Bob Hope and Bing Crosby take off on The Road to Hong Kong, the seventh and final Road movie from the irresistibly charming and wacky duo. Cavorting through a series of madcap adventures with Joan Collins, Robert Morley, and Road queen Dorothy Lamour—as well as scene-stealers Peter Sellers, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Pat O’Brien, and David Niven—Crosby and Hope dish out a “fricassee of jokes and gags” (Los Angeles Times) in what may be the wildest entry in their legendary film series from Singapore to Bali. Vaudevillians Harry (Crosby) and Chester (Hope) travel to Tibet to search for a drug to restore Chester’s memory. Once they find the cure, Chester’s memory becomes so good that he accidentally memorizes a secret formula for space navigation. Soon the two meet up with a beautiful spy (Collins) and get slightly sidetracked…to another planet! From fabulous filmmakers Norman Panama and Melvin Frank (Road to Utopia, White Christmas, The Court Jester).
For thoughts on The Road to Hong Kong, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:
Video Quality
The Road to Hong Kong arrives on Blu-Ray thanks to Kino Classics with a 1080p transfer that looks very solid overall. This film has previously been released on Blu-Ray through Olive Films in 2015, but that release is out of print. Without any indication of a new master, we can assume that the new transfer is derived from the same older source, but we do not have the discs to compare. Even if both of these stem from the same source, we can say with some degree of certainty that this new disc maximizes the potential of the source. The new transfer shows off a sterling amount of depth and enhanced detail within the film’s composition.
Contrast is favorably defined with almost no instances of flicker or density fluctuation in the print. Black levels are pretty deep with no obvious occurrence of black crush or compression artifacts. There is a notable amount of texture on the costumes and within the production design. Nicks and scratches have almost been eradicated completely, but you may still spot a few spots of slight intrusion. The natural film grain remains intact within the gorgeous black-and-white photography resolving consistently. Kino Classics has presented this one well.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a great DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that delivers a pleasant listening experience. The snappy dialogue is the focus as it is balanced well with the background noises amongst all competing elements so that every facet has a chance to shine. The score from Robert Farnon does not overwhelm the dialogue or other important information. The track can sound the slightest bit thin when it comes to its musical heights, but even this is not as prominent as some older feature films. This track shows almost no signs of age-related wear and tear in the main course of things. Kino Classics has delivered what you expect from them. There are optional English SDH subtitles included for the feature film.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Filmmaker/Historian Michael Schlesinger and Archivist/Historian Stan Taffel provide a new commentary track in which they discuss the history of this series, how this acts as a final entry into the franchise, the returning faces from previous entries, the background of the creative figures, recycled gags, the limited budget, and more.
- Trailers: The three-minute trailer for The Road to Hong Kong is provided here. There are trailers for Road To Singapore, Road to Zanzibar, Road To Morocco, Road to Utopia, and Caught In The Draft.
Final Thoughts
The Road to Hong Kong is the farewell entry in the series of films from Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, and they truly feel like they are throwing everything they can into it in a narrative sense. Some of the vignette-style scenes work and produce some chuckles, but given the location of the journey, the film often devolves into problematic stereotypes and unfortunate casting choices. Kino Classics has delivered a Blu-Ray release that shows off a nice A/V presentation and a fine new commentary track. If you are a fan of the franchise, you likely know what you are getting and the presentation is a good one.
The Road to Hong Kong will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray on January 9, 2024.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.