Tag Archives: Abbott and Costello

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The Bootleg Files: Have Badge Will Chase

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BOOTLEG FILES 797: “Have Badge Will Chase” (1959 8mm one-reel excerpt from “Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops”).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It fell through the cracks.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Nope.

Long before video cassette recorders invaded living rooms in the 1970s, movie lovers who wanted to replay their favorite films at home would purchase projectors and screens and create their own private cinematic viewing experience.
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Harvey Korman: Number 1 Second Banana

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Harvey Korman was one of the funniest supporting comedy actors of all time, brightening up the big and small screen with his memorable performances. On this episode of “The Online Movie Show,” the funnyman’s son and biographer Chris Korman discusses his father’s career and off-camera life.

The episode can be heard here.

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Hillary Brooke to the Rescue!

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Hillary Brooke could always be relied upon to bring an aura of cool glamour to the screen, whether she was the sophisticated foil to Abbott and Costello’s antics or the arch-enemy of Sherlock Holmes or the bringer of casual cruelty in “Jane Eyre” and “The Enchanted Cottage.” On this “Online Movie Show” episode, film historian Ron Palumbo offers insight on the life and often-surprising career of this much-loved blonde bombshell.

The episode can be heard here.

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The Bootleg Files: Abbott & Costello Meet Superman

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BOOTLEG FILES 704: “Abbott & Costello Meet Superman” (2015 fan film).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It’s kind of obvious what is going on here.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: They’re lucky that Mike the Cop doesn’t arrest them.

Fan films often represent a victory of enthusiasm over talent, with aspiring Spielbergs getting carried away with their mania over popular film franchises. For the most part, these films can be accepted as charming – a few are actually quite polished thanks to an intelligent use of digital effects.
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The Bootleg Files: Knights of the Bath

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BOOTLEG FILES 690: “Knights of the Bath” (1951 short film consisting of footage from the 1944 Abbott and Costello comedy “In Society”).

LAST SEEN: It is on YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: The material is copyright protected.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Unlikely.

Beginning in the 1930s, a company called Castle Films was a dominant force in the nontheatrical home entertainment market. In the decades before video technology, movie lovers would purchase either a projector and watch their favorite Hollywood films in the comfort of their homes. However, the Super 8, 8mm and 16mm formats did not easily support feature-length films, and the productions were often edited down to fit the reels being sold to the public. In many cases, certain sequences would be excised from the larger works and sold as standalone pieces, usually for one-reel or two-reel exhibition.
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The Colgate Comedy Hour: Abbott & Costello – The Christmas Show (1952)

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Originally airing on December 14, 1952 for the Colgate Comedy Hour, Abbott and Costello get to celebrate Christmas with the viewing audience and have a raucous time doing so. As with all Abbott and Costello comedy, the show moves at a rapid fire pace with consummate professionals Bud Abbott and Lou Costello having an impossible time staying still and taking a breather. Despite some segues here and there which were very typical of variety shows in the height of their popularity (there’s a wonderful dance routine by the Nicholas Brothers). Lou Costello is brilliant at reaction shots and double takes, and Bud Abbot is a wonderful straight man and foil. Also like skilled comedians, they make the best out of flubs.

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Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953)

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It’s pretty crummy that Abbott and Costello don’t get to do much with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In fact you have them in a movie with Boris Karloff who doesn’t get to do much to spook them beyond his monster mask, and you have the pair of knuckleheads that almost play second banana in their own movie. In fact, they don’t really show up until twenty minutes in to the movie, and their entrance smacks of sloppiness and lack of ideas. The pair should have memorable introductions, and yet here their characters Tubby and Slim are only in the story by circumstance.

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