Bob Hope recalled that during the scene where he and Bing Crosby were bedding down beside their cabin in the Klondike, they were to be joined by a bear. They were told that the bear was tame and its trainer would always be nearby. Against their better judgment they went along with it. However, when the cameras started filming, the bear ambled over to Hope and, instead of lying down next to him like it was supposed to, the animal sniffed him and started growling. Hope and Crosby immediately stopped the scene and refused to work with the bear any longer, despite the trainer's protestations that it was tame and harmless. The next day the bear attacked its trainer and tore his arm off.
Filmed between December 3, 1943 and late January 1944, the movie premiered on February 27, 1946 at the Paramount Theatre in Manhattan.
Of the seven "Road to" pictures, this is the only one whose title does not refer to an actual location. In this case, "Utopia" is the happiness that comes from striking gold in the Yukon Territories, where much of the action takes place.
One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.
The big hit of the Johnny Burke-Jimmy Van Heusen score was the comically saucy "Personality." Put over in the film by worldly wise Dorothy Lamour, the tune was transformed by Decca Records into easy jazz, courtesy of Bing Crosby and Eddie Condon's Orchestra featuring the cornet of Wild Bill Davidson. This interpretation showed up on two Decca releases: a 78 which rose to number nine on the "Billboard" singles listing, and as part of the boxed album of selections from the movie. Capitol's waxing by singer-songwriter Johnny Mercer and The Pied Pipers captured first place on the "Billboard" singles chart during the week of March 9, 1946.
This is the only one of the seven "Road" pictures in which Bing Crosby and Bob Hope do not do their famous "pat-a-cake" routine.
Writers Panama and Frank were having trouble getting the script approved by the 3 main stars, all of whom were prestigious in their own right and wanted the most screen presence. When these group script negotiations broke down, Panama and Frank held individual conferences with each of the stars, explaining how the script would highlight that star (the one being met with at the time) more than the others. This approach worked, and the script was finally approved for filming.