The Best of Abbott & Costello, Vol. 1 (Buck Privates / Hold That Ghost / In the Navy / Keep 'Em Flying / One Night in the Tropics / Pardon My Sarong / Ride 'Em Cowboy / Who Done It?) DVD
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Rating:  -
I had no problems playing these discs and am happy with the picture quality. I have grudgingly accepted the use of reissue trailers for Universal's films because this seems to be all they have. The major problems are with Buck Privates and One Night In The Tropics. The cast title card for One Night In The Tropics is a replacement and so is the end title. Universal reached the height of laziness with this. The VHS release is all original. It appears they just use whatever print they find lying around at the time. Buck Privates is all original except for the last scene where superimposed on the picture is "re-released by Realart Pictures". This shows not just laziness, but no quality control, a don't care attitude, and a lack of respect for both the film and the consumer. The VHS has a Realart title card but the ending is clean. So they could of very easily used two prints to make one good whole print. That is what really infuriates me. Now I have to hold on to my old VHS. Is there anyone at Universal that really cares about what they put out? The only reason I knocked off one star is because of this problem. It sounds like Universal's "don't care" attitude continues, as evidenced by the problems with the new "complete" collection.
Rating:  -
I love these old episodes! This is true comedy, nothing like much of the trash that is being produced today (just my opinion).
Rating: -
More laughter - can't get enough - more in the series. Never duplicated again by anyone - they are the original - funny!!!!
Rating: -
I picked this up last Christmas for a family member. At their zenith, Abbott and Costello were the best comedy team in pictures and on radio. Charlie Chaplin praised their genius, and Groucho Marx remarked that Bud Abbott was the best straight man in the business. It wasn't highbrow comedy to be sure, but people loved watching the boys inadvertently get into a jam and make us laugh.
The country was at war during all the pictures included on this set, giving Americans some laughter to go along with the tears shed by many who discovered by ominous telegram that their loved one was not coming home. Much as Fred and Ginger helped get the country through the Great Depression, Bud and Lou got the people back home through WWII.
There are no duds here, as every film is funny and a nice pick-up for A&C fans. Bud and Lou were either getting mixed up in some crazy scheme, on the run from killers, or wrecking havoc in the U.S. Military. They got to play cowboy (Ride 'Em Cowboy), travel to the South Seas (Pardon My Sarong), solve a radio show murder (Who Done It?), and spend the night in a haunted house (Hold that Ghost).
After catapulting to stardom in One Night in the Tropics, the studio immediately gave them over to Uncle Sam in Buck Privates. With help from The Andrew Sisters, the boys wrecked havoc and overcame a slight script to secure their spot at the box office.
With help from Nat Pendleton and Shemp Howard, Slicker (Bud) and Herbie (Lou) poked fun at peeling potatoes and boot camp while The Andrew Sisters sang some breezy war songs and the classic, "I'll Be With You in Apple Blossom Time." It was lovely Jane Frazee who brightened the film up, however, as Alan Curtis and Bob Martin tried to win her heart. Her "I Wish You Were Here" musical number is a highlight.
In Pardon My Sarong Bud and Lou are a couple of Chicago bus drivers who take a detour to a tropical island with beautiful Virginia Bruce and Robert Paige. It is one of their most fun outings, Nan Wynn taking a shine to Lou while treasure hunter Lionel Atwill tries to lure him into a volcano! With the boys stranded on an island where every girl is named Luana, and Vera West dressing Virgina Bruce, this one is a can't miss for fans.
Who Done It? had our pals trying to break into radio as mystery writers for Murder at Midnight. Louise Albritton, Mary Wickes, Patrick Knowles, William Gargen, and William Bendix offer great support as a real murder occurs during a broadcast of the show, and Chick and Mervin play detective while attempting to avoid the real cops so they can get their big break. It holds a special place in the heart of all old radio fans, and there are some hilarious bits from the boys along the way; they even take a moment to poke fun at themselves. And the identification Lou produces to collect on a radio contest is a riot!
