All Gummed Up - the Three Stooges

You are here: Three Stooges short films >All Gummed Up - the Three Stooges

All Gummed Up (1947) starring the Three Stooges—Moe, Larry, Shemp

All Gummed Up has the Three Stooges (Moe, Larry, Shemp) as inept druggists running their own drug store, only to have their landlord, Mr. Flint (played by Stooges regular Emil Sitka in ‘old age’ makeup) breaking their lease, since he can make more money from a different tenant.  As he’s preparing to throw the Stooges out, his wife (played by Stooges regular, Christine McIntyre, also in old age makeup) enters—and Flint kicks her out as well, for being too old!  Moe, Larry and Curly try to help the old woman by creating a medicine that will make her young again—and after a comical scene of the Stooges mixing up their potion ("the mortar, the merrier!”—I love their mixing it in an old rubber boot, as well)—and incredibly enough, it works!  The young Christine throws away her cane and shawl, and tears off the bottom several inches of her dress—only to have the wolves in the Stooges come out and howl.

Her husband returns, and is shocked at her youth; he offers the Three Stooges the mortgage to the building if they’ll only make him young again, too!  They agree, and make up another batch—only this works too well, and turns the stingy Mr. Flint into an angry infant, who chases the Stooges!  Frankly, if the film had ended there, it would have been one of their better short films from the Shemp era, but instead the ending is padded out as they make a marshmallow cake to celebrate, and mix up bubble gum for the marshmallows.  It’s a weak ending, to an overall enjoyable Three Stooges short film.

Funny movie quotes from All Gummed Up starring the Three Stooges—Moe, Larry, Shemp

Moe: It’s tremendous!
Larry: It’s colossal!
Shemp: It’s putrid!

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Shemp: Ow, why did you hit me the pestle?
Moe: Your lucky I didn’t hit you with the mortar.
Larry: Ha Ha Ha! The mortar the merrier!
Moe: Quiet!

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You are here: Three Stooges short films >Beer Barrel Polecats, starring the Three Stooges

Beer Barrel Polecats (1946) starring the Three Stooges - Moe, Larry and Curly

Beer Barrel Polecats is set during Prohibition, when purchasing beer in the U.S.A. was illegal—but it was still legal to make your own beer for your own personal use.  The Three Stooges (Moe, Larry, and Curly—Curly’s first short film made after his initial stroke) proceed to do that, and the first half of the film is quite funny, as all three of them add yeast to their batch of beer—with explosive results.  They finally manage to bottle all of their beer, and all’s well—until Curly tries to sell a bottle to an undercover police officer at black market prices—and end up going to jail.

Adding insult to inury, Curly tries to smuggle a small keg of beer into the jail with them ("Goiter!"), but as the Stooges are having their prison photos taken, the hot lights cause the beer to expand, and eventually explode, causing the warden (Three Stooges regular Vernon Dent) to greatly extend their sentences.  It’s at this point that the short film becomes rather disappointing.  This was the first Three Stooges short film to be made after Curly Howard’s first stroke, and he didn’t have the energy or the stamina to be working—so director Jules White decided to re-use footage from earlier Three Stooges short films (‘So Long, Mr. Chumps and The Sweet Pie and Pie) - and the editing is clumsy at best, and the film doesn’t flow very well.  The ending, however, is quite funny, with the Three Stooges finally being released 40 years later, and the aged Curly saying that the first thing he wants is a beer—resulting in Moe and Larry throwing him back into the prison.

Funny movie quotes from Beer Barrel Polecats starring Moe, Larry and Curly

Curly: I got an idea!
Moe: Shut up, I don’t wanna hear it.  What is it?

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Curly: Here’s my brainchild!
Larry: At last you got a brain, child.

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Larry: I’ll take some burnt toast and a rotten egg.
Curly: Burnt toast and a rotten egg?
Larry: I’ve got a tapeworm, and that’s good enough for him.

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Guard: Hey, what’s the matter with you?
Curly: (with keg of beer hidden under his coat) Goiter!

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Moe: Listen you, we’ve got 24 hours to live!  Think! Think! Think!
Curly: I’ve got it!
Moe: What?
Curly: A terrific headache!

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Curly: Let a guy who can saw, see! See?  Saw.

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Curly: Speak to me, Warden! Say a few syllables! Utter a few adjectives!

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Warden: Well, boys, at last you’re free!
Moe: Thank you warden.
Warden: think nothing of it.  Hurry back.

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You are here: Three Stooges short films >Spooks! starring the Three Stooges

Spooks! starring the Three Stooges - Moe, Larry and Shemp

Spooks! (1953) is a Three Stooges short film featuring Moe Howard, Larry Fine and Shemp Howard as three inept detectives who are hired to find Bea Bopper (Norma Randall), who has been kidnapped by mad scientist Dr. Jeckyl (Philip Van Zandt), who plans to transplant her brain into that of a gorilla.  The Three Stooges track them down, and enter the mad scientist’s hideout disguised as pie salesman, and encounter the mad Dr. Jeckyl, his henchman and the gorilla—and with the gorilla’s aid, they rescue the girl and escape.

