Lots of great sound and sight gags in this one; credit Paramount Pictures with a willingness to take it's share of shots (along with Bing's brother Bob) in the story along with allowing the boys to do those clever asides and comments directly to the viewer. The inclusion of cameos by Martin and Lewis in Lala's dream scene, Bogey's "African Queen" swamp scene and Jane Russell's appearance at the end of the picture all add touches of whimsy to the film, and help us baby boomers take part in a little nostalgia. The flick even managed to work in the era's fascination with gorillas a couple of times.
If you're thinking the story doesn't have much in the way of reality going for it, I wouldn't be too critical. Abbott and Costello's movies didn't either and they got along just fine. In fact, I was surprised by how accurate they got the 'boga-ten' squid scene, the creature wasn't too much different from the one I saw on the National Geographic Channel a few nights ago. Except for the exaggerated giant eye and the triangular tipped tentacle, Hope's 'deep sea claw machine' looked pretty authentic, right down to it's red coloration - who would have thought?
Keep a close watch in the scene near the end when the tribal chief orders a twenty one gong salute, you can catch the bell sounding before it's hit!
Modern audiences may not have the patience for "Road to Bali" or the antics of legends like Hope, Crosby and Lamour, but I'll never get tired of their work. It's been a while since I've seen any of the other 'Road' films, but today's viewing of Bali was a reminder of just how much fun they were. I think it's time to look those up once again.
If you're thinking the story doesn't have much in the way of reality going for it, I wouldn't be too critical. Abbott and Costello's movies didn't either and they got along just fine. In fact, I was surprised by how accurate they got the 'boga-ten' squid scene, the creature wasn't too much different from the one I saw on the National Geographic Channel a few nights ago. Except for the exaggerated giant eye and the triangular tipped tentacle, Hope's 'deep sea claw machine' looked pretty authentic, right down to it's red coloration - who would have thought?
Keep a close watch in the scene near the end when the tribal chief orders a twenty one gong salute, you can catch the bell sounding before it's hit!
Modern audiences may not have the patience for "Road to Bali" or the antics of legends like Hope, Crosby and Lamour, but I'll never get tired of their work. It's been a while since I've seen any of the other 'Road' films, but today's viewing of Bali was a reminder of just how much fun they were. I think it's time to look those up once again.