Many regard Hold that Ghost as the boy's best. When Bud and Lou lose their jobs as waiters in a fancy nightclub, they go back to pumping gas. Circumstance lands them in the car of gangster Moose Malloy when he bites the dust. Since his will leaves everything, including a hidden fortune everyone is after, to the last people with him at his demise, hilarity can't be far behind.
Lovely "B" favorite Evelyn Ankers and the very funny Joan Davis join Bud and Lou as they head to the hotel they've inherited. Richard Carlson's bookish scientist joins them at the tavern during a storm while gangsters try to find the stash and and scare off the boys. Joan Davis is especially good as a "screamer" from the movies who may be as big a coward as Lou. Their crazy dance together to the Blue Danube is a riot! Ankers and Carlson have the straight parts as she tries to get him to take off his glasses long enough to realize what is right before his eyes.
Universal gave this one everything it had, including The Andrew Sisters, who get to sing "Sleepy Serenade" and the Brazilian, "Aurora." This one is a lot of fun to watch, not a dull moment anywhere in sight. Fans of Bud and Lou have to own this one, making this set indispensable. A combination of great Abbott and Costello films every fan should own!
Rating: -
The first DVD collection of eight A&C movies with Universal Recording Studios is truly memorable. The mainstays of this collection are the three service films, Buck Privates, In The Navy and Keep 'em Flying. These films harken back to a time when Hollywood actually showed patriotism, unlike the liberal-run Hollywood of today, which uses movies to sabotage national pride. One can certainly feel the pride and admiration of our armed forces shining through. The Andrews Sisters' "You're a lucky fellow, Mr. Smith" and "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" are a testament to this patriotic attitude. Today's Hollywood crowd can take lessons from these films.
The very first film to showcase A&C, A Night in The Tropics, does not feature the boys, but rather centers around a love insurance ploy, with A&C as minor characters performing routines sprinkled throughout the movie for laughs. And no doubt, the laughs come in bunches. Although much maligned for not featuring A&C, the film is actually pretty good, standing on its own merit. Plus it's notable since it represents A&C debut on the big screen.
Hold That Ghost propels A&C into the direction of comedy terror, and foreshadows later "A&C MEET..." films. The boys here play heirs to a gangsters bequeathment, which they stumble onto in a right place/right time situation. As usual, A&C films have their share of political incorrectness, in this case Ted Lewis singing in a night club "Me And My Shadow", with his very black sidekick mimicking his every move behind him. AWESOME.
Next the boys delve into the comedy western genre in Ride' Em Cowboy. This film sees the boys head off to a dude ranch to get their many laughs. Highlighting this film is Costello's hysterical ride of a wild bucking bronco. Meanwhile, the politically incorrectness here has Costello spending the enire film eluding Red Indians, "those darned Redskins" as the calls them. Not too flattering portrayal of Indians, but so what. It's funny. Get over it. Ride 'Em Cowboy is also significant because it represents a young, unknown singer's first appearance on screen, entertaining a busload of vacationers with "A Tisket A Tasket, My Green and Yellow Basket". She would eventually move on to international prominence and fame. Abbott & Costello can boast launching the career of this young, up & coming star, Ella Fitzgerald!
Pardon My Sarong I have always felt is one of A&C's most underrated, underappreciated movies. The boys manage to steal a Chicago bus, and through fate and misfortune end up on a tropical island dodging jewel thieves. POLITICALLY INCORRECT MOMENT: A singing quartet of black dudes billing themselves The Four Ink Spots! Gotta love it. Try that today, Hollywood.
Capping off this DVD release is A&C's first of two murder mysteries, Who Done It (the other being A&C Meet the Killer, which can be found on DVD SET THREE). Here the boys play amateur detectives to solve the murder of a radio station executive.
A&C films certainly reflect the values and refreshing insensitivity of the 1940s. Anyone wanting to get a taste of how it used to be should get these films; highly recommended.
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