Road to Utopia

"Hal Walker's Road To Utopia, shot in 1944 but released in 1946, had previously appeared on DVD from Image Entertainment, in an edition lacking any extras or, for that matter, the benefits of a state-of-the-art transfer. The 2002 reissue directly from Universal is a significant improvement, with enough built-in whistles and bells to keep viewers busy with a lot more than the movie. As to the feature itself, it's presented in a crisp new transfer from a very clean and sharp print -- all so sharp that the black cloth on which the game ""Ghosto"" is named is held up, it shines, and even its texture is visible in a wide shot. There's an audio track to match, sharp and loud, which is a help not only when Bing Crosby sings but when he and Bob Hope do their song-and-dance number, ""The Lonesomest Man In Town."" The 18 chapters are adequate to the job of delineating the plot, such as it is, but there's a lot more than the movie here to enjoy. In addition to the documentary ""Bob Hope & The Road To Success,"" which appears on each of the four Universal-released discs of the ""Road"" movies, we get a superb morale-boosting short entitled ""Hollywood Victory Caravan."" This is one of the best featurettes of its kind that this reviewer has ever seen -- in addition to Hope and Crosby (who have a lot of fun here), we get Barbara Stanwyck, Alan Ladd, Betty Hutton (in a full-blown production number almost worthy of Busby Berkeley), William Demarest, Franklin Pangborn, and Humphrey Bogart (stepping out of character in a patriotic speech that is perfectly placed and very moving in its passion and sincerity), all in worthwhile scenes of varying lengths. There are also bios on the key supporting players and the director, and an original trailer, all of these extras accessible through an easy-to-manipulate multi-layered menu that opens automatically on start-up. For those with the need to use them, captions and subtitles can be activated in English, French, and Spanish."