The desert scenes for Road to Morocco were shot on location in Yuma, AZ.

Although as in most of the Road Pictures, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby give the impression of ad-libbing their way through the film, most of their off-the cuff quips were either in the script or written by the writers of the stars' radio shows. One moment nobody scripted was the scene where the camel spit at Hope. Director David Butler kept the camera running, and Hope's honest reaction was used in the final cut.

Hope and Crosby kidded Butler relentlessly about his weight. For a scene in which enemy horses chased them through the streets, he advised them not to jump out of the street until he gave them the signal, allowing them plenty of time to get out of the way. But as they ran, the horses kept getting closer and closer with no signal from the director. Finally, the stars panicked and jumped. When they complained about their bruises, Butler laughed at them and told them they'd ruined the shot by jumping too soon. Some crew members thought he was getting back at them, and Hope nicknamed him "The Murderer."

For one special-effects shot a magic ring was supposed to turn Hope into a monkey. When the director instructed Crosby to keep perfectly still so his position wouldn't change while Hope switched places with the monkey, the singer quipped, "Don't worry, Dave. You're making a monkey out of Ski Nose, and you think I won't stand still for that? Try me, brother. I'll be a real statue."

Paramount discarded one ending of Road to Morocco in favor of the final release version. In the rejected ending, Hope and Crosby enlisted in the Army to fight in World War II. The last line was "See you on the road to Tokyo."

Road to Morocco became particularly topical when, two days before its New York City premiere, U.S. troops landed in Morocco as part of World War II's Operation Torch.

To capitalize on the slave auction scene, Paramount arranged to auction off dates with Hollywood bachelors at the film's premiere. Bidders pledged to buy war bonds.

To publicize Road to Morocco, the studio had cards placed on water fountains in each town where it played. They read, "Thirsty for Entertainment? See what happens when Bob Hope chases Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour to a desert oasis on the Road to Morocco."

by Frank Miller

SOURCES:
My Side of the Road by Dorothy Lamour