Little Giant (1946)

Lou Costello plays a country bumpkin vacuum-cleaner salesman, working for the company run by the crooked Bud Abbott. To try to keep him under his thumb, Abbott convinces Costello that he's ... See full summary »

Director:

William A. Seiter

Writers:

Richard Collins (story), Walter DeLeon (screenplay) (as Walter De Leon)

Stars:

Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Brenda Joyce

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bud Abbott	...	Eddie L. Morrison / T.S. Chandler
Lou Costello	...	Benny Miller
Brenda Joyce	...	Miss Ruby Burke
Jacqueline deWit	...	Hazel Temple Morrison (as Jacqueline de Wit)
George Cleveland	...	Clarence Goodring
Elena Verdugo	...	Martha Hill
Mary Gordon	...	Ma Miller
Pierre Watkin	...	P.S. Van Loon
Donald MacBride	...	The conductor
Victor Kilian	...	Gus Anderson (salesman)
George Chandler	...	O'Brien (salesman)
Joe Kirk	...	Salesman
Harry Brown	...	Larry, Salesman
Beatrice Gray	...	Miss King
Margaret Dumont	...	Mrs. Hendrickson

Storyline

Lou Costello plays a country bumpkin vacuum-cleaner salesman, working for the company run by the crooked Bud Abbott. To try to keep him under his thumb, Abbott convinces Costello that he's a crackerjack salesman. This comedy is somewhat like "The Time of Their Lives," in that Abbott and Costello don't have much screen time together and there are very few vaudeville bits woven into the plot.

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Plot Keywords:

salesman | vacuum cleaner | abbott and costello | mind reading | actor playing multiple roles | 

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Taglines:

They're Selling Vacuum Cleaners !

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 February 1946 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Boy Wonder

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

C.S. Productions,Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was regarded as a major departure for Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. It was their first situation comedy, and the comedy was character-/situation-driven rather than gag-driven.

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Goofs

Abbott's toupee shifts noticeably during the "7 times 13 = 28" scene. (The "shift" is due to the fact that the scene was filmed after principal photography was completed. It was felt that at least one classic "routine" had to be inserted into the picture. You will notice that Lou is also heavier during this footage. Also filmed at this time was the routine with Sidney Fields, replacing a less confrontational sequence filmed with Eddy Waller.)

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Quotes

Benny Miller: Do you mind if I have a piece of candy while I wait on you?
Hazel Temple Morrison: Aren't you worried you're going to wear your teeth down to the bones?
Benny Miller: What?
Hazel Temple Morrison: You ate three packages of cracker jacks, two bags of peanuts, one of those red gooey apples on a stick, and three chocolate malked milkshakes.
Benny Miller: And don't forget the banana split, with a lot of fruit on it!

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Connections

Referenced in Adventures of Superman: Five Minutes to Doom (1953)

User Reviews

Weak on comedy; a poor entry in the A&C series

The idea of "Little Giant" seemed a natural for great comedy; Costello plays a country fellow, well-intentioned but naive, who dreams of success in the big city. Having completed a record correspondence course, he becomes a vacuum cleaner salesmen, with Abbott as his boss. Success and failure for Costello follow, with plot twists aplenty.

"Little Giant" is considered a weak entry in the A&C series, and for good reason. While one can appreciate the chances A&C took in making a film with much pathos, along with making a film where Bud and Lou don't play a team, the end result doesn't measure up to the promise of something different. After all, this is Abbott and Costello, and one expects some great routines and laughs. While their "7 x 13 = 28" sketch is reprised here (it originally appeared in "In The Navy"), it is weakened by the boss/worker relationship of Abbott and Costello (and the noticeable shift in Abbott's toupee from scene to scene). There are a few other chuckles here and there, and this film marks the attempt to have Costello emerge as a tragi-comedian, in the mold of his idol, Chaplin. The end result just is not very funny. 3 out of 10.