Hold That Ghost (1941)

Director: Arthur Lubin

Writers:Robert Lees, Frederic I. Rinaldo, John Grant

Composer: Hans J. Salter

Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Richard Carlson, Joan Davis, Mischa Auer, Evelyn Ankers, Marc Lawrence, Shemp Howard, Russell Hicks, William B. Davidson, Ted Lewis, The Andrews Sisters

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Those slap-happy screamsters go a'haunting!

Plot: Two bumbling service station attendants are left as the sole beneficiaries in a gangster's will. Their trip to claim their fortune is sidetracked when they are stranded in a haunted house along with several other strangers.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? Sure.

It's A&C in a haunted house but with gangsters thrown into the mix.  There's a lot to like here even if it's not as consistently funny as their best films.  Marc Lawrence (I've loved that guy since I was a kid seeing him in GOLDFINGER (1964)) plays the tough gangster, Charlie Smith but you've also got a fun cameo with Shemp Howard and a couple of tunes to bookend the film by The Andrews Sisters.  I love their music and they're a great staple to these war time A&C pictures.  The boys are fun but it was Joan Davis (as Camille) that stole the show.  I know I've seen her before but she was friggin' hilarious.  There aren't any big routines from A&C in this one but there are a few that look like the promise of a good beginning but there are enough laughs to keep me coming back to the well.  A while back I picked up the big ass box set that has just about every film they made.  This disc has a commentary with film historian Jeff Miller, some text production notes and the theatrical trailer.

Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff (1949)

Director: Charles Barton

Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Boris Karloff, Lenore Aubert

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Yipes! Those Killer-Dillers are out to get the King of the Killers!

Plot: Lost Caverns Hotel bellhop Freddie Phillips is suspected of murder. Swami Talpur tries to hypnotize Freddie into confessing, but Freddie is too stupid for the plot to work. Inspector Wellman uses Freddie to get the killer.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? Yeah.


Ya know, for a movie that had Boris Karloff's name IN THE TITLE there sure is a lack of him on the screen. It's astonishing how little time he's got but what's there is fun for Karloff fans. Just having him be deadly serious in the same scene with Costello's playfulness is priceless. The picture is a fun whodunit and with A&C. My only gripe, besides wanting more Karloff, is that nearly all of the picture takes place in the hotel. When they finally leave and go to the cavern in the last act it's like a breath of fresh air. That and the cavern is badass.


Oh, I can't leave without saying that Karloff is NOT the killer. I would bitch about it but then it's an Abbott and Costello movie that has the balls to Boris Karloff's actual name in the title even though he plays a character called Swami Talpur. I figure if I can overlook that then finding out he's not the killer makes this like an OMFG twist ending in an M. Night picture.

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

Director: Charles Barton

Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lon Chaney Jr, Bela Lugosi, Glenn Strange, Lenore Aubert, Jane Randolph, Frank Ferguson, Charles Bradstreet, Vincent Price

More info: IMDb

Tagline: The LAUGHS are MONSTERous! Bud and Lou are in a stew when they tangle with the TITANS of TERROR!

Plot: This Abbott and Costello horror-comedy flick features the bumbling buddies as railroad baggage clerks who receive a strange shipment -- the last remains of Dracula and Frankenstein's monster. Trouble is they're still alive! When the deadly duo escape to a remote island, Abbott and Costello follow their trail and find not only the two ghouls, but also a mad scientist who wants to switch Costello's brain with that of Frankenstein's monster.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again? Yeah.


This is one A&C flicks I fondly remember as a child. It's silly like all A&C movies which means it probably appeals to kids more than adults. What makes this one stand out is having Lugosi as Dracula (something he hadn't done since the early 30s, Chaney as the Werewolf and Glen Strange as Frankenstein's Monster (nice job, too).



Chaney's acting is as flat as ever and Lugosi spends an unusual amount of time covering his face with his cape. I almost suspected Ed Wood was in the vicinity.


The comedy bits are fun and Costello's double takes are priceless. And even though A&C don't actually meet Frankenstein (just the monster), it's still one of their more enjoyable pictures and it's got probably the best ending of all of them courtesy of a heard but not seen Vincent Price. Classic.


Can you find him?

Buck Privates (1941)

Director: Arthur Lubin

Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lee Bowman, Alan Curtis, The Andrews Sisters, SHemp Howard

More info: IMDb

Plot: Bud and Lou enlist in the army in order to escape being hauled off to jail, and soon find themselves in boot camp. To their dismay, the company's drill instructor is none other than the cop who was all set to run them off to the hoosegow in the first place! The boys end up having a whale of a time getting under the skin of their humourless nemesis.

My rating: 5.5/10

Will I watch it again? Maybe in 30 years.

