Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1952)

Director:

Charles Lamont

Writers:

Howard Dimsdale (written by) and
John Grant (written by)

Release Date:

27 December 1952 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

They're Raising Cain on the BOUNDING MAIN!

Plot:

Rocky and Puddin' Head are waiting tables at an inn on Tortuga when a letter given them by Lady Jane for delivery to Martingale gets switched with a treasure map. Kidd and Bonney kidnap them to Skull Island to find said treasure. |

Plot Keywords:

Parody | Pirate Captain | Spoof | Abbott And Costello | Song

Cast

Bud Abbott	...	Rocky Stonebridge
Lou Costello	...	Captain 'Puddin' head' Feathergill
Charles Laughton	...	Capt. William Kidd
Hillary Brooke	...	Capt. Bonney
Bill Shirley	...	Bruce Martingale
Leif Erickson	...	Morgan
Fran Warren	...	Lady Jane
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lester Dorr	...	Waiter at Pub (uncredited)
Joe Kirk	...	Flirtatious Pirate (uncredited)
Rex Lease	...	Waiter at Pub with Black Eye (uncredited)
Leonard Mudie	...	Capt. Bonney's First Mate (uncredited)
Paul Newlan	...	Pub Owner (uncredited)
Milicent Patrick	...	Tavern Wench (uncredited)
Suzanne Ridgeway	...	Pretty Maiden in Pub (uncredited)
Syd Saylor	...	Waiter at Pub (uncredited)
Harry Wilson	...	Pirate (uncredited)
Frank Yaconelli	...	Waiter at Pub (uncredited)

Directed by
Charles Lamont

Writing credits
Howard Dimsdale		(written by) and
John Grant		(written by)

Produced by
Alex Gottlieb	....	producer
Lou Costello	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Raoul Kraushaar

Cinematography by
Stanley Cortez		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Edward Mann

Art Direction by
Daniel Hall

Set Decoration by
Al Orenbach		(set decorations)

Costume Design by
Albert Deano
Maria P. Donovan		(as Maria Donovan)

Makeup Department
Abe Haberman	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Maurie M. Suess	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert Aldrich	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Mac Dalgleish	....	sound (as 'Mac' Dalgleish)
Ben Winkler	....	sound

Special Effects by
Lee Zavitz	....	special effects

Stunts
Vic Parks	....	stunt double (uncredited)
Sailor Vincent	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Glen Adams	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Wilton R. Holm	....	color consultant
Clifford D. Shank	....	color consultant

Music Department
Raoul Kraushaar	....	conductor
Norman Luboff	....	choral arrangements
Val Raset	....	musical numbers staged by

Other crew
Milt Bronson	....	dialogue director
Don McDougall	....	script supervisor
Robert H. Justman	....	production assistant (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Warner Bros (presents)
• Woodley Productions Inc. (as A Woodley Production)

Distributors

• Warner Bros (1952) (USA) (theatrical) (as Warner Bros.)
• Sociedade Importadora de Filmes (SIF) (????) (Portugal) (theatrical)
• Nostalgia Family Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• VCI Home Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2011) (USA) (DVD) (DVD-R)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

70 min | Argentina:75 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Supercinecolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | West Germany:6 (nf) | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Motion Picture Center Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros

Trivia:

In the opening scene of It Started with Eve (1941), an assistant newspaper editor comments that if Jonathan Reynolds Sr. had lived two centuries earlier, he would have made a great pirate - "Captain Kidd himself." Three years later, Charles Laughton, who played Jonathan Reynolds Sr., played the title role in Captain Kidd (1945) and again in Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1952).

Quotes:

Capt. Bonney:If I weren't a pirate I'd cry.

Movie Connections:

References Who Done It? (1942)

Soundtrack:

Meet Captain Kidd

A Pirate Coup De Grace

While Abbott & Costello don't make much swash buckling in this story, the color in this color feature is horrible, & the musical numbers even worse, they did one thing right.

Charles Laughton as Captain Kidd is easily the films greatest asset. The way he plays off Costello is great. Too bad there is not enough of it to save the film. There is way too little of the boys, & way too much horrible music in a short 70 minute film.

Sad thing is the idea could have been so much more. This is one film where the tickets were sold on the title, but the viewers were disappointed. While it is not their worst because of Laughton, it is no where near the teams best film.

At least it is the boys in color. Besides Jack & The Beanstalk which also has terrible music & color, this is the only other color film they did. Color me blue that a great idea gets wasted.