''Abbott and Costello Go to Mars'' is a 1953 American

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

starring the comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello and directed by

Charles Lamont Charles Lamont (May 5, 1895 – September 11, 1993) was a prolific filmmaker, directing over 200 titles and producing and writing many others. He directed several Abbott and Costello comedies and many Ma and Pa Kettle films. Biography A Calif ...

. It was produced by

Howard Christie Howard Christie (September 16, 1912 – March 25, 1992) was an American producer of films and television. Early life and education Christie was born in Orinda, California and graduated from Oakland Technical High School in 1929. He attended UC B ...

and made by

Universal-International Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

. Despite the film's title, no character in the film actually travels to the planet

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

(although Abbott and Costello's characters ''believe'' they are on Mars at one point.)

Plot

Orville, the oldest orphan at the Hideaway Orphans Home, accidentally hides inside a truck headed to a top-secret laboratory. There he is placed under the supervision of lab worker Lester to help load supplies onto an experimental rocket ship. While on board with Lester, Orville flips the ignition button and the rocket ship blasts off, flying across the country and eventually landing outside of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, where

Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "Fat ...

is in progress. Lester and Orville, dressed in their spacesuits, witness the grotesquely costumed celebrants and conclude that they have successfully landed on Mars. Meanwhile, two escaped convicts, Harry the Horse and Mugsy, stumble upon the rocket ship, don another pair of spacesuits and head to New Orleans to rob a bank. Lester and Orville are wrongly accused of the crime and rush back to the rocket ship, where Mugsy and Harry force them to launch into outer space. The rocket ship lands on Venus, where the four men are quickly captured by female guards and brought to Queen Allura. She informs them that Venus is inhabited only by women, as men were banished a long time ago. She takes more than a liking to Orville, however, and decides that he can stay if he is true to her. Orville agrees, and has Harry and Mugsy imprisoned. But Mugsy convinces one of the female guards to flirt with Orville to prove to Queen Allura that he cannot be trusted. Disillusioned with Orville, the Queen orders the men to leave Venus. Upon returning to the Earth, the men are lauded as heroes in a parade, but Allura, who is watching the celebration from Venus, sends a spaceship to Earth that drops a cake on Orville's head.

Cast

Bud Abbott William Alexander "Bud" Abbott (October 2, 1897 – April 24, 1974) was an American comedian, actor and producer. He was best known as the straight man half of the comedy duo Abbott and Costello. Early life Abbott was born in Asbury Park, New ...

as Lester *

Lou Costello Louis Francis Cristillo (March 6, 1906 – March 3, 1959), professionally known as Lou Costello, was an American comedian, actor and producer. He was best known for his double act with straight man Bud Abbott and their routine "Who's on First?" ...

as Orville *

Mari Blanchard Mari Blanchard (born Mary E. Blanchard, April 13, 1923 – May 10, 1970) was an American film and television actress, known foremost for her roles as a B movie femme fatale in American productions of the 1950s and early 1960s. Early life and c ...

as Allura *

Robert Paige Robert Paige (born John Arthur Paige, December 2, 1911 – December 21, 1987) was an actor and a TV newscaster and political correspondent and Universal Pictures leading man who made 65 films in his lifetime: he was the only actor ever allowed t ...

as Dr Wilson *

Horace McMahon Horace McMahon (May 17, 1906 – August 17, 1971) was an American actor. He was one of Hollywood's favorite heavies. McMahon began his acting career on Broadway, then appeared in many films and television series. In 1962, he received a P ...

as Mugsy *

Martha Hyer Martha Hyer (August 10, 1924 – May 31, 2014) was an American actress who played Gwen French in ''Some Came Running'' (1958), for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her autobiography, ''Finding My Way ...

as Janie *

Jack Kruschen Jacob "Jack" Kruschen (March 20, 1922 – April 2, 2002) was a Canadian character actor who worked primarily in American film, television and radio. Kruschen was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Dr. ...

as Harry *

Joe Kirk Ignazio "Nat" Curcuruto (October 1, 1903 – April 16, 1975), better known by his stage name Joe Kirk, was an American radio, film, and television actor who was best known for playing the role of Mr. Bacciagalupe on ''The Abbott and Costello S ...

as Dr. Orvilla *

Jean Willes Jean Willes (born Jean Donahue; April 15, 1923 – January 3, 1989) was an American film and television actress. She appeared in approximately 65 films in her 38-year career. Early years Willes was born Jean Donahue In Los Angeles. She spent pa ...

as Capt. Olivia *

Anita Ekberg Kerstin Anita Marianne Ekberg (; 29 September 193111 January 2015) was a Swedish actress active in American and European films, known for her beauty and stunning figure. She became prominent in her iconic role as Sylvia in the Federico Fellini ...

as Venusian Guard *

Jackie Loughery Jacqueline V. "Jackie" Loughery (sometimes credited as Evelyn Avery, is a retired American actress and former beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned "Miss Rockaway Point" in 1949 before becoming crowned Miss New York USA 1952 and later, was ...

as Guard *

Renate Hoy Renate Hoy, also credited as Renate Huy and Erika Nordin,(born 31 December 1930 in Ludwigshafen, Mannheim, Germany) is a German actress. Career After winning the title of Miss Nürnberg, she was crowned Miss Germany of 1952. She then travelled ...

