1h 26min || 8 August 1941
Director: Arthur Lubin
Stars: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Richard Carlson, Joan Davis, Mischa Auer
Genres: Adventure | Comedy | Music | Mystery | Thriller
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033723/
Music for Ted Lewis & his orchestra and the Andrews Sisters; 5 songs in the Soundtracks. One each occurs in chapters 1, 2 and 3. TL does Me and My Shadow with a shorter black actor behind him as his shadow; I kept hoping he'd break out into a dance, but he just echoed TL. The Blue Danube waltz danced comedically by JD and LC is shruggable to me; lots of slipping and falling in on a wet floor.
The comedy comes from the gangsters who are trying to scare the boys (A&C), plus 2 gals and RC, away from the house before & after they find the hidden money. If they were such baddies, why did they bother with the fright? So we'd have a movie, of course.
The finale has the Andrews Sisters sing a full-length rendition of Aurora (a lovely song). Interesting: AS often sing lyrics intended for a man, and make no alterations. The Production Notes on the dvd say that preview audiences demanded AS in the movie, so they were added. It certainly feels that way: we have them at beginning and end, because the boys, who are supposed to be gas station attendants, take a temp job as waiters (beginning) and (end) invest their new wealth in a spa where AS entertain again.
There's a commentary track on the dvd. I got about 1 minute in, and bailed. If this movie is the favorite of A&C fans (and it's 4th by IMDb rating among the 28 Universal films), then I didn't want to hear the fanboy extol its virtues. Maybe next time, start with the commentary to learn how to like the film properly? Maybe my rating should be lower, but I'm giving it the botd because I know I'm unhappy about the scarcity of music.
Universal, dir. Lubin; 6-
