Bob and Bing Week: Road to Zanzibar

Welcome back kiddies to Day 2 of Bob and Bing Road Week and since those nuts managed seven of these movies, what say we move on to the second one? For the sake of chronology of course. Howabout a trek deep in the jungles of Africa for a safari but more of a spoof on Stanley and Livingstone? With our boys Bob and Bing gabbing and ad libbing their way through this remote region as two con men just trying to get a leg up in the world and get the brass ring. This is Road to Zanzibar.

Geez, Dollface you packed everything but the kitchen sink.

Hubert "Fearless Fraizer: (Cannibal burps) Must've been someone he ate.

Circus sideshow caller Chuck Reardon (Bing Crosby of Holiday Inn, Going My Way, Road to Utopia, White Christmas and Stagecoach) calls action and revs the crowd with the death defying feats the one and only Hubert "Fearless" Fraizer (Bob Hope of That Certain Feeling, Paris Holiday, The Jack Benny Hour, Alias Jesse James and The Facts of Life) the human cannonball that is hides in a secret compartment and uses a dummy at the last minute. The flame imbued dummy sets fire to the big tent causing a ruckus and as people flee in terror and our boys hightail in out of there.

Trying to make back the money they lost, Chuck hinges on the idea of Fearless wrestling a live octopus. Naturally Fearless is appalled at the idea as it goes horribly wrong and is nearly throttled to death, decides he wants to make his way back to the good ole US of A when they sent a bottle of bubbly by a diamond baron name of Charles Kimble (Eric Blore of Top Hat, Swing Time, Shall We Dance and The Lady Eve) who has made a vast fortune in the diamond mining that he proposes a offer of five thousand dollars for the fellas to have their own diamond mine. Which is all well and good but Kimble is known for being a crackpot and whatever he signs off is ultimately worthless. Fearless annoyed at losing all their collective money dissolves their partnership and storms out.

Um... why the gimp suit?

That evening Fearless is all smiles and pockets of money claiming he sold the diamond mine to some poor sap for seven thousand dollars. The lads are almost out of there when they are cornered by the very same "sap" Monsieur Lebec (Lionel Royce of What Price Safety!, The Son of Monte Cristo, White Pongo and Gilda) and his hulking bodyguard "insist" Chuck and Fearless accompany them to the mine to inspect his purchase.

Jumping ship and ending up on a life raft, our struggling stragglers make it to shore meeting with the lovely Julia Quimby (Una Merkel of 42^nd Street, The Bank Dick, Summer and Smoke and The Parent Trap) who begs for the boys' assistance in saving her friend Donna (Dorothy Lamour of Road to Singapore, Road to Morocco, They Got Me Covered, Riding Hight, And the Angels Sing and Duffy's Tavern) who is being sold at a slave auction. The guys leap into action and buy her for the local coin and agrees to take the gals on a safari across the country.

The boys squabble over Donna and it comes down to fisticuffs when the trouble ensues as they have gotten the attention of a local tribe of headhunters.

Will the boys be able to get out of this one or are they in hot water?

An interest note of interest now.

The second of the seven Road movies, Road to Zanzibar was nominated for Best Picture in 1941 but sadly lost to John Ford's How Green Was My Valley. Also nominated for Best Picture but failed to win was Orson Welles' Citizen Kane. Henry Fonda did not even get the recognition for his performance in The Lady Eve but that they say is show business.

Gulp!  Sure glad I use Scope.