Lost in a Harem (1944)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Charles Reisner

Writers:

Harry Ruskin (screenplay) &
John Grant (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

December 1944 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

A Show That Chases the Blues From Start to Finish!

Plot:

Two bumbling magicians help a Middle Eastern prince regain his rightful throne from his despotic uncle.

Plot Keywords:

Magician | Uncle | Prince | Palace | Guard

Cast

Bud Abbott	...	Peter Johnson
Lou Costello	...	Harvey Garvey
Marilyn Maxwell	...	Hazel Moon
John Conte	...	Prince Ramo
Douglass Dumbrille	...	Nimativ
Lottie Harrison	...	Teema
Lock Martin	...	Bobo (as J. Lockard Martin)
Murray Leonard	...	The Derelict
Adia Kuznetzoff	...	Chief Ghamu
Milton Parsons	...	Crystal Gazer
Ralph Sanford	...	Mr. Ormulu
Jimmy Dorsey and His Orchestra	...	Themselves

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:S | USA:Approved (PCA #10118) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Sweden:15

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Douglass Dumbrille and Bud Abbott recreate The Marx Brothers' famous mirror scene from Duck Soup (1933).

Quotes:

Peter Johnson: We've got to outsmart Uncle Nimativ. You go in and outwit him.
Harvey Garvey: Why should I go out with him? I'm afraid of that man!
Peter Johnson: Not to go out with him. Go in and outwit him.
Harvey Garvey: Why should I go in and go out wth him? I mean, he don't appeal to me!

Movie Connections:

Featured in 100 Years of Comedy (1997) (V)

Soundtrack:

Scheherazade Symphonic Suite, Op.35

Boy Are You in Trouble, Prince

John Conte is the renegade Prince in hiding with his desert tribesmen, with both a yen for Marilyn Maxwell and an interest in getting back the throne that his Uncle, Douglass Dumbrille, has stolen from him. The first I can understand, but who does he get to aid him in his second objective. Marilyn, stranded showgirl in the desert, and her sidekicks Abbott and Costello. If you're willing to suspend reality and believe' that anyone looking to pull off a coup d'etat is looking for help from Abbott and Costello, well then sit back and enjoy the fun.

I have to say that the boys are up to their usual monkeyshines and Marilyn Maxwell is inclined to make any self-respecting prince drool, but the real treat is Douglass Dumbrille. Dumbrille was a fine character actor who usually played smooth villains. He's probably best remembered for being the lawyer trying to cheat Gary Cooper out of his inheritance in Mister Deeds Goes To Town. However there are moments went Dumbrille shows a nice sense of comic timing and plays a very good straight man for Costello. Hypnosis is one of the tricks in Dumbrille's bag and he hypnotizes the boys, Marilyn Maxwell, and even the whole Jimmy Dorsey band. I guess they like swing music on the desert.

Dumbrille played a similar function in The Big Store with the Marx Brothers. He gets right into the clowning with them also.

There's a woman who plays one of Dumbrille's hare girls who looks a lot like Rosie O'Donnell. Naturally at one point the plot calls for Costello to get into drag and disguise himself as her to fool Dumbrille.

Good, funny, Abbott and Costello nonsense. Easily the best of the films they did on that MGM loan out from Universal.