One noteworthy point is that Spooks! is one of only two Three Stooges short films that were released in 3-D, and the short film makes the most of this, with the mad scientist aiming a needle directly at the audience, throwing pies, etc.  It has several cute moments, such as Shemp making a word play on ‘bebop’, and the close-up view of “a hideous, monsterous face!” of a bat—with Shemp’s face!  A cute short film, but nothing exceptional.

Funny movie quotes from Spooks! (1953) starring the Three Stooges - Moe, Larry and Shemp

Moe: What’s your name?
Client: George B. Bopper.
Shemp: Oh a bee bopper! Dig that crazy bopper name! Cool man, real george! Give me some skin!

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[After Moe has poked Shemp in the eyes]
Shemp: I can’t see! I can’t see!
Curly: What’s wrong?
Shemp: I got my eyes closed.

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Shemp: Moe! We’re trapped like rats!
Curly: Speak for yourself!

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Miss Bopper: No, no Dr. Jekyll!
Shemp: Dr. Jekyll?  We must hide!

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You are here: Three Stooges Reviews >Shemp Cocktail

Shemp Cocktail - A Toast to the Original Stooge

For a long time, I’ve been a fan of Shemp Howard, the under-appreciated ‘third stooge’ of the Three Stooges.  Most people don’t realize that Shemp was the ‘third stooge’ for many years as the stooges appeared on stage, before their movie career—and he was also the only one of the Stooges to have a successful career away from the Stooges.  He appeared with W. C. Fields in The Bank Dick, with Abbott and Costello in several of their movies (Buck Privates, In the Navy, Africa Screams), in musicals (Private Buckaroos with the Andrews Sisters) and in over a hundred other films.  One thing that I’ve always respected about Shemp is that, after rejoining the Three Stooges to replace his disabled brother Curly, Shemp didn’t attempt to be a poor imitation of Curly, but stuck with his original Stooge character.  He was not only secure in his own skin, but he was very funny as well.

Having said this, is this DVD collection worth buying?  The bad news is that the films aren’t restored, and many of them are commonly available in other places (Africa Screams, The Brideless Groom, Sing a Song of Six Pants, Malice in the Palace are all in the public domain).  The other ones, however, may not be in your collection, and are worth watching—Private Buckaroo is a good example of Shemp stealing every scene that he’s in; the Ed Wynn Show isn’t commonly available, and this episode with the Three Stooges is hilarious!  If you already have all of these, then don’t bother—if you don’t have more than half, then you probably want to take a look at this—it retails for under $20.00 USD at the time of this writing, and is available for less than that at Amazon.com.

Product Description

Much has been made of Moe, Larry and Curly – and rightly so – but Shemp Howard was a comic master too often overlooked, with a solo career that far outshone that of the other Stooges. Apart from costarring in many classic Three Stooges shorts, Shemp appeared opposite such fellow comic legends as W.C. Fields, Ed Wynn, Bert Lahr, and Abbott & Costello, as well as such luminaries as John Barrymore, William Powell, Jack Haley, and The Andrews Sisters.

This long-overdue 2-disc spotlight on Shemp – one of the first and one of the last Stooges and brother of Moe and Curly Howard – contains two early ‘30s solo Shemp shorts; a trio of Shemp’s Three Stooges shorts; a live TV Camel Comedy Caravan with Shemp, Larry, and Moe; the complete 1942 feature Private Buckaroo, starring Shemp and The Andrews Sisters; the 1949 feature Africa Screams, starring Abbott & Costello and Shemp - and more, including outtakes from Africa Screams and sequences from the 1935 drama Convention Girl, in which Shemp plays it straight as a smalltime hood!

But the real treasure is a remarkable, revealing, and very intimate look at Shemp Howard’s life and career featuring exclusive interviews with Shemp’s daughter-in-law, Geri Howard Greenbaum; Geri’s sister, Diane Silvers; and Shemp’s granddaughter, Jill Howard Ullo. These touching, humorous and fascinating firsthand reminiscences are supplemented by rare, never-before-seen home movies, personal photos, and priceless memorabilia from Geri, Jill, and Shemp’s second granddaughter (and namesake), Sandie Howard Isaac. A well-deserved salute that is a must for fans of the Three Stooges and classic comedy!

Disc One

• Henry the Ache (1934) – Bert Lahr (THE WIZARD OF OZ) is King Henry in a parody of the then-current Charles Laughton film, with Shemp as one of his lackeys. (17:12)
• Knife of the Party (1934) –Shemp is the leader of a different group of Stooges (four instead of three) who have to work at a hotel to pay their bill. (20:00)
• Convention Girl (1935) – Sequences from a rare drama starring Rose Hobart (DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE), in which Shemp plays a straight role – a small-time hood who resorts to extortion and attempted murder! (10:00)
• Private Buckaroo (1942) – Shemp is an Army drill sergeant, Dick Foran (THE MUMMY’S HAND) is a new recruit, and The Andrews Sisters provide musical accompaniment in this wartime delight. (68:10)
• Africa Screams (1949) – Shemp and future Stooge, Joe Besser, provide strong support in this jungle-themed Abbott & Costello classic (including outtakes!). (80:00)

