Abbott and Costello are swindled by Fred Clark into buying a non-existent studio; they wind up in early Hollywood, where unbeknownst to them Clark is working as a foreign director (not a very convincing coincidence), and become movie stars. This could have been really good, if it had gone in one of two directions (a) a film about the duo becoming movie stars (b) a spoof on the world of silent film making. What’s left is a poor quality entry, with a poor story not very logically worked out and Abbott especially looking too old; also the music, underlying gags with “wah-wah-wahhh” noises is really irritating.
It is nice to see Clark, who normally played harassed army officers and bank managers, as an unrepentant conman (he even wears a toupee for a bit), and also there are some interesting autobiographical touches, such as Costello working as a Hollywood stuntman, and the two of them becoming comedy stars (something just raised and thrown away here). There’s also an interesting scene where Abbott yells at Costello then a stranger comes to Costello’s defence; Abbott tries to prove he can get sympathy too but no one comes to his defence – as neat a summation as any of their character’s relationship to the audience.
The chase involving the Keystone Cops at the end is fun – but why not use more of them? Or more silent routines? (Ditto Mack Sennett, who has a cameo). This was one of the few times that the boy’s regular writer, John Grant, was given a sole screenplay credit, and you can’t help thinking that he did better in collaboration.
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