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One of the seven Bing Crosby and Bob Hope “road” pictures — this installment has the comic duo heading off to Alaska with a map to a goldmine. At first Chester (Hope) doesn’t want to have anything to do with the get-rich-quick scheme Duke (Crosby) has cooked up. But Chester gets conned into it anyway.

On the ship to Alaska they snatch a map to a goldmine from Sperry (Robert Barrat, ROAD TO RIO) and McGurk (Nestor Paiva, MR. BLANDINGS BUILDS HIS DREAM HOUSE), who murdered the father of Sal Van Hoyden (Dorothy Lamour, THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH) to get the map. In Alaska, Duke and Chester pose as Sperry and McGurk and Sal poses as a dance hall girl at the saloon of shady Ace Larson (Douglass Dumbrille, SON OF PALEFACE), who has plans to get the mine for himself.

Crosby and Hope’s rapport is great. The Oscar nominated screenplay gives the duo some nice bits to work with. Trying to hide an incriminating dog was especially nice. Like the other films in the series, the performers break the fourth wall to get in some sly jabs at film conventions or their own personas. UTOPIA even has a studio exec popping up from time to time for some funny commentary. The story takes advantage of its setting and weaves the gags and songs into the narrative with ease and skill. ROAD TO UTOPIA is solid entertainment from a day and age that knew how to make broader comedies that still contained wit and some level of sophistication.