BUCK PRIVATES was the second movie with Abbott and Costello. In the first, ONE NIGHT IN THE TROPICS, the boys were purely there for comic relief and played a very small part in the film. They didn't even bother creating characters for them, as each went by their real names. While in BUCK PRIVATES their roles are thankfully bigger, they still are in supporting roles--though the studio stuck their names at the top of the credits to capitalize on their success in the last film. Despite the billing, Lee Bowman and Alan Curtis played the real leads in the film. This, combined with lots of singing and a romance in which neither Abbott nor Costello is involved with is why BUCK PRIVATES really can't be among the team's best films. It's very good, but far from perfect.
The film begins with rich blow-hard Bowman getting a draft notice. Since he's so spoiled, he assumes his family will pull some strings to get him either out of the military altogether or into officer's training school. But, his father sees things differently--boot camp and serving as an enlisted man will be a great chance to teach him character. Along the way, he and Curtis vie for the same girl and are rivals throughout the film.
Abbott and Costello join the army--mostly because they are running from the cops. Naturally, Costello ends up being the lamest excuse for a soldier there is and if the US military REALLY had accepted such cretins in the service, they would have undoubtedly lost WWII! There were several good skits involving the boys and while not their best work, it still is pretty fresh and well worth watching.
In addition to all this, the Andrews Sisters are on hand to sing. Some may love their songs, such as the famous "Boogie, Woogie Bugle Boy", but as for me, I thought the music was a huge distraction and I sped through these numbers--I'd already heard them when I'd seen the movie when I was a kid--and I'd already suffered enough! Why, oh why, did studios insist on saddling comedies with singing in the 30s, 40s and 50s?! Overall, a much better script than the last film but the duo still take a backseat to the action. Good, but they were capable of better.
By the way, in the comedy boxing scene, Lou Costello probably had to work hard to look bad, as in real life he had been a boxer in his youth--and a pretty good one from what I've read.
The film begins with rich blow-hard Bowman getting a draft notice. Since he's so spoiled, he assumes his family will pull some strings to get him either out of the military altogether or into officer's training school. But, his father sees things differently--boot camp and serving as an enlisted man will be a great chance to teach him character. Along the way, he and Curtis vie for the same girl and are rivals throughout the film.
Abbott and Costello join the army--mostly because they are running from the cops. Naturally, Costello ends up being the lamest excuse for a soldier there is and if the US military REALLY had accepted such cretins in the service, they would have undoubtedly lost WWII! There were several good skits involving the boys and while not their best work, it still is pretty fresh and well worth watching.
In addition to all this, the Andrews Sisters are on hand to sing. Some may love their songs, such as the famous "Boogie, Woogie Bugle Boy", but as for me, I thought the music was a huge distraction and I sped through these numbers--I'd already heard them when I'd seen the movie when I was a kid--and I'd already suffered enough! Why, oh why, did studios insist on saddling comedies with singing in the 30s, 40s and 50s?! Overall, a much better script than the last film but the duo still take a backseat to the action. Good, but they were capable of better.
By the way, in the comedy boxing scene, Lou Costello probably had to work hard to look bad, as in real life he had been a boxer in his youth--and a pretty good one from what I've read.