Pardon My Sarong (1942)

A pair of bus drivers accidentally steal their own bus. With the company issuing a warrant for their arrest, they tag along with a playboy on a boat trip that finds them on a tropical island, where a jewel thief has sinister plans for them.

Director:

Erle C. Kenton

Writers:

True Boardman (original screen play), Nat Perrin (original screen play)

Stars:

Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Virginia Bruce

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Bud Abbott	...	Algy Shaw
Lou Costello	...	Wellington Pflug
Virginia Bruce	...	Joan Marshall
Robert Paige	...	Tommy Layton
Lionel Atwill	...	Varnoff
Leif Erickson	...	Whaba (as Leif Erikson)
Nan Wynn	...	Luana
William Demarest	...	Detective Kendall
Samuel S. Hinds	...	Chief Kolua
Marie McDonald	...	Ferna
Janet Warren	...	Amo (as Elaine Morey)
The Ink Spots	...	Singers (as The Four Ink Spots)
Tip Tap & Toe	...	Three Dancers (as Tip Tap and Toe)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Maria Montez	...	(scenes deleted)

Storyline

A pair of bus drivers accidentally steal their own bus. With the company issuing a warrant for their arrest, they tag along with a playboy on a boat trip that finds them on a tropical island, where a jewel thief has sinister plans for them.

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Plot Keywords:

seal the animal | b movie | singing | dancing trio | dancing | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Music | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film provided the only instance in the career of Abbott and Costello wherein Bud Abbott received a solo spot, revealing his comedic talents apart from serving as "straight man" to Lou Costello. The magician act he and Costello perform with William Demarest as their victim broke tradition by allowing the team to work separately as comics, using a third as their straight man.

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Goofs

During the drink switching scene between Lou Costello and Whaba, Lou Costello tricks Whaba into thinking that he switched the glasses when in fact he didn't. The two take a drink and put their glasses down, but in the very next shot, the glasses are back in their hands.

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Quotes

Wellington Pflug, aka Moola: [after being told he has to go into the temple on top of a volcano, from which no one has ever returned] I'll go up there into that temple. I'll face danger.
Algernon 'Algy' Shaw: I knew you would.
Wellington Pflug, aka Moola: I don't care if the boogeyman's in there.
Algernon 'Algy' Shaw: Thatta boy.
Wellington Pflug, aka Moola: There's only one thing I want you to do.
Algernon 'Algy' Shaw: What's that?
Wellington Pflug, aka Moola: Talk me out of it.

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Connections

Referenced in Svengoolie: The Invisible Woman (2012)

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Soundtracks

Shout, Brother, Shout
(uncredited)
Written by Clarence Williams
Played and sung by The Ink Spots at the Seaside Yacht Club
Danced to by Tip Tap & Toe at the Seaside Yacht Club

User Reviews

South Sea island won't be the same after A&C

This is another of the early Bud Abbott and Lou Costello movies that began just before World War II. Even after the films with armed services settings, the Abbott and Costello films continued for a while to include some music and dance performances. "Pardon My Sarong" features The Ink Spots (sometimes known as The Four Ink Spots) singing, and some very fancy and entertaining tap dancing by a trio that went by the name of Tip, Tap and Toe. Those talented African-American dancers had marvelous routines. Each danced with an emphasis that his name indicated. Samuel Green was the tip, Ted Fraser was the tap and Ray Winfield was the toe. Winfield was particularly entertaining as he introduced sliding actions that made it look as though he was moving on butter or oil. Much smoother, even, than moonwalking that came along in the 1980s. The trio had performed for years in vaudeville and would dance in five films in all.

Bud and Lou play Algy Shaw and Wellington Pflug, respectively. How they came up with some of their names in films is anyone's guess. Even that add some humor to their films. Unlike all their films before this, the boys are the center of the plot here. They have more antics that must have involved considerably more trick camera work and some special effects. The supporting cast for their romp across the screen includes Virginia Bruce as Joan and Robert Paige as Tommy. They are a token romantic interest, of sorts. But supporting actors William Demarest and Leif Erickson are more a part of the hijinks and hilarity of the comedy duo.

A couple of the very funny scenes are the biggest stinker on the island; the familiar switching cups of a drugged drink; and Bud and Lou in an artillery relay sequence shooting huge coconuts at the bad guys with a big slingshot atop the palm trees. This all makes for good fun and a movie the whole family can enjoy. Some reviewers think it's the best of the A&C films, but I think two or three are much funnier. With the number of antics here, the movie appears choppy at times.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 August 1942 (USA)

Also Known As:

Road to Montezuma

Filming Locations:

Salton Sea, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$400,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mayfair Productions Inc., Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1