There are 14 Colgate Comedy Hour shows with Abbott and Costello on Netflix streaming.
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Abbott and Costello
- Thread starter ronald54321
- Start date
That's not bad consitering they did 16 Shows.
Well, 15 together, and one with Bud Abbott alone when Lou was ill - with Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis lending a hand!
Well, 15 together, and one with Bud Abbott alone when Lou was ill - with Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis lending a hand!
Slightly off-topic but Turner Classic Movies is having an Abbott
and Costello marathon until 8 PM (ET) today; most of the films
are from the '50s and are largely forgettable, mostly excuses to
bring in Universal's stock company of horror-film actors such as
Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney Jr. They are showing
at least two from the '40s: "Rio Rita" (1942) and "Abbott And Costello
In Hollywood" (1945); unfortunately their best (IMO), "Buck Privates,"
is not on the schedule.
and Costello marathon until 8 PM (ET) today; most of the films
are from the '50s and are largely forgettable, mostly excuses to
bring in Universal's stock company of horror-film actors such as
Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney Jr. They are showing
at least two from the '40s: "Rio Rita" (1942) and "Abbott And Costello
In Hollywood" (1945); unfortunately their best (IMO), "Buck Privates,"
is not on the schedule.
IMO, A & C did their best stuff on-stage, not on-screen. Some comic duos succeeded in movies, if only in a silly way, ie: Hope & Crosby, Burns & Allen, Lucy & Dezi. But, for me, A & C's act never jelled in their movies, where Lou seemed to lose his edge for mischief, while Bud seemed just plain lost, as if puzzled about his role.
Somewhat strange that TCM would schedule those particular A & C movies. I feel their best were: "Hold That Ghost" and "Pardon My Sarong". I've also seen a comment that "The Time of Their Lives" was their best.
^^^ Cincy, were I to pick a "favorite" A & C flick, I too would choose Hold That Ghost. Silly, but closer to being funny than their other feature films.
One reason for my feeling about "Hold That Ghost" is the supporting cast. You had Richard Carlson (one of my favorite actors), Joan Davis (pairing her and Lou Costello was a good choice), Evelyn Ankers, Marc Lawrence and, even Shemp Howard. Of course, the music of Ted Lewis and the Andrews Sisters adds quite a bit, too.
Forgotten about Joan Davis' role. Shemp Howard could have been more of a marquee name actor had he not been stereotyped as a "stooge".Cincinnati Kid said:
jfrancispastirchak said:
Shemp had a face that only his mother could love. Besides that, was he really stereotyped? He appeared with the Stooges when they were "Ted Healy's Stooges" but not in their films until after Curly's stroke in 1946. The only people who would have seen him in the 20's and 30's would be stage shows or the films he appeared in as a secondary actor. He made a lot of short films during this time and most of them had nothing to do with the Stooge character.
It's interesting to watch these movies just to watch the timing of A & C. You can see, at times, why Bud Abbott was considered "the best straight man in the business". Costello did a lot of physical comedy which probably led to his early death. A former boxer he was a tough little mug. While Abbott was known as one of the nice guys of Hollywood, Costello was known to be "difficult". It's a wonder their partnership lasted as long as it did. I checked the TCM schedule and unfortunately, Hold That Ghost and The Time of Their Lives (my personal favorite) are not scheduled. I consider The Time of Their Lives to be a quality movie. Not just the usual silliness. I noticed they want $114 for the DVD!
Costello may have been difficult because he never recovered
from the death of his year-old son, who climbed out of his playpen,
fell into the swimming pool, and drowned. There's one story about
the time when, after working with William Bendix, Costello screamed
to a producer not to ever again put him with somebody funnier than
he was. Also, there were issues with Abbott about the latter's drinking
(some of which he did to prevent attacks of epilepsy), which came to
a head when, in 1956, they played Las Vegas and Abbott could not
remember his lines; this led to their breakup.
Costello, after the breakup, was a frequent and welcome guest on
Steve Allen's Sunday-night NBC show; Allen once recalled a skit in which
Costello was a hospital patient being browbeaten by a bossy nurse. It
took some time but Allen, watching a tape of the show, recognized the
actress playing the nurse as Bea Arthur, long before her successes with
"Maude" and "The Golden Girls."
from the death of his year-old son, who climbed out of his playpen,
fell into the swimming pool, and drowned. There's one story about
the time when, after working with William Bendix, Costello screamed
to a producer not to ever again put him with somebody funnier than
he was. Also, there were issues with Abbott about the latter's drinking
(some of which he did to prevent attacks of epilepsy), which came to
a head when, in 1956, they played Las Vegas and Abbott could not
remember his lines; this led to their breakup.
Costello, after the breakup, was a frequent and welcome guest on
Steve Allen's Sunday-night NBC show; Allen once recalled a skit in which
Costello was a hospital patient being browbeaten by a bossy nurse. It
took some time but Allen, watching a tape of the show, recognized the
actress playing the nurse as Bea Arthur, long before her successes with
"Maude" and "The Golden Girls."
Bud Abbott told interviewer James Bacon that a doctor once told him that if he took one more drink, he would be dead in a few weeks. That was over two decades earlier. He still drank.
In that same interview, Abbott said that other people drink to forget, he drinks to remember.
As for his epilepsy, Abbott mentioned that on several occasions on stage, he would have Costello slug him as hard as he could in the stomach when he felt a seizure coming on.
In that same interview, Abbott said that other people drink to forget, he drinks to remember.
As for his epilepsy, Abbott mentioned that on several occasions on stage, he would have Costello slug him as hard as he could in the stomach when he felt a seizure coming on.
It has been said that Costello was a very good basketball player. I recall him as a member of the "Allen All-Stars" playing against the Harlem Globetrotters on Allen's Sunday show in the 1950's. In the movie, "Here Come the Co-eds", the character played by Costello makes some great shots. It was reported no camera tricks were involved and he was the one shooting and making them.
Believe it or not, for a guy as short as Costello was, he was
the champion free-throw shooter in New Jersey when he was
in high school. He also boxed, I believe, in a dozen bouts with
a record of 11 wins and one draw; his dad persuaded him to give
it up lest his face get severely marked up.
the champion free-throw shooter in New Jersey when he was
in high school. He also boxed, I believe, in a dozen bouts with
a record of 11 wins and one draw; his dad persuaded him to give
it up lest his face get severely marked up.
There were several other 50's TV shows that have been added recently, and apparently they must be PD episodes, that were packaged by the same company. They include:
You Bet Your Life
Jack Benny
Red Skelton
Make Room for Daddy
Plus several I've seen very little or none of before:
Spike Jones
The Goldbergs
Private Secretary
Life of Riley
Our Miss Brooks
One Step Beyond
You Bet Your Life
Jack Benny
Red Skelton
Make Room for Daddy
Plus several I've seen very little or none of before:
Spike Jones
The Goldbergs
Private Secretary
Life of Riley
Our Miss Brooks
One Step Beyond
bpatrick said:
Buck Privates was not only their best, it's the film that LITERALLY saved Universal.
You can get the entire Abbott and Costello collection from Universal Home Video for $82 at Amazon. I don't understand that $114 business.
$114? Me neither. Just out of curiosity I went to Amazon and found A & C collections for under $20. Maybe that's how TCM can run commercial free.
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