Road to Zanzibar

**Road to Zanzibar** is a 1941 feature film from Paramount Pictures starring Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, and Dorothy Lamour. This second of seven pictures in the "Road to …" series takes place in the Sultanate of Zanzibar.

## Summary

Chuck Reardon (Bing Crosby) sings "You Lucky People, You" as a circus side-show caller. His friend Hubert "Fearless" Frazier (Bob Hope) poses as a human cannonball, but he quickly substitutes a dummy at the last minute and hides in a secret compartment. The flaming dummy sets the big top on fire and the two of them flee. They return to performing with Fearless doing more and more dangerous acts, and usually getting injured. When Chuck has the great idea of wrestling a live octopus, Fearless finally balks and wants to go back to the states. At a fancy restaurant, diamond baron Charles Kimble (Eric Blore) sends them champagne. The festive mood turns sour when the police show up, but Kimble bails them out. When they decide to go home to the United States, Chuck goes to buy the tickets, but Kimble invites him onto his yacht for a drink.

Fearless is busy packing, and when Chuck comes back, he finds out Chuck has spent all their money, five thousand, on the deed for one of Kimble's diamond mines. It seems like a good deal, until they find out Kimble is an eccentric who would sign over anything and the deed is worthless. Furious at Chuck losing all their money, Fearless ends their partnership. Later that evening, Fearless comes back with a fistful of money, claiming to have 'sold' the diamond mine to some guy at a bar for seven thousand. They start to leave only to be confronted by the same man, Monsieur Le Bec (Lionel Royce). Fearless had inflated the story a little, so Le Bec and his huge bodyguard want Chuck and Fearless to accompany them to actually see the mine. Chuck and Fearless manage to escape and jump onto a boat bound for Africa.

Stranded in Africa, they are propositioned by Julia Quimby (Una Merkel) to help rescue her friend, Donna LaTour (Dorothy Lamour), from being sold at a slave auction. They bid 150 in local coin on her to rescue her. Unbeknownst to both of them, Julia and Donna are also con-artists and take half of the payment to get food. Donna tells Julia about the seven thousand Chuck and Fearless have and how she has convinced them to take her and Julia on a safari across the country, not telling them it's to see Donna's wealthy boyfriend.

As their journey continues, Chuck and 'Fearless' both vie for Donna's attention. During a moonlit canoe ride, Chuck proclaims his feelings singing "It's Always You" and Donna realizes she's starting to fall for him too. Julia tells Donna it would be foolish to give up her wealthy boyfriend for a side show crooner. Donna finally confides to Fearless that despite her feelings for Chuck, her heart belongs to another. Thinking its him, Fearless agrees to tell Chuck. Chuck refuses to believe Fearless, who is practically skipping, but then Julia arrives and tells them both about the rich boyfriend.

Chuck and Fearless finally learn they've been duped from the beginning. They angrily run into the jungle to confront her. While she is swimming in the nude, a pair of leopards appear and tear her clothes while she hides in the reeds. Upon seeing her torn clothes, Chuck and Fearless assume she's dead. They bury her clothes and have a funeral, all while Donna watches. During their attempt at a eulogy, they admit that despite the fact that she lied to them, they both loved her. Chuck and Fearless start to sing "It's Always You" and burst into tears, until Donna sings to them and then they both turn on her. They storm off into the jungle and the safari leaves without them.

While trying to find their way back, Chuck and Fearless stumble upon skeleton-laden caves. They jokingly bang on the drums, only to summon a local tribe of natives. The natives, thinking they are gods, adorn them with jewels and give them food. Chuck and Fearless think it is great until the natives decide to test them by throwing Fearless into a cage with a giant gorilla. After a comical wrestling match, in which Fearless loses, the natives prepare to cook them both, until they use their infamous patty-cake routine to escape.

They return to civilization, haggard, dirty and penniless, until they hock the jewels they received from the natives. Fearless reluctantly lets Chuck go to get the tickets. When he comes back empty handed, Fearless is crushed, until Chuck presents Donna and Julia. Donna gave up the rich boyfriend because she's in love with Chuck. When Fearless asks what they are going to do for money, Chuck springs another great idea and the four of them perform a carnival act, this time sawing Julia in half.