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Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1952) starring Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Charles Laughton, Hillary Brooke

In Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd two waiters, Oliver “Puddin’ Head” Johnson (played by Lou Costello) and Rocky Stonebridge (Bud Abbott) are on their way to work at Death’s Head Tavern on the pirate hangout on the island of Tortuga. There they encounter Lady Jane (Fran Warren), who asks them to bring a love note to the singer at the tavern, Bruce Martingale (Bill Shirley).

At the tavern, the notorious Captain Kidd (Charles Laughton) is eating with Captain Bonney (Hillary Brooke), a female pirate. She accuses Kidd of raiding ships in her territory and demands restitution. Kidd informs the beautiful Captain Bonney that he has hidden the treasure on Skull Island, and that only he has the map to its exact location. He agrees to take her and her ship to Skull Island so that she can receive her share of the booty. During their discussion, Oliver/Lou Costello is their waiter and inadvertently switches the map for Lady Jane’s love note. Rocky/Bud Abbott discovers the mistake and goes to Captain Kidd, demanding a share of the treasure and a place on the voyage in exchange for the map. Captain Kidd/Charles Laughton ostensibly agrees, but intends to kill Oliver/Lou Costello and Rocky/Bud Abbott once he gets the map back. The night before they set sail, the tavern singer/love interest is shanghaied, and so all three set sail with Captain Kidd.

Captain Kidd unsuccessfully attempts to regain the map throughout the entire voyage. Captain Bonney, meanwhile, mistakenly believes that Oliver wrote the love note, and is trying to get him to fall in love with her, instead. On the way to the island, Captain Kidd raids another ship, which happens to have Lady Jane on board, and she is kidnapped. The two ships finally arrive at Skull Island; Oliver/Lou Costello and Rocky/Bud Abbott begin to dig up the treasure, when Kidd arrogantly declares his plans to dispose of them along with Captain Bonney. They alert Bonney to Kidd’s true intentions, and her crew attacks. The treasure is recovered, and Bonney’s crew wins the fight, with Kidd becoming her prisoner.

Some Abbott and Costello fans consider Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd as one of their lesser comedies, but I don’t agree; the comedy is fast-paced, with Charles Laughton surprisingly funny as Captain Kidd, with numerous funny interactions with Lou Costello. There are too many musical numbers, but several allow Lou to add his comedy touches, and are enjoyable. There’s a protracted scene in Captain Kidd’s cabin, where Bud and Lou are looking for the lost map, with a running gag of Costello getting drenched whenever he opens a porthole, but Bud and Captain Kidd have nothing happen when they do—with a very funny ‘cap’ on the gag when Captain Kidd leaves the cabin.

I laughed at Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd, and hope you do as well. I rate it 3 clowns out of 5. Before you ask, it’s presently unavailable on DVD.

Abbott and Costello Routines

Handcuff scene
: Captain Kidd demonstrates how to be properly handcuffed, only to have Lou take advantage of the situation—and while Lou runs off to get Bud, Kidd gets free, and then plays along with Lou when he returns
Lou waiters mean Captain Kidd
Digging holes: While digging for Captain Kidd’s treasure, as Bud digs, Lou empties his shovelfuls of dirt into the hole that Bud is digging—and then standing on his shovel for good measure.
Lou Costello imitates Captain Kidd: Multiple times (primarily at the end) Lou impersonates Captain Kidd, only to have Captain Kidd walk in on him.

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About the Author

Tom Raymond, aka. Raynbow the Clown, is a professional clown working out of Madison, Wisconsin, and is available for ministry events, conventions and conferences.

Posted by Tom Raymond, aka Raynbow on 11/22 at 09:51 PM
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