Road to Morocco (1942)

Director:

David Butler

Writers:

Frank Butler (original screenplay) and
Don Hartman (original screenplay)

Release Date:

22 April 1943 (Australia)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Romance

Tagline:

You'll Shriek At These Shieks! . . . trying the double - Oh! on Sheikess Dorothy Lamour!

Plot:

Two carefree castaways on a desert shore find an Arabian Nights city, where they compete for the luscious Princess Shalmar.

Plot Keywords:

Princess | Desert | Castaway | Rescue | Camel

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win

Cast

Bing Crosby	...	Jeff Peters
Bob Hope	...	Orville 'Turkey' Jackson / Aunt Lucy
Dorothy Lamour	...	Princess Shalmar
Anthony Quinn	...	Mullay Kasim
Dona Drake	...	Mihirmah
Vladimir Sokoloff	...	Hyder Khan
Mikhail Rasumny	...	Ahmed Fey
George Givot	...	Neb Jolla

Also Known As:

Der Weg nach Marokko (Austria) (Germany) [de]
A Sedução de Marrocos (Portugal) [pt]
A Sedução do Marrocos (Brazil) [pt]
Avventura al Marocco (Italy) [it]
En route pour le Maroc (France) [fr]
Kaksi iloista merimiestä Marokossa (Finland) [fi]
Maroko (Greece) [el]
På eventyr i Marokko (Denmark) [da]
Ruta de Marruecos (Spain) [es]
Två glada sjömän i Marocko (Sweden) [sv]

Runtime:

82 min (DVD) | 81 min (copyright length)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #8255) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Finland:S | Sweden:15 | UK:U | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Imperial County, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Paramount shot two endings for the film. The one not used had Bob Hope and Bing Crosby enlisting in the Marines and ended with the line "See you on the road to Tokyo."

Goofs:

Continuity: Orville is wearing a shiny overcoat when the maiden comes to tell him that Jeff is in the courtyard. Orville then pulls the coat back over his shoulder.

Quotes:

Jeff Peters: We must storm the place.
Turkey Jackson: You storm. I'll stay here and drizzle.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Monkees: The Prince and the Paupers (#1.21)" (1967)

Soundtrack:

Ain't Got a Dime to My Name (Ho Hum)

Don't Take It Seriously

The Road to Morocco is the best of Crosby/Hope road movies, in my humble opinion. Yes, the plot is paper thin, but the comedy and self-deprecating humor is there. Much of the comedy is slapstick, but this is a movie that's not afraid to say "It's just a movie, don't take it seriously." In the first song, Crosby and Hope allude to it being just another road movie. Naturally they'll meet Dorothy Lamour, and they have nothing to fear, because Paramount will protect them. This is not a movie to have a serious, philosophical discussion about. This is a movie to pop into the VCR on a Saturday night and forget about your worries.