vincentlynch-moonoi I think some of our reviewers here are a bit too critical. But on the other hand, others of our critics here are too generous.My take on this -- it was "nice" to see Bing and Bob cavorting again one final time (although they continued on television specials) on the road to...ah, let's see...Hong Kong this time. But to me there were two problems. First, in an urge to be ultra modern at the time (1962), they had to put the boys in a space movie. That didn't really work. And, they exchanged a singer who couldn't sing -- Dorothy Lamour -- for an actress who couldn't act -- Joan Collins. Although in all fairness, it wasn't until later in her career (as in "Dynasty") that Joan Collins learned how to be a really poor actress; earlier in her career (and here) she was "okay". Frankly, I'd much rather have had Dorothy Lamour as the appropriate age love interest here (instead of Bob and Bing at 59 and Collins at half that). But, at least we had the extended cameo with Dorothy Lamour. And speaking of cameos, there are great ones here by Jerry Colonna and Dean Martin with Frank Sinatra. I guess I'd have to say that this is my least favorite road picture, but it's still okay...and a nice family reunion.Incidentally, I watched this on the Olive Films Blu-Ray disc, which was...well, I can't say crisp, because I find many of the Olive Film restorations to be grainy...but it still looked pretty darned good.

Python Hyena Road to Hong Kong (1962): Dir: Norman Panama / Cast: Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Joan Collins, Robert Morley, Peter Sellers: Final Road To comedy flawed in that it mainly takes place in space, not Hong Kong. Bing Crosby and Bob Hope play con men who end up in space. Hope loses his memory but gains it back with enhancement. He accidentally memorizes and destroys a Russian formula for improved rocket fuel. Typical setup but detailed with plot twists sending the comic duo about an array of circumstances. Director Norman Panama has timing and chemistry with Crosby and Hope. Crosby is the straight man who easily manipulates Hope into schemes such as this. Hope is hilarious as the bubbling sidekick whose timing is on target both physically and verbally. Joan Collins is sent by Russian enemies to retrieve the formula thus positioned as the seductive vixen. Robert Morley plays the villain whose scheme isn't exactly unique but his maddening delivery is perfect. Peter sellers makes a memorable and equally amusing appearance as an Indian Physician who would be the last person to hit the top of his job requirement. Production is fine as the duo is sent through several odd procedures before being shipped off to space. Perhaps it should have been more accurately called Road to Outer Space. It is a satire of spy films that is not broad entertainment but certainly a road worth traveling. Score: 6 / 10

MartinHafer I have recently re-watched all the Hope & Crosby road pictures and saved this one for last--mostly because it's the hardest to find and because it was their last film. Unfortunately, the decade that separated this and the previous film was too long and the nice momentum from the earlier films was clearly lost. It proves the old saying that 'you can't go back'--as the team probably should have just called it quits after "The Road to Bali".The problems with "The Road to Hong Kong" are many. The most serious of which is the age of the team. While the jokes might have worked okay with the 40-something Hope and Crosby, here they are positively geriatric and seeing them making googly eyes at very young and pretty ladies just seemed creepy. While Crosby was cast as the suave lover in earlier films, here he just conjured up images of a creepy old man...and Hope wasn't much better. Starring them opposite a young and very sexy Joan Collins (instead of perennial co-star Dorothy Lamour) didn't help matters any, as this only seemed to accentuate that they were just past their prime. The other super-serious problem was the script. You'd think after all this time they'd have held out for a GOOD script, but they didn't. The plot manages to be significantly more weird and outlandish than their previous films and the notion of the team battling super-spies and manning a rocket to space just seemed very forced and stupid.I remember back in the 1970s before Bing Crosby died that the two men had talked about doing yet another Road Picture. Thank goodness it never got past the talking stage, as given the direction their careers took in this decade, the results would have been horrid--especially in light of the films Hope made in the twilight years of his career. I know that devoted fans might take exception to this review, but as for me, the whole experience in watching "The Road to Hong Kong" was sad...and almost too painful to watch. Like the last films of Laurel & Hardy, Abbott & Costello, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd, this film just reaffirms that in comedy it's best to go out on top.