I love Abbott & Costello. When they're one fire, they're amazing. But just having them in a movie doesn't make it a good picture. It's a better one because of them but they've got to have good gags and material and it just pains me that this picture didn't deliver. Their humor goes from juevenille silly to outright clever as hell. BUCK PRIVATES gives us lots of the former and none of the latter. I think I laughed once. Hell, I even watched it with my dad and he LOVES A&C as much if not more than me. I don't recall hearing him busting a gut either.


The Andrews Sisters are always delightful. The illicit the WWII era more than any other artist and it's a treat to see them on the screen. This is A&C's second picture and their first as the leads. Too bad it didn't showcase their talents like the last one, ONE NIGHT IN THE TROPICS (1940). They didn't get as much screen time in that one but what was there was clever and damn funny.

One Night in the Tropics (1940)

Director: A. Edward Sutherland

Starring: Allan Jones, Robert Cummings, Nancy Kelly, Bud Abbott & Lou Costello

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Romance TO THE RHYTHM OF THE RHUMBA...in this magical musical of mirth!

Plot: Jim, a hotshot insurance salesman, sells a policy to his best pal Steve who will earn $1 million if he fails to marry his fiance Cynthia. Half of the policy is underwritten by tough gambling-house owner Roscoe, who panics when Cummings heads for a Caribbean isle in pursuit of another broad, Mickey. As for Cynthia, she wants no part of Steve once she finds out she's a pawn in his policy.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? Eventually.


Plot? Who cares? It's only there to serve as a showcase for Abbott & Costello. It's their first feature together but it'll be their next film, BUCK PRIVATES (1941), before they take the lead roles. Let's cut to the chase. The romance part of the flick is fine and the comedy is pretty broad but it's A&C that we're here in the first place. They play Roscoe's flunkies who try to make sure things go Roscoe's way.



Every scene they're in is great and they've got some great bits like "Who's on first?", "Two tens for a five", "365 days - firing", "Smoking", "Mustard" and my favorite gag in the film, "Jonah and the whale." In that last one, Lou tells a joke (that he claims he made up) and just before he gets to the punchline, Bud blurts it out and hurts Lou's feelings. I laughed my ass off. The look on Lou's face is priceless.

Their timing was brilliant. If they were the main focus of this film I'd dig it a lot more but it's still worth seeing for the boys. They made 36 movies together from 1940 - 1955 and I plan to get around to all of them. I bought the A&C Univeral Pictures Collection box set and I'm going to have a blast getting through it.

In the Navy (1941)

Director: Arthur Lubin

Starring: Abbott & Costello, Dick Powell, Claire Dodd, The Andrews Sisters, Shemp Howard

More Info: IMDB

Tagline: THE FLEET'S ALL IN...Since Those Riotous "Buck Privates" Abbott and Costello Joined Up!

Plot: Famous radio-crooner Russ Raymond is tired of it all and enlists in the Navy under his true-name, Tommy Halstead, and boards an airplane for San Diego. There he is tentatively identified as the missing-singer by Dorothy Roberts, newspaper camerawoman. To get past the sentries, Dorothy escorts the Andrews Sisters, booked for an appearance at the San Diego Naval Training Station, and takes up Raymond's trail. She runs into Smoky Adams, an electrician's mate, Pomeroy Watson, a pastry cook, and "Dynamite" Dugan, a hard-boiled chief petty officer. Dorothy learns that Raymond has been assigned to the U.S.S. Alabama, and she boards the ship on visitor's day and stows away in a locker with the intention of taking a photograph of Raymond. Smoky and Pomeroy find her after the ship has sailed for Honolulu.

My Rating: 7/10

Would I watch it again? You betcha

I love A&C. As a little kid I'd run around yelling, "Heeeyyyyy Abbooooottt!" Now, I'm not sayin' that everything they did was gold but they had some great moments. This is one of them. They always played their stage personas. Nothing ever really changed THAT much with their characters. They're very likable and fun to watch.

They almost always had at least one routine that probably originated in their stage routines. There was the "lemon shell game", the "Sons of Neptune" initiation on the battleship, and the best of all, the scene where Costello tries to prove to Abbott that 7x13 = 28. I was howling.



And then there's some GREAT lines like:

Bud (as Smokey): Did you ever to to school, stupid?
Lou (as Pomeroy): Yeah, and I come out the same way.

Great stuff. The picture's full lines like that. Then you've got Dick Powell. This guy's a scream. If you're not familiar with him he's like Carey Grant but funnier. He directed quite a bit, too. And then there's The Andrews Sisters. It's neat to see them act (even better to see them perform). It's obvious that acting wasn't their forte but it works well enough for what this is.

If you've never seen an A&C movie I'd suggest starting with BUCK PRIVATES (1941) or ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948). If you're sold on them at that point then give IN THE NAVY a try. You'll love it.