Movie review - "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" (1948) ***** (warning: spoilers)

Some comfort food in difficult times. The lead duo are in good form, the concept of all these women throwing themselves at Costello is hilarious, the house of horrors is solid, I loved the party and the lab.

It's got the handsome production values of a studio picture, the script is well thought out, and all the characters have a purpose even the male juvenile. The female roles actually have some meat on them.

But the true stars are Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney - the latter in particular brings genuine pathos. And Lugosi is so good it's bewildering this didn't kick off more of a comeback.

Movie review - "Into the Night" (1985) ***

After a run of successes at the box office, John Landis stumbled with this thriller. No doubt at the time people blamed The Twilight Zone accident or its then-relatively-unknown stars (Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Pfeiffer) - but I think the problems were more in the script and tone.

Landis seems to be going for a Hitchcock type thriller full of off beat touches - there's a Macguffin (diamonds from the Shah of Iran), various assassins after the lead couple (some Iranians including Landis himself, plus some black dudes working for a Frenchman, David Bowie), matriarchs (Vera Miles, Irene Papas), dodgy rich people, a mysterious blonde, an innocent man who gets caught up in mayhem.  And there's no reason a modern day Hitchcock couldn't work - look at Silver Streak and Foul Play.

But Hitchcock (and his successful imitators) always made sure his heroes were front and center - they were driving the action, had big stakes (normally by being falsely accused of some crime). Goldblum here is basically a passenger - the real hero is Pfeiffer, Goldblum just goes along for the ride. It's like telling The 39 Steps from Madeleine Carroll's viewpoint - only you couldn't really cut Carroll out of that movie but you could cut Goldblum out of this which isn't a good idea when he's the star. The balance of the movie is thrown out because he still gets the bulk of screen time but he's kind of hanging around.

Tonally it doesn't quite work. Landis mixed tones successfully in An American Werewolf in London but less so here - he allows the Iranian assassins (in particular the one played by himself) to be too comic at times (a little is amusing, but the guy is a killer and it reduces the threat); also the scene where the killers drown Kathryn Harrold, who is guilty of nothing more than being in the wrong place at the wrong time, just felt mean.

This sounds like I didn't like the movie, but actually I did. You never quite know what's going to happen; Goldblum is likeable and Pfeiffer a perfect Hitchcockian blonde; I enjoyed all the director cameos (Roger Vadim makes a fine villain); there are some excellent support performances from people like Richard Farnsworth, and David Bowie (Vera Miles admittedly goes over the top); some scenes are classic, such as Goldblum discovering dead bodies while Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein plays on TV (Landis makes sure Bud, Lou, Bela and Lon are all credited!) It's a true original. I just wish it had aped its Hitchcock models better.

Abbott and Costello Top Ten

My favourite Abbott and Costello, in no particular order:
1) Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) - may as well get this over and done with, for all the praise it remains a marvellous combination of horror and humour
2) Buck Privates (1941) - generally not regarded as one of their best despite its massive box office success, I have a lot of time for this movie - I enjoy the Andrews sisters and the love triangle too
3) Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951) - first rate horror comedy with some very funny sequences
4) Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer Boris Karloff (1948) - a murder mystery with Karloff only in a small role - not super highly regarded but I really like this
5) The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap (1948) - enormously fun comedy with perhaps the best ever story they had
6) Buck Privates Come Home (1947) - a very good sequel which is their version of The Best Years of Their Lives and has too many flashbacks but still remains funny
7) The Time of their Lives (1947) - from that period when Abbott and Costello didn't actually act as a duo despite being in the same movie, but strong material nonetheless
8) Who Done It? (1942) - murder mystery at a radio station very well done
9) Pardon My Sarong (1942) - Abbott and Costello take on South Sea Island films with a highly entertaining entry
10) Hold That Ghost (1941) - old haunted house comedy which I felt was over-rated but that doesn't mean it doesn't have some strong things about it

Book review - "Bela Lugosi: No Traveler Returns (The Lost Years 1945 – 1951)" By Bill Kaffenberger And Gary D. Rhodes

Amazingly detailed book about Lugosi - it's hard to imagine one that could have been more exhaustively researched. It covers a sort of off period in his career - post Universal horror star and pre-Ed Wood. His career was on the slide the whole time, with the exception of a brief bump with Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, so it's kind of depressing reading in many ways - work becoming scarcer, unable to find decent materia, drug addiction taking hold; his marriage must have also been in decline too, although that is not the focus of the book.

