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You won't be disappointed!

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

While the theatre is always experienced in the present tense, with the passing of time more and more films are viewed through the lens of hindsight; so one notices here little dissonances as early as the opening credits in which Bob Hope is billed third after Bing and Dottie. Dorothy Lamour is still noticeably young and fresh-faced, while Bob is permitted to be more of a ladies' man than he later would.It's all pretty forgettable, but one views it indulgently, knowing that the talking fish and other enjoyable breaches of the fourth wall were not far away thanks to this film.

Delightful nonsense that kicked off the whole Road series. The songs and their staging are especially charming and fit right into the nonsense— where else, for example, can you catch such non- perennials as 'Captain Custard' and 'Sweet Potato Piper'. Plus that jungle chant along with the bevy of half-clad native girls is about the sexiest thing on film. Of course, Bing and Bob keep the chuckles coming without half trying. Their chemistry is just superb. Seems Bing's the son of a wealthy hard-driving businessman (Coburn) who wants Bing to eventually take over. Trouble is Bing and his buddy Bob just want to be regular guys (read typical 1930's concern for the 'common man'.) So, with Dorothy, they escape to Singapore. But Dad's hot on their trail. Meanwhile, the guys get to sample native life, while Dorothy's on the spot trying to choose between them. Quinn's role as an Apache dancer with a whip is colorful but incidental. My only gripe is with "comedian" Colonna. His ear-piercing screeches are anything but amusing. In fact, I don't know what they're supposed to be.Anyway, the boys put a whole new slant on the kid's rhyme 'Patty Cake, Patty Cake'. So if you hear it, duck! All in all, Paramount came up with a great slice of amusing nonsense, with a trio that still delights.

It's called "The Road to Singapore" but I don't know why; Hope and Crosby wind up on the island of Kaigoon in the Southeast Asia Pacific. I guess it sounds a lot better than "Road to Kaigoon".Having seen a handful of later 'Road' pictures, I thought this film, the first in the series, would be a laugh riot but I was mistaken. Apparently the film makers as well as the principals hadn't fully fleshed out their strategy or their comic approach yet. You don't have the zany one-liners in abundance, and if the boys were winging it by going off script it's hard to tell. However the picture does introduce some of the staples to be found in future Road flicks - the patty-cake routine, Crosby's off-hand reference to his waistline, and the general persona of the boys as con men, though that's not quite as apparent here.In fact, a few times it seemed like the picture was trying too hard for it's share of laughs with routines like Spotto the Miracle Worker and Scrammo the cockroach repellent. The first bit involved madcap comic Jerry Colonna utilizing his his google-eyed, handlebar mustached character as an unwilling accomplice to Ace Lannigan's (Hope) hapless spot-cleaning invention. I never saw a huckster go from a buck a bottle down to a nickel as rapidly as Hope did.As for Dorothy Lamour, America's first and perhaps most prolific pin-up girl found a winning combination in this very first team up with the comedy duo who had already thrilled radio audiences with their slick banter and comedic put-downs. Wondering how she'd keep up with their dubious hi-jinks, she wound up following Crosby's advice to look for an opening and give it her best shot. It was good enough for six more Road shows.

Road to Singapore can in my opinion be likened to "Flying Down To Rio" as they both rather dull, insipid and forgettable films, remembered solely for the significant movie firsts they boast, the latter film being of course the first on screen pairing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Therefore it classifies as a movie milestone despite the fact that the film itself is pretty dire.The Road to Singapore is a milestone in movie history, and its not due to any cinematic brilliance, clever writing or Oscar winning performances. This film is classed as a milestone purely because it was the first on screen adventure for Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour in their now legendary 22 year "Road To.." series.Josh Mallon (Crosby) is the reluctant heir to an over bearing shipping Magnet and reluctant fiancé to a society heiress. Josh is a free spirit who rather than face up to his destiny as future head of the firm, prefers to run away and sail the world aboard his fathers ships with his best mate Ace Lannigan (Hope).When a shipboard fight involving the family of his perspective bride forces Josh and Ace to run away again, they decide to shy away from the rat-race forever and live anonymously on the paradise island of Kaigoon (don't look it up on the map folks because it ain't there), meeting up, befriending and finally shacking up with Mima (Lamour) an exotic dancer in a local café.Whilst the entire world is looking for the heir to the Mallon Millions, Josh is finding true happiness and true love in the arms of the beautiful Mima, but how long can is anonymity last before he is found and will his ultimate destiny destroy his chance of ultimate happiness?Although still in essence a comedy with musical interludes, this is without doubt the most serious of the Road movies.Bing, Bob and Dotty, as they have become affectionately known through the decades must have had no idea that this movie would spurn six funnier and more successful sequels, otherwise I am sure they would have injected both a little more enthusiasm for the project and more of the familiar banter and off the wall humour the later films contained and became famous for.Road to Singapore shows us little of the great triple act Bing, Bob and Dotty were to eventually become and although their is obvious screen chemistry between Bing the Crooner and Bob the Comic, they had yet to develop the double crossing, self depreciating ad libbing characters that would see them become the greatest comedy double act of the 1940's and early 1950's.Rather than squabble, swindle, con and insult each other throughout the picture, which was the mainstay of all their future screen pairings, Bing and Bob actually seem very pally indeed, and apart from five minutes of their more customary double crossings, in order to impress and ensnare Mima, they seem genuinely fond of each other.Despite this sneak preview of what was to come, great comedy moments are few and far between as although Hopes one liners are as good as ever, unfortunately Bing is relegated to the role of straight man and romantic lead, a formula they thankfully abolished in all later movies, allowing Bing to be just funny and just as zany as his friend.Road to Singapore is far from a bad film, but it is a poor representation of one of the most successful and funniest film series in history.