There’s little doubt that the quality of Abbott and Costello’s movies slid during the 50s, so it came as a wonderful surprise to come across this sitcom they made in the 50s. For some reason I thought this was a dud – I read somewhere that they just rehashed old routines, and they faded compared to Martin and Lewis.
Well, there’s no doubt that the duo look old, but performing in a sitcom, where they only have to come up with only 20-odd minutes of material, seems to have rejuvenised them. They’re not hampered by the weak plots which dogged their films – a short running time enables them to keep things simple, concentrate on just being funny, emphasise verbal comedy as opposed to elaborate slapstick. They do rehash their routines but it’s still funny and it helps to have a regular support cast, to give it more of a family feel.
Jerry Seinfeld talked about the influence of Abbott and Costello on his sitcom; I always assumed he was talking about their movies, but from watching this it’s more likely it was the sitcom. The Abbott and Costello show feels like Seinfeld a lot – not the observational stuff, but the adventures to two misfits running around New York City having random adventures; like Seinfeld too there are surreal episodes, the lead uses his real name, and there is no hugging and no learning. Great fun.
Some specific notes:
Ep 3 – “Jail” Hilarious episode with all sorts of stuff happening but basically Costello winds up in gaol. The support cast really go gang-busters in this one. There’s yet another version of “Slowly I Turned”
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