, Road to Morocco never runs out of jokes  — there is nothing this movie won’t do for a good laugh. And I feel weird for saying this, but I’m going to say it anyway: Because we have lost the ability to laugh at ourselves, this admittedly childish and wacky 80-year-old-plus movie is edgier than most Hollywood comedies made today. B&W, 82 minutes, Not Rated.

Theatrical Trailer: