The film starts with con-artist Chuck Reardon singing "You Lucky People, You" as a side-show caller at an African circus advertising an act featuring his friend Hubert "Fearless" Frazier.

The men fight their way back to civilization, haggard, dirty and penniless until they sell gold nuggets they had received from the natives.

Paramount executives owned the rights to a story by Sy Bartlett titled "Find Colonel Fawcett" about two men trekking through the jungles of Madagascar.

Thus reborn as a comedy and spoof of the safari genre, the film resembled its predecessor in every important way, with plot taking a back seat to gags (many of them ad libbed), and music.

For the cheerful report this morning is that the Messrs. Crosby and Hope, with an able left-handed assist from a denatured Dorothy Lamour, have thoroughly ruined the Dark Continent for any future cinematic pursuits.

And never again will we behold a file of natives snaking solemnly through the trees without seeing in our mind’s eye the gangling Crosby-Hope expedition as it ambles in and along the Paramount’s “Road to Zanzibar,” which arrived at that house yesterday.

Yessir, the heart of darkest Africa has been pierced by a couple of wags... Needless to say, Mr. Crosby and Mr. Hope are most, if not all, of the show—with a slight edge in favor of the latter, in case any one wants to know.

"‘Zanzibar’ is Paramount’s second coupling of Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Dorothy Lamour following their successful teaming in ‘Road to Singapore’.