Road to Morocco

This third Road movie comedy starring Bing Crosby and Bob Hope is arguably their best, a nonsensical farce that spoofs Hollywood’s exotic Arabian adventures and desert epics. While their names change from film to film, Hope and Crosby essentially play the same characters, ostensibly buddies and traveling companions who stumble into crazy adventures and constantly double cross one another. In Road to Morocco (1942), Crosby sells Hope into slavery and then returns to rescue him, only to find that he is betrothed to a beautiful princess (series costar Dorothy Lamour). The threadbare plot involves a prophesy, a desert warlord (Anthony Quinn), and Crosby’s attempts to romance the princess between songs (including "Moonlight Becomes You") and gags. The portrait of 1940s Morocco is an exaggerated cartoon drawn from biblical epics and Rudolph Valentino films and Hope and Crosby constantly comment on the fact that it’s all just a movie (a running gag in all the Road films). While there’s not even a hint of cultural respect, the two Americans are far worse than any of the Arabian stereotypes: a pair of petty, self-centered, backstabbing fellows who constantly sell out one another. Debuting on Blu-ray, extras include audio commentary by film historian Jack Theakston, a 1945 "Command Performance" comedy short with Hope, and a behind-the-scenes featurette. Sure to appeal to Crosby and Hope fans, this is recommended. (S. Axmaker)