''Who Done It?'' is a 1942 American comedy-mystery film directed by Erle C. Kenton and starring

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 J ...

and

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? ...

. It is noteworthy as their first feature that contains no musical numbers.

Plot

Chick Larkin and Mervyn Milgrim both work at the soda counter of a local radio station's headquarters. Their true passion, however, is to become writers on a radio mystery show. They attend a broadcast of the radio program ''Murder at Midnight'' along with one of the writers, Jimmy Turner, and the producer, Jane Little. As the show begins, the network president, Colonel J.R. Andrews, is mysteriously electrocuted. Seeing this as an opportunity to become radio writers, Chick and Mervyn impersonate detectives and attempt to solve the crime with the help of Juliette Collins, who works for the station. Meanwhile, Moran and Branningan, two real detectives, consider the 'fake' detectives to be prime suspects. A prolonged chase ensues throughout the studio, and the body of Dr. Marek, Andrews' personal physician, is also discovered. Larkin and Milgrim flee the studio, but hear on the radio that Milgrim has apparently won $10,000 on the ''Wheel of Fortune'' radio program. Larkin and Milgrim return to claim the prize, only to be arrested by the real detectives. Turner and Little, who have also been investigating, manage to convince everyone that there should be a full reenactment of the program that led to the murders, so that the true culprit might crack and be revealed. An eavesdropping Nazi spy, who used the radio station to transmit information to his cohorts, attends the reenactment broadcast. It turns out that the spy murdered the Colonel and his physician because they found out about his illegal radio transmissions. During the broadcast, he loses his nerve and flees to the roof, where he is pursued by Larkin and Milgrim. After a struggle, Milgrim uses a

slingshot A slingshot is a small hand-powered projectile weapon. The classic form consists of a Y-shaped frame, with two natural rubber strips or tubes attached to the upper two ends. The other ends of the strips lead back to a pocket that holds the pro ...

to break the light bulbs that spell out the name "TOWNSEND PHELPS", causing the sign to now read "SEND HELP". The police arrive and the murderer is arrested.

Cast

as Chick Larkin / Voice of Himself on Radio *

as Mervin Q. Milgrim / Voice of Himself on Radio *

Patric Knowles Reginald Lawrence Knowles (11 November 1911 – 23 December 1995), better known as Patric Knowles, was an English film actor. Born in Horsforth, West Riding of Yorkshire, he made his film debut in 1932, and played either first or second fi ...

as Jimmy Turner * William Gargan as Police Lt. Lou Moran * Louise Allbritton as Jane Little *

Thomas Gomez Thomas Gomez (July 10, 1905 – June 18, 1971) was an American actor. Life and career Born Sabino Tomás Gómez, Jr., in New York City, Gomez began his acting career in theater in 1923, studying under actor Walter Hampden in a production of Cy ...

as Col. J.R. Andrews *

William Bendix William Bendix (January 14, 1906 – December 14, 1964) was an American film, radio, and television actor, who typically played rough, blue-collar characters. He is best remembered for his role in ''Wake Island'', which earned him an Academy ...

as Detective Brannigan *

Don Porter Donald Cecil Porter (September 24, 1912 – February 11, 1997) was an American stage, film and television actor. On television, he played Peter Sands, the boss of Ann Sothern's character on ''Private Secretary'', and Russell Lawrence, the wi ...

as Art Fraser *

Jerome Cowan Jerome Palmer Cowan (October 6, 1897 – January 24, 1972) was an American stage, film, and television actor. Early years Cowan was born in New York City, the son of William Cowan, a confectioner of Scottish descent, and Julia Cowan, née Palm ...

as Marco Heller *

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 Juliet Collins *

Ludwig Stössel Ludwig Stössel (12 February 1883 – 29 January 1973) was an actor born in Lockenhaus, now Austria, then Hungary. He was one of many Jewish actors and actresses who were forced to flee Germany when the Nazis came to power in 1933. Biography S ...

as Dr. Anton Marek

Who's on first?

There are two references to the team's popular ''

Who's on First? "Who's on First?" is a comedy routine made famous by American comedy duo Abbott and Costello. The premise of the sketch is that Abbott is identifying the players on a baseball team for Costello. However, the players' names can simultaneously ...

'' routine. During the murder scene, Abbott confuses Costello with the "volts-and-watts" routine. Lou bleats, "Next you'll be telling me Watt's on second base!" Later, in the radio giveaway program scene, Bud and Lou tune the radio to a broadcast of their own ''Who's on First?'' routine, which they promptly turn off and, as an obvious inside joke, disparage.

Release

After completion of this film, Abbott and Costello began a tour of the United States to help promote the selling of U.S. War Bonds. ''Who Done It?'' was re-released in 1949 with ''

Keep 'Em Flying ''Keep 'Em Flying'' is a 1941 film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. The film was their third service comedy based on the peacetime draft of 1940. The comedy team had appeared in two previous service comedies in 1941, before the ...

'', and in 1954 with '' Ride 'Em Cowboy''.Furmanek, Bob and Ron Palumbo (1991). ''Abbott and Costello in Hollywood''. New York: Perigee Books.

Home media

This film has been released three times on VHS 1989, 1991 and 2000. It has also been released twice on DVD. The first time, on ''The Best of Abbott and Costello Volume One'', on February 10, 2004, and again on October 28, 2008 as part of ''Abbott and Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection''.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Who Done It? (1942 Film) 1942 films 1942 comedy films 1940s comedy mystery films 1940s spy comedy films Abbott and Costello films American black-and-white films American comedy mystery films American comedy thriller films American spy comedy films American thriller films 1940s English-language films Films about radio people Films directed by Erle C. Kenton Films scored by Frank Skinner Universal Pictures films 1940s American films