Abbott and Costello had their own sitcom but they also occasionally hosted the popular variety show Colgate Comedy Hour. This was a combination of routines, patter, sketches, songs and dances, not all of which involved the star duo. Martin and Lewis also hosted the show and to be honest they were a lot better than Abbott and Costello – more energy, fresher routines. Still, it’s good to see the boys doing their schtick.
The main reason I watched this episode was to see Errol Flynn, who was a special guest star. Apparently he was friendly with the boys - he mentions playing practical jokes on them in My Wicked, Wicked Ways.
He only appears in two sketches, and one of those he pops in and out – but in the other one he gets to perform the old classic (aka thoroughly road-tested) sketch, “Slowly I Turned”. This popped up in several Abbott and Costello movies. Flynn performs it with enthusiasm – to be honest, too much enthusiasm, he goes overboard and doesn’t quite have his on stage timing (it is performed live in front of a crowd). I’m a big fan of Errol’s comic abilities and am convinced that with a big more practice in front of a live crowd he could have given a knock-out performance. Here though – not so good.
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