The Road to Hong Kong

Infobox Film
name = The Road to Hong Kong


caption = 1962 movie poster
director = Norman Panama
producer = Melvin Frank
writer = Norman Panama
Melvin Frank
starring = Bing Crosby
Bob Hope
Joan Collins
Dorothy Lamour
Robert Morley
music = Robert Farnon
cinematography = Jack Hildyard
editing = Alan Osbigton
distributor = United Artists
released = april 27, 1962
runtime = 91 min
country = U.K. / U.S.A.
awards =
language = English
budget =
preceded_by = Road to Bali
followed_by =
amg_id = 1:41573
imdb_id = 0056417

"The Road to Hong Kong" (1962) was the last in the long-running "Road to..." series and the only episode not produced by Paramount Pictures, though reference to the other films in the series are shown in Maurice Binder's opening title sequence.

Plot and Production

Regular stars Bing Crosby and Bob Hope returned, but the leading lady was now Joan Collins rather than Dorothy Lamour. Lamour made a cameo appearance as herself late in the film and other cameos are provided by David Niven, Peter Sellers, Roger Delgado, Frank Sinatra, and Dean Martin. Hope's character is named "Chester Babcock" an in joke as songwriter James Van Heusen was born "Edward Chester Babcock".

In her autobiography, Dorothy Lamour said that Crosby had felt her too old to play a leading lady whilst Hope refused to do the film without her. Her extended cameo that featured her singing and having interplay with Hope and Crosby was a compromise. [p.198 Lamour, Dorothy & McInnes "My Side of the Road" Prentice-Hall 1980]

The plot involves espionage and space rockets, being reminiscent of "Dr. No" and hence is part of the spy craze of the 1960s. Hope and Crosby are up against a SPECTRE type organisation called "The Third Echelon" who have their own underwater secret headquarters and are led by Robert Morley with James Bond film regular Walter Gotell as "Dr. Zorbb". The film's art director is another Bond film regular, Syd Cain.

Hope, Crosby and Collins end up in a rocket bound for another planet where they meet the new comedy team of Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.

Although the movie features the same kind of antics and gags as previous episodes, with all characters trying their utmost to help each other, the film was not as well-received as its predecessors.

The famous transsexual April Ashley appeared in this film, but her credit was pulled after the press revealed this.

References

External links

*imdb title|id=0056417
*amg title | id=1:41573