I'm watching several of the Abbott & Costello films that TCM is running, and I began to wonder why I had only watched the collection I already had only once. And watching this film, I finally got it. Abbott & Costello cannot compare to Martin & Lewis, and here's why. It's not the fault of Lou Costello. The man is hilarious, and much more able to combine that hilarity with pathos than Jerry Lewis. The problem is/was Bud Abbott. The main had a very limited talent -- he could feed lines to Lou Costello, he could slap Lou Costello around, he could yell at Lou Costello. But Dean could sing and be the romantic lead. So, you could put Martin & Lewis together in a movie and have a complete film. But with Abbott and Costello, Lou could provide all the comedy, but Abbott could not sing or be romantic or dance or do anything to carry part of the film. And that is very clear in this film.
Don't get me wrong. This is an entertaining film, And the focus is Abbott and Costello. But, most A&C films have to bring in some romance, so here they bring in John Carroll and Kathryn Grayson. In most A&C films they have to bring in some music, so again, here they turn to John Carroll and Kathryn Grayson. As a result, as with most other A&C films, "Rio Rita" becomes a musical-comedy-variety film...and who does that better than MGM with its high production values? But as a result, some focus is thereby shifted away from Abbott & Costello. But, A&C are very funny here, both in terms of Lou's slapstick, and the team's witty dialog.
Due to World War II, the plot of the old musical (by the way, almost every song from the original Ziegfeld production has been eliminated) has been modified to bring in a Nazi spy plot to trigger the action; but it works.
As Abbott & Costello films go, this is pretty good, and well worth a watch.
Don't get me wrong. This is an entertaining film, And the focus is Abbott and Costello. But, most A&C films have to bring in some romance, so here they bring in John Carroll and Kathryn Grayson. In most A&C films they have to bring in some music, so again, here they turn to John Carroll and Kathryn Grayson. As a result, as with most other A&C films, "Rio Rita" becomes a musical-comedy-variety film...and who does that better than MGM with its high production values? But as a result, some focus is thereby shifted away from Abbott & Costello. But, A&C are very funny here, both in terms of Lou's slapstick, and the team's witty dialog.
Due to World War II, the plot of the old musical (by the way, almost every song from the original Ziegfeld production has been eliminated) has been modified to bring in a Nazi spy plot to trigger the action; but it works.
As Abbott & Costello films go, this is pretty good, and well worth a watch.