''Dance with Me, Henry'' is a 1956 film 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 ...

. It is the final film that they starred in together, although Costello starred in one more film before his death, ''

The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock ''The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock'' is a 1959 comedy science fiction film starring Lou Costello and Dorothy Provine and directed by Sidney Miller. Plot Artie Pinsetter is a junk collector and amateur inventor who lives in the desert town of C ...

''.

Plot

Lou Henry is the owner of Kiddyland, an amusement park, and Bud Flick is his friend and partner. Together they share a home with two orphan children, Duffer and Shelly. Welfare worker Miss Mayberry does not think that their home is a suitable environment for the children and attempts to remove them. One of the reasons is that Bud is a gambler and owes $10,000 to Big Frank, who offers to forget the debt if Bud agrees to help launder $200,000 that Big Frank took from a Chicago bank. Bud agrees to meet Big Frank's man, Mushie, at Kiddyland to pick up the money and a plane ticket. Lou, however, informs District Attorney Proctor of the plan and he arrives at Kiddyland during Bud and Mushie's meeting. Mushie sees the DA and hides the money just before he murders Proctor and frames Lou for it. Miss Mayberry uses Lou's arrest as a reason to take the children from his home. Bud informs Mushie that he knows that he really killed Proctor, and Mushie threatens to kill him. However, Big Frank and Dutch kill Mushie. They kidnap Bud and demand that he tell them where the money is hidden. Meanwhile, Lou is released by the police, who believe that he will lead them to Bud. Dutch then kidnaps Lou and takes him to their hideout, where Bud is also being held. Bud lies and tells Big Frank that he knows where the money is and they all head to Kiddyland, with the police following them every step of the way. Bud then tricks Big Frank into confessing to everything while they are inside the park's recording booth, after which Lou grabs the recording and escapes into the park. Shelly and Duffer have also escaped from Miss Mayberry and are now inside the park playing when they see Lou being chased. They return to the orphanage to get help from the other children, and they all head back to Kiddyland. The children then wreak havoc in the park, foiling the gangsters at every turn. The police capture them, and the reward money that Bud and Lou receive is donated to the orphanage. Miss Mayberry, seeing what a good role model Lou really is, returns custody of the orphans to him.

Cast

Main

* Bud Abbott as Bud Flick * Lou Costello as Lou Henry * Gigi Perreau as Shelley ** Marni Nixon as Shelley (singing voice) * Rusty Hamer as Duffer *

Mary Wickes Mary Wickes (born Mary Isabella Wickenhauser; June 13, 1910 – October 22, 1995) was an American actress. She often played supporting roles as prim, professional women, secretaries, nurses, nuns, therapists, teachers and housekeepers, who made ...

as Miss Mayberry

Supporting

* Ted de Corsia as Big Frank *

Ron Hargrave Ronald J. Hargrave (born November 8, 1929) is a well renowned ukulele player and actor from the 1950s era, who has become an icon to the Rockabilly fan base. He co-wrote music for Jerry Lee Lewis and was also identified as a billboard star music ...

as Ernie the ukulele player * Frank Wilcox as Father Mullahy * Sherry Alberoni as Bootsie * Eddie Marr as Garvey * Richard Reeves as Mushie * Robert Shayne as Proctor *

Walter Reed Walter Reed (September 13, 1851 – November 22, 1902) was a U.S. Army physician who in 1901 led the team that confirmed the theory of Cuban doctor Carlos Finlay that yellow fever is transmitted by a particular mosquito species rather than b ...

as Drake *

Paul Sorensen Paul Sorensen (February 16, 1926 – July 17, 2008) was an American film, theater and television actor who appeared in hundreds of roles during his career, including ''The Brady Bunch'' and ''Dallas''. He was frequently cast in westerns or as ...

as Dutch

Uncredited

* Robert Bice as Policeman *

John Cliff John Cliff (7 March 1883 – 18 October 1977) was the first Assistant General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union and later a prominent London Transport board member. Cliff was born in Leeds in 1883, the son of John Cliff and ...

as Knucks * Phil Garris as Mickey *

Jess Kirkpatrick Jesse Bertram Kirkpatrick (October 2, 1897 – August 9, 1976) was an American film and television actor. Life and career Kirkpatrick was born in Champaign County, Illinois. He attended the University of Illinois, where he played as a halfb ...

as Policeman * David McMahon as Savoldi *

Gilman Rankin Gilman Warren Rankin (April 17, 1911 – October 31, 1993) was an American film and television actor. He was known for playing Deputy Charlie Riggs in the first season of the American western television series ''Tombstone Territory'', and for pla ...

as McKay * Rod Williams as Janitor

Production

''Dance with Me, Henry'' was filmed from May 23 through June 22, 1956. It was Abbott and Costello's 36th feature film and their first after being dropped by

Universal Pictures 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 Ameri ...

in 1955 following the completion of '' Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy''. Independent film producer Bob Goldstein hired the duo for this film, which was released through

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

. It turned out to be the last film that Abbott and Costello made together as a team, as they ended their partnership in July 1957. The film's title was taken from the 1955

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, sh ...

song " The Wallflower (Dance with Me, Henry)", although the film's plot has nothing to do with the song. During filming, Abbott and Costello's routine Who's on First? was inducted into the

National Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

Cooperstown, New York Cooperstown is a village in and county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in the C ...

, where a clip still runs continuously. A bit part in the film went to the "just released from contract" Mouseketeer Sherry Allen, who was advised by Lou Costello to return to the use (professionally) of her true surname, "Alberoni". She took his advice, and has been known professionally since that time by her birth name.

Release

''Dance with Me, Henry'' received mixed reviews when it was released theatrically in December 1956.

A.H. Weiler Abraham H. Weiler (December 10, 1908 – January 22, 2002) was an American writer and critic best known for being a film critic and motion picture editor for ''The New York Times''. He also served a term as chairman of the New York Film Critics ...

, reviewing the film for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', complained: "it is perfectly clear that any attempt to lend dramatic dimension to the simple and egregious fantasy expected of an Abbott and Costello venture can be fraught with the makings of a loud backfire." The ''

New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New-York Tribune'' acquired the ''New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...

'' was more conciliatory, noting "this time, the team is more sedate" while praising Costello for eschewing slapstick comedy and "developing along the lines of a Chaplinesque character." In 1956, during Ralph Edwards' ''

This Is Your Life This Is Your Life may refer to: Television * ''This Is Your Life'' (American franchise), an American radio and television documentary biography series hosted by Ralph Edwards * ''This Is Your Life'' (Australian TV series), the Australian versio ...

'' show on NBC which featured a retrospective of Lou Costello's life, the comedy team mentioned the recent release of this film.

Home media

''Dance with Me, Henry'' was released on DVD in June 2005 by MGM Entertainment. It was released a second time on DVD, as well as on Blu-ray, on June 21, 2015.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dance With Me, Henry 1956 films American black-and-white films Abbott and Costello films 1950s English-language films Films about orphans Films directed by Charles Barton Films scored by Paul Dunlap United Artists films 1956 comedy films 1950s American films American comedy films