Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood (1945)

Director:

S. Sylvan Simon

Writers:

Nat Perrin (story) and
Martin A. Gosch (story)

Release Date:

5 October 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Your favorite SCREEN TEAM is on the SCREAM BEAM!

Plot:

When two bumbling barbers act as agents for a talented but unknown singer, they stage a phony murder in order to get him a plum role.

Plot Keywords:

Agent | Singer | Barber | Earplug | Insomnia

Cast

Bud Abbott	...	Buzz Kurtis
Lou Costello	...	Abercrombie
Frances Rafferty	...	Claire Warren
Bob Haymes	...	Jeff Parker (as Robert Stanton)
Jean Porter	...	Ruthie
Warner Anderson	...	Norman Royce
Rags Ragland	...	Himself (as 'Rags' Ragland)
Mike Mazurki	...	Klondike Pete
Carleton G. Young	...	Gregory LeMaise
Donald MacBride	...	Dennis Kavanaugh
Edgar Dearing	...	First Studio Cop
Marion Martin	...	Miss Milbane
Arthur Space	...	Director
William 'Bill' Phillips	...	Kavanaugh's Assistant (as Wm. 'Bill' Phillips)

Also Known As:

Abbott and Costello in Hollywood (USA) (short title)

Runtime:

83 min | Argentina:85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved | Finland:S | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

The film, made by MGM under the studio's loanout deal with Universal for the team's services, is set on the MGM lot, but the studio's major stars - Clark Gable, Lana Turner and Judy Garland - are only mentioned by name and not seen. The actual cameos were confined to second-tier stars Rags Ragland, Preston Foster, Jackie 'Butch' Jenkins and Lucille Ball.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Costello reveals he has a fake beard on, he runs out of the restaurant and flips over a chair. the bottom of the chair says "3A", referring to the prop number.

Quotes:

Buzz Kurtis: Every time you open your mouth, what happens?
Abercrombie: I eat.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Waltons: The Carousel (#9.11)" (1981)

Soundtrack:

Fun on the Wonderful Midway

A touch of film noir

Bud Abbott And Lou Costello In Hollywood (1945) is a sketch film that utilises the premise of Hollywood and the film industry there to assemble a bunch of incongruous gags. Some gags work better than others, while some are a tad over done, and protracted, especially for a fast moving 21st Century audience.

Within the sketches of the storyline is a murder case. This taps into the then trendy period of film noir, a genre of film style that was at its peak at that time. In this instance Abbott and Costello satirise film noir, making a mockery out of the genre. They also take a pop at Hollywood and the inside corruption and backstabbing that goes on.

The boys ( probable unintentionally) make a mockery out of education. In one scene we see Costello's character, Abercrombie struggling with basic maths, yet he and Buzz (Abbott) are intelligent in a way that isn't obvious or conventional. They are enterprising, and clever at the way they achieve their goals, albeit in an unusual, haphazard way. In the end, the boys are the ones who end up rich and successful over the rest of the characters. As such the message here is that a formal education does not make a person clever, but is more about conditioning the cognitive processes. Abbott and Costello proved this time and again.

In sum, this film is interesting for its peak at Hollywood in the mid '40s. It's also worth watching it for the cameo by the marvellous Lucile Ball.