Lugosi did not make many films during this period of his career, but he worked a still of a lot in an astonishingly varied way - lots of theatre (mostly stock versions of Dracula and Arsenic and Old Lace but also some non horror plays), some radio, nightclub appearances, vaudeville turns, albums TV. The poor guy just had to work and work and work. He also had to deal with FBI surveillance (communist links - a fascinating part of the book).

Lugosi remained in high demand but in low rent parts of show biz - even today it's remarkable his name was not exploited better by some canny filmmakers. As a result he had to slug it out in the provinces - and the guy did slog it out, in show after show, gig after gig. He was getting older and more infirm but he travelled the length and breadth of the USA. He had a wonderful adventurous life but the fact is he was disappointed by the decline in his career, so reading this is still sad. Kudos though for the writers for doing it and also to draw much needed attention to the non-film aspects of Lugosi's career.

Movie review – M&L#5 - “Sailor Beware” (1952) ***1/2

Hal Wallis took no risks introducing Martin and Lewis to the cinema-going public – he introduced them in support roles in an adaptation of a popular radio show, then ushered them into service comedies and/or remakes of popular hits. This one is both – set in the Navy, a redo of a story previously done as The Fleet’s In (a nerd has a bet to kiss a popular singer).
I use the word “story” lightly – they kind of shove it in occasionally during comic set pieces. Indeed the big conflict (i.e. Corinne Calvet falls for Dean Martin then finds out about the bet) doesn't start up until ten minutes towards the end. But it's compensated by this being among the brightest and best of the duo's films.

The film is very reminiscent of Abbott and Costello movies – their regular writer, John Grant, worked on the script for this and you can tell. Some sequences are pure Abbott and Costello, such as the build up to the boxing game (“I fought with Gene Tierney” “Don’t you mean Gene Tunney?” “You fight who you like I’ll fight who I like”). Like Buck Privates, it was made during war time but there’s no mention of Korea – it makes the navy seem like summer camp, with some strict rules but plenty of time off to go to nightclubs, boxing matches and hang out in Hawaiian beaches.

But the comedy is very funny, Martin and Lewis are in strong form, the tunes are pleasant, it has lots of energy, and there are some great routines (eg Jerry hanging off a periscope). Another appealing thing about this film is the support cast: the love interests are played by Marion Marshall (who later married Stanley Donen and Robert Wagner), and Corinne Calvet (as herself, but only in a small role – too small considering she’s the stakes of the story); Robert Strauss, the big dopey guy from Stalag 17, plays a big dopey guy here; James Dean appears as an assistant in the final boxing scene; Betty Hutton (who starred in The Fleet's In) has a hilarious cameo.

Radio review – Abbott and Costello – “Baseball Player” (1947) ***

Very funny entry which focuses around Costello playing baseball – Joe di Maggio asks him to take his place on the New York Yankees - , so naturally climaxes with ‘Who’s On First?’. It also features a variation on it, a play on the name of the baseball player Feller (“which feller?”)

Radio review – “Abbott and Costello Show – Dorothy Lamour” (1945) **1/2

Universal didn’t have great star roster so Abbott and Costello only really got A list co stars on radio. Here it’s Dorothy Lamour, causing some digs at Hope and Crosby (“those two golfers”) – its an interesting comparison because there’s no sexual threat from A and C. They start off with a few jokes that die – but they plough on. Can’t imagine Steve Vizard doing that. There’s also an ad for Camel cigarettes where the company brags about sending smokes to Americans on Christmas Island (over 300,000 cartons!)

Radio review – “Abbott and Costello” – Bela Lugosi (1948) ***

I’d never heard an Abbott and Costello radio show before – they’re terrific, a half hour of consistent laughs. It was a lot of fun listening to it with a laugh track, too (the laugh track on the sitcom of theirs I’ve got doesn’t seem to work). The plot is light – Costello tries to be sheriff of Encino and winds up in a haunted house. Bela Lugosi guest stars as himself, a genuine killer for a change instead of a red herring. He gets to say some one liners instead of just giving feed lines; he kicks some goals too (“Why do you speak quietly” “I was raised in a library”) although he muffles his final one, a gag about having to run away from the police because he was parked in a one hour zone.

