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ROAD TO BALI / Hal Walker (1952)

December 27th, 2006 by Scott Marks

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Road to Bali (1952)
Directed by: Hal Walker
Written by: Frank Butler & Hal Kanter
Genres: Comedy, Musical
Cast: Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour, Murvyn Vye, Peter Coe, Ralph Moody, Leon Askin, Michael Ansara, Herman Cantor, Sue Casey, Larry Chance, Leslie Charles, Jack Claus, Jean Corbett, Harry Cording, Bob Crosby, Roy Gordon, Bernie Gozier, Carolyn Jones, Jan Kayne, Richard Keene, Al Kikume, Donald Lawton, Bunny Lewbel, Judith London, Charles Mauu, Patti McKay, Allan Nixon, Betty Onge, Satini Pualoa, Jane Russell, Kuka Tuima, Douglas Yorke
Aspect Ratio: 1.37 : 1

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

The sixth ‘Road’ picture was the last to be produced by Paramount and the only one budgeted for color (Technicolor, no less!). Not unlike later-period Elvis vehicles, the writers assumed that audiences knew exactly what to expect, and completely dispensed with any pretense of an opening. The musical passages, particularly Bing’s flaccid, rear-screen rendition of To See You, also have something in common with The King:they fail to reach the visual sophistication of any of the numbers in Follow that Dream.

The picture kick-starts in backlot Melbourne with the boys performing a buck-and-wing to the spirited Chicago Style, and it’s pretty much downhill from there. At one point during the opening, Hope, who is positioned stage left, is pulled into the wings by a soon-to-be-spurned fiancé and her father. The cut to Hope offstage is clearly taken from the perspective of stage right. Hey, how ’bout that violently insane screen direction, huh? Continue reading ROAD TO BALI / Hal Walker (1952)

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