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When producer Harlan Thompson approached star couple George Burns and Gracie Allen to appear in his new film project, Beach of Dreams, they turned him down. Thompson renamed the script Road to Mandalay and brought it to Fred MacMurray and Jack Oakie – who also turned it down. After Thompson saw Bob Hope and Bing Crosby goofing around with each other on the Paramount lot, he offered it to them – and they accepted. The result was the first of the popular “Road To” movie series. Also starring the new starlet Dorothy Lamour, Road to Singapore was light on plot, and served mostly as a vehicle to showcase the talents of it’s stars. Crosby’s smooth voice, Hope’s zany comedy, and Lamour’s sex appeal were a winning combination, with Crosby and Hope often going off script in improvisational tangents. The film also starred  Charles Coburn and Jerry Colonna, along with a young Anthony Quinn in one of his first roles.

 

The story revolved around Josh (Crosby) and Ace (Hope) who escape from their upcoming weddings, and vow to give up women once and for all. They end up in Singapore where they work as flim-flam men for an ersatz detergent company. Then they meet Mimi, a beautiful dancer who makes them rethink that vow they made about women. They help get her away from her difficult music partner, while escaping the cops, distant family, and former girlfriends.

 

The movie featured songs that would go on to earn their own popularity – “The Moon and the Willow Tree,” “Sweet Potato Piper,” and “Too Romantic,” with lyrics by Johnny Burke and music by James V. Monaco. The film was a huge success, boosted by the appeal of its stars – in fact, Bob Hope’s first Oscar hosting gig happened right before the film’s release. The next three decades would see six more films in the series, and a long list of laughs to come.