Movie review – Kettle #5 - “Ma and Pa Kettle at the Fair” (1951) **1/2

Two of Abbott and Costello’s key contributors join the Kettle franchise for this instalment – writer John Grant and director Charles Barton. They finally dump Tom and Kim Kettle (who really only had two films in them) and suddenly there’s another non-retarded Kettle child, Rosie, played by pretty Universal contractee Lori Nelson, who romances James Best.

Unlike the last three Kettle films, this doesn’t have high concept twists like gangsters, ad campaigns, visiting New York or uranium. The humour more observational and based in reality, being centred around Pa’s laziness and tight fisted-ness. (Just thinking about it Pa drives these movies more than Ma) and a local fair a la State Fair. Ma enters a jam competition, Pa goes in a horse race, Rosie is a bit embarrassed about her parents. Even Rosie’s embarrassment, which is a bit unsympathetic, rings true (and at least she always apologises for it). This does mean though it’s a very light movie – perhaps too light. More could have been made of the romance plot – there’s no conflict there, just two kids who like each other and go dating. And Rosie’s whining does get on the nerves.

Grant surely had something to do with the Abbott and Costello references especially the Indians selling blankets at the fair (they mention “Who’s on First” and when a skinny guy and slightly chubby guy come along to buy some blankets and engage in word play, they ask if they’re Abbott and Costello – was this meant to be a cameo?) I’d guess he also had something to do with the routines where Pa negotiates with his creditors – there’s lots of word play and unique maths, very Abbott and Costello.

Book review – “Abbott and Costello in Hollywood” by Bob Furmaneck & Ron Palumbo

Book jackets always quote reviewers who say things like “a must for every fan” but this would definitely be a useful book for any Abbott and Costello fan. An excellent overview of all their films, including synopsis, budgets, interviews, reviews of early scripts and deleted scenes, details of specific Abbott and Costello routines in films. My only gripe is that although it gives budget details of all the films it gives the box office gross of only some.

A fairly strong picture of the boys at work emerges – basically professional, but a bit of a mad house, with lots of card games and practical jokes and an entourage (the duo even had their own court jester). Doesn’t seem to have been a lot of floozies running around. Some invaluable interviews with people like Bob Cummings, Alan Jones (who had all these creative controls on One Night in the Tropics and gripes that they stole the film from him – how about of gratitude for making a movie people actually remember?), Charles Lamont (who talks about himself like he was this name director, a new Capra when he started – wasn’t he just an efficient hack?), Charles Barton, Arthur Lubin, the producers, and screenwriters (a surprisingly large number of these winded up blacklisted – and disappointingly Costello was a bit of a McCarthy-ite.”)

My fave story was the making of Abbott and Costello meet Captain Kidd, which Charles Laughton did because he wanted to learn how to do a double take from Lou Costello. Their female co star knew she was going to have trouble being noticed on screen so she responded by padding her brassiere!

The book also explains why the quality of their films dropped in the early 50s – they became more interested in television (which becomes obvious when you see the TV shows, which I have to admit I’ve only recently discovered). Not overly critical of the films, though it picks on Meet the Killer Boris Karloff which I always really liked.

TV review – “Colgate Comedy Hour – Abbott and Costello – Guest Starring Errol Flynn” (1952)

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.

TV review – “The Abbott and Costello Show” (1952) ***1/2

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”

Movie review – A&C #36 – “Dance with Me, Henry” (1956) **

The final Abbott and Costello film is one of their worst, with the guys showing their age: raspy voices, the delivery a lot slower. Abbott in particular seems like an old man, who slurs his words and moves around awkwardly. This is really a Lou Costello film with Abbott in a support role. Costello is a kind hearted idiot who owns an amusement park and looks after strays including orphans (I’m not kidding) and Abbott, who is a gambling addict. That point is the most interesting thing about the film – the power balance between the two has shifted: Costello is the powerful one and Abbott (though he tries to bluster) seems like an elderly, slightly absent minded uncle; he’s the one who gets in to trouble.

