Buck Privates Come Home

We managed to win World War II in the European theater even with the presence of Bud and Lou in the American Army. The boys who enlisted in the army to get away from the cops in Buck Privates and found their nemesis patrolman, Nat Pendleton, as their sergeant are now returning veterans. Only Costello managed to smuggle in little Beverly Simmons, a French war orphan, in his duffel bag. Imagine going across the Atlantic without a change of clothes.

Beverly's the company mascot and she's adopted Costello so Bud and Lou are going to adopt her. Of course they run into all kinds of problems with the army, with the police and with immigration. Then again their situations make for the plot of Buck Privates Come Hone.

The original Buck Privates was as much musical as it was burlesque comedy. With the Andrews Sisters, Jane Frazee, there was not one dull moment in this film. For some reason the writers here did not include much of the classic comedy routines. There's only one here, the famous Left/Right routine with Costello getting all balled up with the word "right." No musical numbers except the men singing about how they're going home.

Lots of physical comedy though, depending as much on Nat Pendleton's reactions as well as Costello's knack for getting into situations that no one else could possibly. And we can't forget Donald MacBride who has the best slow burn in films save for Edgar Kennedy.

The climax is Costello's wild ride in a midget racing car which is well staged. Buck Privates Come Home isn't quite up to the standard they set in their wartime films, but it's still pretty funny and should appeal to more than just A&C fans.