"The Abbott and Costello Show" (1952) TV series 1952-1953

User Rating:

8.4/10   

Writer:

Felix Adler (season 2)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | unknown

Release Date:

14 September 1957 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

Bud and Lou are unemployed actors living in Mr. Fields' boarding house. Lou's girlfriend Hillary lives across the hall...

Plot Keywords:

Slapstick | Performer Name In Title | Abbott And Costello | Character Name In Title

Cast

Bud Abbott	...	Bud Abbott (53 episodes, 1952-1958)
Lou Costello	...	Lou Costello / ... (53 episodes, 1952-1958)
Sid Fields	...	Mr. Fields / ... (51 episodes, 1952-1958)
Gordon Jones	...	Mike the Cop / ... (32 episodes, 1952-1958)
Hillary Brooke	...	Hillary / ... (22 episodes, 1952-1958)

Runtime:

25 min (52 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:TV-G | New Zealand:PG (season 1) | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Hal Roach Studios - 8822 Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Television Corporation of America

Trivia:

Even though he was a middle-aged man of 46 when the show began, Lou Costello did most of his own stunts on the show. An athlete in his youth, he was actually a stuntman in Hollywood for a time back in the silent era before he teamed up with partner Bud Abbott, and was renowned for taking spectacular pratfalls in his films and on stage. Stuntmen were used for the more potentially dangerous stunts--being knocked through walls, getting hit by cars, etc.--but most of the falls you see Costello take were actually done by him.

Quotes:

Bud Abbott: Just mark down, "Dear druggist".
Lou Costello: "Dear druggist"... Go ahead.
Bud Abbott: Here's what you want. You want seven milligrams of sulfursilic monosetic acid diluted in seven micrograms of tincturized chlorophyll. Have you got that?
Lou Costello: All but one part.
Bud Abbott: What part?
Lou Costello: The part that comes after "Dear druggist".

Movie Connections:

Featured in Abbott and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld (1994) (TV)

Genius Surrealism

For the love of . . . Cecil! This stream of Burlesque bits, connected by the flimsiest - and surreal-est - of segues is very funny.

Lou does tend to ad-lib, but watch also Abbott. He's hysterical! He was really the best "straight" man. He kept Lou on track. But, he also echoed Lou's actions in the background, as a sort of punctuation.

And, of course, Mr. Fields, with all his relatives.

Hard to pick a favorite bit. "Loafin'"; "Gold Ore"; "Floogle Street"; "Vacation".

Don't forget "Hold That Cuckoo!", the quiz show the boys went on. Lou wins 1,000 pieces of bubblegum. A few days after the show, Abbott says "Are you still chewing that gum?", slaps Lou, the gum falls on the sidewalk in front of Mr. Fields' Rooming House, where a "Mr. Rednose" (Bobby Barber), slips and falls on the gum, gets up claiming he broke his leg,and ends up suing Mr. Fields. They all go to court, where Lou drives the judge crazy. And, "I'm positive!" about that!