Lou Costello
The Navy Gets a Laugh Ration
Movie Life
(June 1943)
The Navy Gets a Laugh Ration
VOTED KINGS of the box-office for 1942, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello prove themselves Princes of Good Fellows by clowning till it hurt. Costello went into the hospital after seven weeks.Read More »The Navy Gets a Laugh Ration
Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man
Synopsis of Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951)
Fresh graduates from detective school, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, get their first case – recapturing the escaped killer, Tommy Nelson. Nelson, however, the typical “convicted of a crime that he didn’t commit” – and has a scientist friend give him a dose of the Invisible Man formula, giving him a race against time to find the real killer — before the formula drives him mad. But Abbott and Costello are there to help …
Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy
Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955) starring Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Marie Windsor, Richard Deacon
Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy is both a very funny comedy. It’s also a respectful Universal Monsters entry in the Mummy series. The Mummy is is following the same typical formula. A former high priest Kharis (renamed to Klaris here for no reason) has been cursed to never-ending life for his forbidden love for an Egyptian princess. In this entry, the Mummy can be controlled by a mystical amulet. Which accidentally falls into the possession of Abbott and Costello.
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Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff
Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer Boris Karloff starring Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Boris Karloff
Actually, despite the title of Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff, Boris Karloff isn’t the killer — but, he is quite funny in this movie. In a nutshell, Lou Costello plays a bellhop who is falsely accused of murder; His pal Bud Abbott tries to help, but only succeeds in getting Lou into more trouble.
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Ride ’em Cowboy [Abbott and Costello]
Abbott and Costello’s Ride ’em Cowboy (1942) starring Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Dick Foran, Ella Fitzgerald
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello star as two peanut vendors at a rodeo show. Soon, they get in trouble with their boss and hide out on a railroad train. Which unexpectedly heads west with them still on it. Upon arriving, they get jobs on a dude ranch despite the fact that neither of them knows anything about cowboys, horses, or much else. The scene with Lou Costello attempting to milk a cow is a gem of comedy. Abbott and Costello follow the same formula here as in their previous films, with a romantic subplot and music, provided here by Ella Fitzgerald.
In the Navy
In the Navy (1941) starring Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Dick Powell, the Andrews Sisters, Claire Dodd
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello‘s follow up after the amazing success of Buck Privates was In the Navy. Which actually did better than Buck Privates. Like their previous film, Shemp Howard and the Andrews Sisters provide a comic foil and musical interludes, respectively. In a nutshell, Abbott and Costello join the Navy. Then, they get involved in a romantic subplot with Dick Powell. Along the way, they do do some of their most famous routines. These include a version of the con artist shell game using lemons, and Lou demonstrating his clownish math skills by trying to prove that 28 divided by 7 equals 13 — this bit alone is worth the price of admission.
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Abbott and Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection
Abbott and Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection – 15-DVD set
The good news is that is a compilation of all of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello‘s movies made at Universal Pictures, including the newly-released It Ain’t Hay, available for the first time on DVD. Also, unlike the previous collection, each DVD is single-sided, as opposed to having different films recorded on both sides of the DVD. The major ‘if’ with the collection, however, is: if you already own the previous collection, is it worth (at the time of this writing) $90 (U.S. dollars)? Probably not; however, if you don’t already own it, then it’s definitely worth the price — at least if you’re a fan of Abbott and Costello; and I am!
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Buck Privates
Abbott and Costello in Buck Privates(1941), starring Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, the Andrews Sisters, Shemp Howard
Buck Privates, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, is the first movie that starred the comedy duo. In many ways, it is their funniest. In a nutshell, Abbott and Costello are small-time con men who try to escape a police officer …. Only to enlist in the Army by mistake. Who turns out to be their drill instructor? None other than the police officer that they were trying to escape. The film contains some of their funniest moments. Including Lou Costello becoming hopelessly confused during a drill – it must be seen to be appreciated.
Other characters include Shemp Howard (in a pre-Three Stooges role) and the Andrews Sisters, singing “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” among others. A very patriotic film, based in America shortly before the U.S.A. entered World War II (1941). Some of their best routines are found here, such as the classic you’re 40, she’s 10, and Lou Costello explaining to Bud Abbott that 28 divided by 7 is 13 — a hilarious routine, that’s worth its’ weight in gold.
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Loan me 50 dollars
Abbott and Costello skit – Loan me 50 dollars
One of the classic Abbott and Costello routines, where Bud Abbott takes advantage of a common math mistake that we all make to fleece his pal, Lou Costello, out of all of his money. The skit ends with a simple ‘read my mind’ routine that takes Lou’s last remaining bill. This routine was done many times, both in the movies and their radio show.
Bud Abbott: Do me a favor, loan me $50.
Lou Costello: Bud, I can’t. I can’t loan you $50.
Bud Abbott: Oh, yes, ya can.
Lou Costello: No, I can’t. All I got is $40.
Bud Abbott: All right, give me the $40 and you’ll owe me 10 Read More »Loan me 50 dollars