(Miss Germany) as Handmaiden *

Harry Shearer Harry Julius Shearer (born December 23, 1943) is an American actor, comedian, writer, musician, radio host, director and producer. Born in Los Angeles, California, Shearer began his career as a child actor. From 1969 to 1976, Shearer was a member ...

as Boy *

Dudley Dickerson Dudley Henry Dickerson Jr. (November 27, 1906September 23, 1968) was an American film actor. Born in Chickasha, Oklahoma, he appeared in nearly 160 films between 1932 and 1952, and is best remembered for his roles in several Three Stooges films ...

as Porter

Production

Science fiction author

Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...

wrote a

film treatment A film treatment (or simply treatment) is a piece of prose, typically the step between scene cards (index cards) and the first draft of a screenplay for a motion picture, television program, or radio play. It is generally longer and more detailed ...

in 1950 called ''Abbott and Costello Move to the Moon'' that may have inspired the film's screenplay. Principal photography took place between August 1 and August 28, 1952. The Venusian women were played by 1952

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international beauty pageant that is run by a United States and Thailand based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stre ...

contestants, including

, the winner of the Miss Sweden competition a year earlier. The Venusian cars featured in the film were later used in the science fiction feature ''

This Island Earth ''This Island Earth'' is a 1955 American science fiction film from Universal-International, produced by William Alland, directed by Joseph M. Newman and Jack Arnold, starring Jeff Morrow, Faith Domergue and Rex Reason. It is based on the 195 ...

'' (1955).Furmanek, Bob and Ron Palumbo (1991). ''Abbott and Costello in Hollywood''. New York: Perigee Books. A nine-year-old

appears as a kid at the orphanage. Shortly after the film's release, Abbott and Costello appeared on ''

The Colgate Comedy Hour ''The Colgate Comedy Hour'' was an American comedy-musical variety series that aired live on the NBC network from 1950 to 1955. The show featured many notable comedians and entertainers of the era as guest stars. Many of the scripts of the series ...

'' and did a

comedy sketch Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. The form developed and became popular in vaudeville, and is ...

in which they attended the film's premiere.

Home media

The film has had two DVD releases, the first as part of ''The Best of Abbott and Costello Volume Three'', released on August 3, 2004, and the second as part of ''Abbott and Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection'', released on October 28, 2008.

In popular culture

In the 2018 film, ''

Stan & Ollie ''Stan & Ollie'' is a 2018 biographical comedy-drama film directed by Jon S. Baird. The script, written by Jeff Pope, was inspired by ''Laurel and Hardy: The British Tours'' by A.J. Marriot which chronicled the later years of the comedy double ...

'',

Stan Laurel Stan Laurel (born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; 16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965) was an English comic actor, writer, and film director who was one half of the comedy double act, duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Ha ...

, played by

Steve Coogan Stephen John Coogan (; born 14 October 1965) is an English actor, comedian, producer and screenwriter. He is most known for creating original characters such as Alan Partridge, a socially inept and politically incorrect media personality, which ...

, looks ruefully at a movie poster for ''Abbott and Costello Go To Mars'' just after learning that his last chance to make a new film with

Oliver Hardy Oliver Norvell Hardy (born Norvell Hardy; January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957) was an American comic actor and one half of Laurel and Hardy, the double act that began in the era of silent films and lasted from 1926 to 1957. He appeared with his c ...

has fallen through.

References

Bibliography

* Furmanek, Bob and Ron Palumbo. ''Abbott and Costello in Hollywood.'' New York: Perigee Books, 1991. * Warren, Bill. ''Keep Watching the Skies: American Science Fiction Films of the Fifties'', 21st Century Edition. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, 2009, (First edition 1982). . * Wingrove, David (1985). ''

Science Fiction Film Source Book ''The Science Fiction Film Source Book'' is a book by David Wingrove published in 1985. Plot summary ''The Science Fiction Film Source Book'' is a book consisting of list of science fiction film plot summaries, with information about producers, di ...

'', Longman Group Limited.

External links

*
''Abbott and Costello Go to Mars'' @ EOFFTV

Review of Abbott and Cosstello Go to Mars
at Abbott and Costello - Who's on First? {{Authority control 1953 films 1950s science fiction comedy films American black-and-white films American science fiction comedy films American space adventure films 1950s English-language films Abbott and Costello films Films directed by Charles Lamont Films scored by Henry Mancini Films scored by Herman Stein Films set in New Orleans Venus in film Universal Pictures films 1953 comedy films 1950s American films