Africa Screams (1949)

Abbott & Costello search for diamonds in Africa, along the way meeting a visually-impaired gunner, a hungry lion, and a tribe of cannibals...

Director:

Charles Barton

Writer:

Earl Baldwin (original story and screenplay)

Stars:

Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Clyde Beatty

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Bud Abbott	...	Buzz Johnson
Lou Costello	...	Stanley Livington
Clyde Beatty	...	Clyde Beatty
Frank Buck	...	Frank Buck
Max Baer	...	Grappler McCoy
Buddy Baer	...	Boots Wilson
Hillary Brooke	...	Diana Emerson
Shemp Howard	...	Gunner
Joe Besser	...	Harry
Burt Wenland	...	Bobo (as Burton Wenland)

Storyline

When bookseller Buzz cons Diana into thinking fellow bookseller Stanley knows a great deal about Africa they are abducted and ordered to lead Diana and her henchmen to an African tribe. After encounters with lion tamers, giant apes and a wild river, Buzz returns to America. Stanley finds diamonds and buys the store they once worked for, hiring Buzz as its elevator operator.

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Plot Keywords:

lion | diamond | africa | cannibal | nearsightedness | 

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Taglines:

Those Joy Boys are in hot water again in DARKEST LAFF-RICA!

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Genres:

Comedy | Adventure

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 May 1949 (USA)

Also Known As:

Don't Bring 'Em Back Alive

Filming Locations:

Nassour Studios - 5746 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Huntington Hartford Productions, Nassour Studios Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

World renowned animal trainer Clyde Beatty provided his own animals for the film.

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Goofs

Stanley's real eyebrows are visible and obviously covered with makeup during the high eyebrow raise scene.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Stanley Livington: Stay right where you are. Don't move, stay there now. Steady. Now sit up. Sit up. Sit up you. Up you fool. Up. Sit up I said. Sit up. Up.

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Connections

Featured in Abbott and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld (1994)

User Reviews

In Darkest Africa-----------NOT

Africa Screams, one of the least seen of Abbott&Costello's films was an independent production that was released through United Artists. The thin plot has Hillary Brooke believing Costello has the map to a hidden territory that is rich with diamonds. Bud and Lou go to Africa at her behest with her two companions, the fighting Baer Brothers. Of course the payoff she has in mind is different than the one boys are expecting.

Not that Universal studios exactly invested Abbott&Costello's films with much in the way of productions values, but this one is really really bad in that department. What budget they had they must have spent on getting both Clyde Beatty and Frank Buck to do guest appearances playing themselves.

On the plus side the boys do have some amusing moments, especially Costello in the cage with one of Clyde Beatty's lions which he thinks is just Abbott in a lion costume. Joe Besser and Shemp Howard also provide for some additional laughs.

My favorite moment in the film however is with the Baer brothers, Max and Buddy, both of them having fought Joe Louis and coming out on the short end, in Buddy's case twice, falling out and starting to fight as Max says he'll hit Buddy harder than Joe Louis ever did.

The film could have been a lot better, the boys are fine, but the production values give the film a look like something Ed Wood might have created.