A sign of the times: Costello’s nephew plays a skiffle and sings rock and roll (esque) songs. More of this might have made the film more interesting. But most of it is devoted to gangsters trying to get money off the boys, and Costello being accused of murder and likeable priests. Director Charles Barton made some of the duo’s best movies, but also some of their worst of which this is one. The chase scene in the amusement park at the end is okay – but more could have been made of this, indeed of the amusement park setting. The end has Costello leading a bunch of orphans Pied Piper style: now that would have made a better movie. (NB I know this is PC of me to say but I can’t help thinking it’s a bit dodgy that a middle aged bachelor is so keen to adopt orphans).

Movie review – A&C #21 - “The Noose Hangs High” (1948) **

The duo shifted over to Eagle Lion for this one, which has them as cleaners who accidentally lose some gangster money and go looking for it before they are killed. The story premises of Charles Barton movies were always quite strong and this is no exception – it could work as a thriller (indeed, it was: Two Hands). The gangster who is going to kill them (Joseph Calleia, in good form) is actually quite sympathetic – he just has to repay the money himself, and he’s understandably annoyed that a woman who accidentally receives the money (Cathy Downs) has blown most of it in about a day.

A highlight is a scene where Abbott cons a dopey gangster and that gangster then tries to con Costello. And if I’m not mistaken Costello gets Downs at the end (perhaps his hottest chick of all). But this is not one of their better films. By this stage Abbott and Costello films often featured “wah wah wah…” music in the soundtrack, an irritating thing that wouldn’t be shaken for a while. There are too many rehashed routines: "you’re 40 she’s ten", Costello tries to get into gaol and keeps being thwarted, "mudda and fudda", "pack and unpack", "phone booth". There’s no romance – there is Downs but honestly she’s an idiot for wasting the money; they get out of trouble too easily.

Movie review – A&C #7 - “Rio Rita” (1942) **1/2 (warning: spoilers)

Abbott and Costello made most of their films for Universal but MGM asked them over for three during their first heyday. Their MGM movies have a little more gloss but are basically similar to their Universal movies. This has the duo wind up on a ranch in Texas, at which point you might think “didn’t they do the cowboy thing in Ride 'Em Cowboy… but actually apart from a song involving singing cowboys this is more a spy spoof, with the ranch being the base for some Nazi fifth columnists. To kill time before we find that out, Abbott and Costello are unconvincingly appointed house detectives by Kathryn Grayson, and they try to ensure Grayson winds up with John Carrol and not a femme fetale. It’s not a very strong story – actually, it’s really weak - but it serves to keep them busy in between routines and songs.

The boys are full of enthusiasm in this one, and I really liked the setting of the ranch, which is a resort with plenty of singing, floor shows and what-not. It’s fun that Abbott sends Costello to seduce the femme fetale, and it was also a good twist that the femme fetale is actually a secret agent, with Barry Nelson’s secret agent turning out to be a bit of a whimp (he winds up dead). Grayson is sweet but doesn’t have that much to do apart from be jealous and sing – the femme fetale character is far more interesting and Carrol would probably be better of with her. This is one of the more violent Abbott and Costello’s – people wind up dead, Costello knocks out a henchman deliberately, Costello even arranges for the baddies to be blown up at the end.

John Carrol plays the romantic lead, a Latin crooner. You know, just thinking about it MGM seemed to have a large number of positive Latino male characters over the years (often played by Fernando Lamas, Ricardo Montalban) – yes, they often played a stereotype but it was a positive stereotype. Tom Conway offers some icy villainy.

Movie review –A&C #35 - “Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy” (1955) **

Abbott and Costello are in Cairo and get involved in mummies. The basic plot is the standard mummy one – devotees of the mummy try to protect it through murder. Abbott and Costello are actually the only sympathetic characters in this – everyone else is trying to kill them, whether they’re defending the mummy’s tomb or trying to grave rob it (Meet the Keystone Cops at least had a sympathetic studio head).

This is a so-so work, not very strong but peppered with good moments: the exciting opening acrobatic dance number, the lounge singer who “doesn’t want to be asked out”, a routine involving pitches, three mummies running around at the end, Abbott and Costello trying to get rid of a medallion. John Grant again gets sole screenplay credit (based on a story by others) – he was clearly better writing routines rather than stories. He died just before this film was released.
Abbott has a little more to do in this one than he did in most of their later films: not only is it he not Costello who is falsely accused of a crime (usually it’s poor old Costello), but he gets to dress up as a mummy. Marie Windsor is fun as a treasure hunter. This was the last film Abbott and Costello made for Universal, whom they saved from bankruptcy many times.