lugonian THE ROAD TO HONG KONG (United Artists, 1962), directed by Norman Panama, reunites the screen partnership of Bing Crosby and Bob Hope for the first time since their sixth road venture to Bali a decade earlier. Dorothy Lamour, the third member of the famous trio, receives special billing in the opening credits as "our special cup of tea." Given only seven of it's 91 minutes, the series breaks tradition by not being distributed by Paramount nor produced in Hollywood, but in England, and substituting Joan Collins over Lamour as Hope and Crosby's in-between companion. While most screen reunions fail to recapture the spirit of the old days, this latest (and final) installment to the "The Road" series, fortunately doesn't fall into that category, nor does it fit into the class of the previous efforts either. Yet having Crosby and Hope together again, singing, dancing, "paddy caking" their way (once) out of tough situations does make way into reviving those good old days after all. Black and white photography also gives THE ROAD TO HONG KONG that 1940s feel, the decade when the "Road" comedies were at its peak. However the moment Joan Collins steps into the picture in her beehive hairstyle are viewers quickly reminded this to be a product of the 1960s with 1950s material rather than the 1940s.In spite of its pros and cons, THE ROAD TO HONG KONG gets off to a good start before the credits start rolling as Crosby and Hope take center stage doing a song and dance with backdrop drawings to previous "Road" pictures: THE ROAD TO SINGAPORE...ZANZIBAR ... MOROCCO ... UTOPIA ... RIO and BALI, and competing over star billing. After an aerial view of Hong Kong and off-screen narration, the story gets underway as agents for the American Secret Intelligence Headquarters are provided an explanation by Diane (Joan Collins), former spy for the Third Echelon leader (Robert Morley) out to conquer the universe, as to how a couple of Americans ended up in a rocket ship into outer space. Told via flashback, ten days ago in Calcutta, Harry Turner (Bing Crosby) and Chester Babcock (Bob Hope) are introduced as a couple of ex-vaudevillians wanted throughout the world for fraud in their attempt to demonstrate their "Interplanetary Fly-It Yourself Space Kit" to the crowd. With Harry the confidence man and Chester his duped pal, the latter gets talked into a dangerous stunt that causes him to lose his memory. Hoping to cure his amnesia, the boys come to a Neurologist (Peter Sellers) who advises Harry to take Chester over to a "Lost Horizon" location of Tibet where he's to acquire a specific amnesia curing drug from the Grand Lama (Felix Aylmer). With Chester now having a photographic memory, Harry comes up with a new gimmick for a memory act. Diane, who had earlier mistaken Chester as her contact to get the top formula for Russian rocket fuel (who unwittingly memorized its formula for space navigation), soon leads the men into a series of wild escapades on the streets of Hong Kong to outer space through the use of "team work" and "special effects."In between the antics comes the traditional time out for songs by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen which includes: "Team Work" and "The Road to Hong Kong" (sung by Bing Crosby and Bob Hope); "Let's Not Be Sensible" (sung by Crosby); "Personality" and "Warmer Than a Whisper" (sung by Dorothy Lamour); and "Team Work" (reprised by Crosby, Hope and Joan Collins).Surprise guest stars also add to the humor of the story, notably that of David Niven, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. Jerry Colonna, the wide-eyed character with the mustache, makes his third cameo in the "Road" series, this time as a man asking for a match, while Peter Sellers, years before winning fame as Inspector Clouseau in the hilarious "Pink Panther" spy series of the 1960s and 70s, offers the film's funniest moments as the Indian doctor who examines the memory loss Chester (Hope). This sequence alone makes THE ROAD TO HONG KONG a worthy offering next to Dorothy Lamour's reunion with the boys as she attempts to hide them from the killers not so much from the killers but from "the critics." Lamour plays herself this time around, looking quite youthful for her age, especially during her brief moment in long hair and sarong. With Hope telling Lamour about "all those 'Road' pictures they made together," it's a wonder why Hope and Crosby didn't use their own names as opposed to screen characters Harry and Chester this time around.Coming in a bit late to capitalize on the 1950s science fiction phase, THE ROAD TO HONG KONG did arrive in time to meet with the current trend of spies and espionage that had proved popular in the 1960s, a genre popularized by the "James Bond" spy adventures starring Sean Connery. Fans of the series may actually enjoy THE ROAD TO HONG KONG, even with some in-jokes that might be at a loss to some. For this being the end of the road, it almost wasn't. Shortly after the death of Bing Crosby in October 1977, Bob Hope hosted a tribute to his former partner in one of his many hourly TV specials on NBC. There was a mention about how he, Crosby and Lamour were to do another "Road" picture, THE ROAD TO THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH. One wonders what would have become of that one, especially during the changing times of the 1970s? THE ROAD TO HONG KONG, formerly available on video cassette and later DVD, can be currently found occasionally on Turner Classic Movies (TCM premiere 1995). (***)