''Abbott and Costello in Hollywood'' is a 1945 American black-and-white comedy film directed by

S. Sylvan Simon S. Sylvan Simon (March 9, 1910 – May 17, 1951) was an American stage/film director and producer. He directed numerous Hollywood films in the late 1930s to 1940s, and was the producer of '' Born Yesterday'' (1950). Life and work Born in Chic ...

and starring the comedy team of

Abbott and Costello Abbott may refer to: People *Abbott (surname) *Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849–1921), American painter and naturalist * Abbott and Costello, famous American vaudeville act Places Argentina * Abbott, Buenos Aires United States * Abbott, Arkansas ...

alongside Frances Rafferty. Made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, it was produced by Martin A. Gosch.

Plot

A barber, Buzz Curtis, and a porter, Abercrombie, work for a Hollywood salon. They are sent to the office of agent Norman Royce to give him a haircut and a shoeshine. On the way there they run into former co-worker Claire Warren, who is about to star as the lead in a new musical. At the same time her co-star Gregory LeMaise, whose fame is dwindling, arrives and invites her to join him at lunch. She declines, which angers him. While at the agent's office Buzz and Abercrombie witness LeMaise enter and declare to Royce that he cannot work with Claire. Royce, who has just seen a young singer, Jeff Parker audition, fires LeMaise and offers the job to Parker. This causes LeMaise to change his mind, and Royce does as well, giving LeMaise his job back. Buzz and Abercrombie quickly switch careers and become Parker's agents, and head to the studio's chief, Mr. Kavanaugh, to find a role for Parker. Unfortunately, when they meet up with Kavanaugh it's because they just crashed their car into his at the studio gate. Kavanaugh bans them from the lot, but they manage to sneak back in with a group of extras. Once inside they find themselves at the wardrobe department and Buzz gets dressed as a cop and Abercrombie as a tramp. They use their newfound disguises to roam the lot. Later, Buzz and Abercrombie try to help Parker get the role by getting LeMaise out of the picture by trying to start a fight with him. Their plan is to photograph him hitting Abercrombie and then having him arrested. The plan goes off without a hitch until Abercombie falls overboard after being hit and is feared drowned. LeMaise decides to hide, and Parker is given the role in his place. LeMaise eventually discovers that Abercrombie is still alive and chases him around the backlot. LeMaise eventually is caught, and Claire and Parker become famous when the film is successful. Subsequently, Buzz and Abercrombie become big-time agents in Hollywood.

Cast

* Bud Abbott as Buzz Kurtis * Lou Costello as Abercrombie * Frances Rafferty as Claire Warren * Bob Haymes as Jeff Parker (as Robert Stanton) * Jean Porter as Ruthie * Warner Anderson as Norman Royce * Rags Ragland as Himself (as 'Rags' Ragland) * Mike Mazurki as Klondike Pete *

Carleton G. Young Carleton Garretson Young (May 26, 1907 – July 11, 1971) was an American actor in radio, film and television. Early years Young was born in Westfield, New York in May 1907. He attended Carnegie Institute of Technology, where he became " ...

as Gregory LeMaise * Donald MacBride as Dennis Kavanaugh * Edgar Dearing as First Studio Cop *

Marion Martin Marion Suplee (born June 7, 1909 – August 13, 1985) known professionally as Marion Martin was an American film and stage actress. Biography Martin was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of a Bethlehem Steel executive. She became ...

as Miss Milbane * Arthur Space as Director * William Phillips as Kavanaugh's Assistant, (as Wm. 'Bill' Phillips)

Production

Filming took place from April 10 through June 1, 1945, with some retakes filmed in July. During production, Abbott and Costello returned to Universal Studios on May 13 for retakes on ''

The Naughty Nineties ''The Naughty Nineties'' is a 1945 American film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. The film is noteworthy for containing a filmed version of the duo's famous "Who's on First?" routine. This version is shown at the National Baseball ...

'' (1945). This is the last of three

feature films A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

that Abbott and Costello made on loan to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer while under contract to

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of NBCUniversal ** Universal TV, a t ...

; the other two features were '' Rio Rita'' (1942) and '' Lost in a Harem'' (1944). Many stars appear in the film as themselves, such as Lucille Ball, Rags Ragland, Preston Foster, and a young Dean Stockwell.

Routines performed

* ''Insomnia'' is one of the routines that Abbott and Costello perform. Costello is unable to fall asleep, so Abbott gives him a record that is guaranteed to put anyone to sleep. However, no one is around to turn it off, and when the needle reaches the end, it starts skipping, which wakes him. Abbott agrees to stay awake to turn it off when it is over, but falls under the spell of the record and goes to sleep himself. They try again, this time with cotton in Abbott's ears (a sequence that was used in the MGM compilation film, ('' That's Entertainment, Part II''). When this also fails, Costello ties a string from his foot to the record player. The thought is when he falls asleep, his foot will drop shutting off the machine, but instead it turns on the radio, which blasts a loud march!

Reception

Bosley Crowther of '' The New York Times'' wrote: "Among the real rib-tickling sketches in this film the two high spots are Costello's schooling in the tonsorial art and his desperate battle to overcome insomnia. During these interludes his brilliant pantomimic talents are brought into full play. As for the rest, well, even half a laugh is better than none." '' Variety'' wrote: "An Abbott and Costello picture may not be an artistic triumph, but the duo certainly try hard enough to make audiences laugh. Their latest, 'Abbott and Costello in Hollywood,' is no exception; it should do fairly good business." ''

Harrison's Reports ''Harrison's Reports'' was a New York City-based motion picture trade journal published weekly from 1919 to 1962. The typical issue was four letter-size pages sent to subscribers under a second-class mail permit. Its founder, editor and publisher ...

'' wrote that the film "should more than satisfy those who respond easily to bbott & Costello'sparticular brand of slapstick humor."

Home media

Warner Home Video released the film on DVD November 21, 2006 with '' Lost in a Harem'' (1944).

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abbott And Costello In Hollywood 1945 films Abbott and Costello films 1940s English-language films Films directed by S. Sylvan Simon Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films American comedy films 1945 comedy films American black-and-white films 1940s American films