The Complete Abbott and Costello Movie Collection

Welcome to the COMPLETE collection of Abbott & Costello! I was recently rather discouraged trying to complete the collection I had and finding a number of torrents but virtually no seeders. At some expense, I have put together this offering for fans of comedy, nostalgia, and good old-fashioned entertainment.

A guide to the movies is included, in PDF format. This is drawn from the official Abbott & Costello website, "Abbott & Costello Meet The Internet" (http://www.abbottandcostello.net/), and includes a few very minor edits for content and spelling.

Also included is a good helping of bonus material: trailers, outtakes, and a few related videos.

NOT included, but usually considered Abbott & Costello material is "The World of Abbott & Costello." This is a compilation movie, produced after the deaths of both comedians, with commentary. It has no original A&C material, and I elected not to include it, due partly to the difficulty of obtaining a copy and partly to the highly negative reaction it seems to generate. In other words, it just wasn't worth the effort.

Included is "The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock," which is Costello without Abbott. It was Lou's last film appearance: he passed away not long after filming, and the movie was actually released posthumously. I've seen this called a parody of the genre, but I'm not sure if it should be called a parody or just a comedy treatment of it. At one point, when Bride Emmy Lou has gone too far the other way and shrunk down to unseeable, Lou exclaims "That's incredible!" -- a reference to "The Incredible Shrinking Man." The inimitable Gale Gordon more or less stands in for Abbott (although he is VERY much the same as his hallmark character, Mr. Mooney. He's even a banker!) They work together very well, and I find myself wishing they could have done more together. The downside -- Lou does look rather old and tired, and he does not quite match the character, who seems to be an ambitious young man -- especially if the age of his 30' wife is a clue. Some of it is quite silly, even for him. However, some of it is quite sweet, and some of the supporting cast are terrific. A couple scenes are a bit risque for the day: when Lou explains to Gale that his niece has "gotten big", Gale completely misunderstands his meaning and orders a wedding to take place at once! Later that evening, after the wedding, 30 foot tall Emmy Lou stretches out full length on the ground and says it's time to get to sleep . . . Lou's wordless reaction is priceless! That scene alone makes up for a lot of the rest here. Yes, put this on the "must watch" list too, if only to see Lou Costello in his last days.

Apologies for brief video artifacts at the beginning of 30' Bride & Jack & The Beanstalk. I was too lazy to fix them. 30' Bride is in 16:10 widescreen.

For a "must watch" list of these, I offer this personal opinion:

1) Buck Privates: their first starring feature, and one of the best!

2) Pardon My Sarong: Great fun in the tropics again! I think the first time we see the "switching glasses" routine with Lou, also seeing him trying to tell a dirty story to the girl. He keeps starting off with a "Traveling salesman and the farmer's daughter" story, and Bud keeps stopping him. Classic dance/musical spectacle too. Some of Hollywood's best, and the boys', too.

3) The Naughty Nineties: that's 1890s, of course. Another one of their memorable best, with one of their best renditions of "Who's On First." Nonstop silliness. If you only ever watch one Abbott & Costello, this is it.

4) The Time of Their Lives: very atypical in that the boys, through most of the movie, are NOT a team. Lou is a ghost, and Bud is the living descendant of Lou's archnemesis during his life. This living Bud is actually quite a nice fellow! Also a very shocking beginning, as Lou and his lovely co-starring lady are shot and killed. Some very good special ghostly effects for the era, as Lou gets stuck in a window seat, and he and his ladyfriend run through each other, swapping clothes. Possibly their very best.

5) Meet Frankenstein: another of their best, and I believe one of the "most favorited". Not just Frankenstein, of course. Dracula too, played by the most famous Dracula of all, Bela Lugosi. The Wolfman, also played by the originator of the role, Lon Chaney, Jr. The "Big Three" creatures of horror play their original parts largely straight, lending a terrifically fearsome background to the boys' antics in the foreground. Another of the "must see" movies.

6) Africa Screams: deserves to be much better known than it is. Cast include Clyde Beatty and Frank Buck, real-life African adventurers, and if you've ever heard of the old Clyde Beatty/Cole Bros. Circus, that was him. Look them both up. Also features TWO Stooges, Shemp and Joe Besser.

This Complete Abbott & Costello Collection has been brought to you by The Penny Robinson Fan Club http://pennyrobinsonfanclub.net/ which is always glad to accept any small contribution to help defray our expenses. Thank you!