Movie review – A&C #34 - “Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Cops” (1954) **

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.

Movie review – A&C #16 - “Abbott and Costello in Hollywood” (1945) **1/2

Abbott and Costello finally get around to spoofing Hollywood, and since the film was made at MGM you’d think it would give them a chance to act with some higher-ranked talent than they could at Universal. Think again – well, unless you count cameos by Rags Ragland as himself as a high ranked talent (who was Rags Ragland?). Oh, to be fair there’s Lucille Ball, Preston Foster, Robert Z Leonard, and Jackie Butch Jenkins… but really they may as well made it at Universal. At least they had – and surely would have been willing to use - Deanna Durbin, Maria Montez and Lon Chaney Jnr.

The plot involves a particularly wet crooner who tries to get a job in Hollywood, is cast in a movie – then fired. And sooks. We’re supposed to feel sorry for him. Get used to it, pal! In order to get his job back, Abbott and Costello (who are the kid’s agent) conspire to entrap the sleazy crooner who’s taken their client’s place in a scandal; it winds up that everyone thinks the crooner has killed Costello, which is a bit full on. So the climax, with the crooner trying to get Costello to prove he’s alive, you can’t help being sympathetic for the “baddy”. Having said that, there is a reasonably spectacular production number plus a funny chase on a roller coaster. This isn’t top class Abbott and Costello; a little glossier maybe.

Movie review – A&C #33 - “Abbott and Costello Meet Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde” (1953) **1/2

Not so much a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde film as a Wolf Man film – for that’s how Jekyll behaves more like, a respected doctor who takes a serum and becomes a mad inarticulate killer. Both roles are played by Boris Karloff, in parts far more suited to his talents than Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer Boris Karloff.

This starts with a bang: it’s set in Edwardian London, there are some atmospheric murders, our heroes are American policemen on exchange (perhaps not very believable but you wouldn’t buy them as Poms – and this gives them the excuse to be disgraced and hence want to solve the mystery), and there is a very lovely romantic subplot between an American journo (Craig Stevens) and a suffragette who is also a dancer (Helen Westcott). Abbott and Costello films occasionally were a little bit feminist and Westcott is perhaps their most modern heroine – she’s feisty, liberated, sexy, and sexually aggressive… and not punished for it (well, apart from being stalked by Mr Hyde but that’s normal in this sort of film).

The film becomes less good as it goes on; the second and third acts are really just Costello being scared and/or being chased by monsters (either Hyde or John Dierkes as Karloff’s Lurch-like butler), with the promising suffragette plot discarded; also there is no clash between Jekyll and Hyde, Jekyll is quite happy to be a killer, and somehow it seems to be cheating that people become monsters through biting when it’s not a wolfman film but a Jekyll and Hyde film. Also by this stage the lead duo were starting to look a bit long in the tooth. In one scene Costello winds up in a fun house and faces wax models of Dracula and Frankenstein, a throw back to Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. This film isn’t as good as that, but is still entertaining.

Movie review – A&C #13 - “Lost in a Harem” (1944) **1/2

Abbott and Costello stumble into The Desert Song – they play two vaudevillians who get caught up in an Arab dispute along with a lounge singer (Marilyn Maxwell)… which perhaps indicates the influence of the Bob Hope and Bing Crosby Road pictures. The duo (or, rather, trio) take the side of a young Arab (John Conte) against his uncle – how do they know the young guy is a better ruler of his people? But Douglas Dumbrille as the sheik is an excellent foil; indeed he is one of the toughest antagonists our heroes ever faced, he’s pretty much always got the drop on them until he’s hypnotised.

There are some spectacular musical numbers (played by Jimmy Dorsey’s orchestra dressed up sillily as Arabs) and some funny routines. My favourite involves the chubby unloved first wife of Dumbrille (Lottie Harrison); it’s also fun that Dumbrille has a thing for blondes, any blondes. I wasn’t as in loved with the “Slowly I Turned Rountine” with prisoner Murray Leonard though this is meant to be famous. This was made for MGM, one of the three the team made for that studio; it doesn’t look that different from their Universal films – perhaps a little more glossy (the sets are re-used from Kismet). Maxwell is very pretty and engaging.