Movie Reviews: Abbott and Costello Sampler

A sampling of Abbott and Costello films from the 1940s...

Hit the Ice (1943) directed by Charles Lamont

Abbott and Costello are photographers trying to make a dime on the street when they accidentally join up with some bank robbers. The head bank robber has been pretending to be sick at a hospital across the street, where his doctor is a bit clueless about the situation but his nurse knows something is up. When they finally do the robbery, the crooks follow the doctor to an upstate winter resort where they plan to lay low. Abbott and Costello are accused of the robbery and head north to try and find some evidence to clear them (and also lay low).

The movie's plot seems more like a situation to hang comedy routines on rather than a compelling story. The boys have some typical comedic routines for them (verbal banter, physical comedy, comic abuse of each other). The resort has a big band traveling north with its leader knowing Abbott and Costello from their schooldays together (the doctor is also a chum from school). The band has a singer, Ginny Simms, who has a couple of gratuitous musical numbers which is also very typical of the comedy duo's films. The ice skating sequences are fun. The movie is entertaining but definitely B-quality for Abbott and Costello.

Mildly recommended.

In Society (1944) directed by Jean Yarbrough and Erle C. Kenton

The boys are plumbers just starting out. They get a break when they are called at the last minute to a mansion for a repair job during a fancy party. A quick taxi ride with their friend Elsie (Marion Hutton) gets them there. The party is a costume ball and the millionaire Peter Evans (Kirby Grant) comes dressed as a cab driver. Naturally he falls in with Elsie who tries to explain she really is a cab driver, not dressed up as one. Peter is smitten and won't let her go. The boys are upstairs having a hard time with the plumbing. Back at their shop the next day, shady character Drexel (Thomas Gomez) wants them to either pay back the thousand dollars they owe him or steal some valuables from the next mansion. They are accidentally invited to the next society party where (of course) Peter takes Elsie. A lot of comic misadventures and musical numbers ensue.

The plot is a little better thought out, even though it mirrors Hit the Ice. The comic routines are bigger (The bathroom repair and the Susquehanna Hat Company routines). They are in fine form with a more enjoyable romp. The final chase scene with an old-style fire truck is very impressive.

Recommended.

Here Come the Co-Eds (1945) directed by Jean Yarbrough

The boys are dime-a-dance escorts at a downtown club where Bud's cinematic sister Molly (Martha O'Driscoll) works too. They get fired from the job but she winds up with a scholarship to Bixby College, a women-only school. The dean (Donald Cook) takes a shine to Molly and agrees to hire Bud and Lou as caretakers. They are supervised by Johnson (Lon Chaney Jr.) who torments them as much as they torment him. The stuffy chairman of the board doesn't like a showgirl at the school but she is great at basketball, which leads their team to a big game where, with the right bet, they can win enough money to pay off the school's debts to the chairman and run the school in a more modern way like the dean wants.

The movie is the usual pastiche of skits and musical numbers. Lou has a nice scene trying to clean up a kitchen and becomes "one of the girls" to help win the basketball game at the finale. The movie gets enough laughs in but the musical numbers do feel shoe-horned in, with almost no connection to the story. 

Mildly recommended.

The Naughty Nineties (1945) directed by Jean Yarbrough

Bud is the main actor in a riverboat show while Lou works behind the scenes. It's the 1890s, the heyday of riverboat entertainment on the Mississippi. The boat runs into trouble when a trio of crooks swindles away majority ownership from the boat's captain and owner (Henry Travers). They want to make money off the boat by crooked gambling--before the sheriff catches up to them they will just sail on to the next town. Bud and Lou work hard to get the bad guys out and save the day.

The plot is pretty thin but provides plenty of oppportunities for comedy routines. This movie has the full version of the "Who's on First?" routine that is the most famous Abbott and Costello comedy sketch. Plenty of other comedic moments are also good, including "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" and a feather cake routine. The finale with a chase on the boat is very well executed and quite funny. The boys are back on top tier with this film.

Highly recommended--the "Who's on First?" routine is a classic of comedy.