Disc Two

• The Brideless Groom (1947) – Moe and Larry help Shemp get married immediately so he won’t lose out on his inheritance. Hold hands, you lovebirds! (16:35)
• Sing a Song of Six Pants (1947) – Shemp, Moe and Larry have “pressing business” in a dry-cleaning store but get mixed up with bank robbers. (16:53)
• Malice in the Palace (1949) – Shemp, Moe and Larry are restaurateurs who run off to a faraway land in search of the Rootin Tootin Diamond. (15:42)
• Camel Comedy Caravan (1950) – A rare, live kinescope with Shemp, Moe and Larry as TV executives (!) who harass Ed Wynn on his television show. (28:07)

Bonus:

Remembering Shemp - An intimate look at Shemp Howard’s life and career featuring exclusive interviews with Shemp’s daughter-in-law, Geri Howard Greenbaum; Geri’s sister, Diane Silvers; and Shemp’s granddaughter, Jill Howard Ullo. These touching reminiscences are supplemented by rare, never-before-seen home movies, personal photos, and priceless memorabilia. (approx. 45 mins.)

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You are here: Articles >Honeymoon in Kabul

It sounds like a joke—the doctor, who’s also a clown, gets married and spends his honeymoon in Afghanistan—but it’s not.  It’s the subject of a new documentary, Honeymoon in Kabul.  The director, Ian Hamilton, says “When I heard a story about a woman who was going to marry a clown and travel to Afghanistan for their honeymoon, I thought they were stark raving mad.  But then I found out they were actually taking two shipping containers of medical equipment and donated baby clothes, supplies and other aid to hospitals and schools with them.”

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You are here: Articles >National Day of Prayer, 2008

A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America

America trusts in the abiding power of prayer and asks for the wisdom to discern God’s will in times of joy and of trial. As we observe this National Day of Prayer, we recognize our dependence on the Almighty, we thank Him for the many blessings He has bestowed upon us, and we put our country’s future in His hands.

From our Nation’s humble beginnings, prayer has guided our leaders and played a vital role in the life and history of the United States. Americans of many different faiths share the profound conviction that God listens to the voice of His children and pours His grace upon those who seek Him in prayer. By surrendering our lives to our loving Father, we learn to serve His eternal purposes, and we are strengthened, refreshed, and ready for all that may come.

On this National Day of Prayer, we ask God’s continued blessings on our country. This year’s theme, “Prayer! America’s Strength and Shield,” is taken from Psalm 28:7, “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.” On this day, we pray for the safety of our brave men and women in uniform, for their families, and for the comfort and recovery of those who have been wounded.

The Congress, by Public Law 100-307, as amended, has called on our Nation to reaffirm the role of prayer in our society by recognizing each year a “National Day of Prayer.”

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim May 1, 2008, as a National Day of Prayer. I ask the citizens of our Nation to give thanks, each according to his or her own faith, for the freedoms and blessings we have received and for God’s continued guidance, comfort, and protection. I invite all Americans to join in observing this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-first day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand eight, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-second.

GEORGE W. BUSH

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You are here: History >biography of Ed Wynn

Biography of Ed Wynn (Isaiah Edwin Leopold) (November 9, 1886 - June 19, 1966)

Isaiah Edwin Leopold, known around the world as Ed Wynn, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA on November 9, 1886.  As a teenager, he ran away from home and used his middle name, Edwin, as his stage name—Ed Wynn.  Although he eventually became a headliner in vaudeville, his early years were less successful.  At one point, he worked as an on-stage assistant to (then) comedy juggler W. C. Fields. The curmudgeonly Fields caught him “mugging” for the audience during Fields’ “Pool Room” routine and knocked him unconscious with his pool cue. Ed Wynn went on to become a headliner in vaudeville in the early-1910s, and was a star of the Ziegfeld Follies starting in 1914.  In the same year he married his first wife, Hilda Keenan.

Alongside his success in his work life came the birth of his first son, Keenan Wynn, who would grow up to be a successful actor in his own right.  In 1919, however, after participating in an actor’s strike, he was blacklisted by the Shuberts, a major force in vaudeville.  With vaudeville closed to him, he took his clown character, “the perfect fool” to Broadway, writing and producing own shows beginning with Broadway musical revue, “Ed Wynn’s Carnival”.  He continued expanding into other mediums as well, such as radio (Ed Wynn actually made the first broadcast of a full-length comedy show to a radio audience), silent movies (Rubber Heels) and finally talking pictures (Follow the Leader) as well.  Ed Wynn starred in his own radio series, The Fire Chief, from 1932 to 1935, but by the end of the 1930’s, several of his business ventures collapsed, including a radio chain, and he suffered a severe nervous breakdown.  Ed Wynn retired briefly, and had a highly publicized income tax settlement for $510,000 with government.

By 1940, Ed Wynn returned to Broadway in “Boys and Girls Together”, and the next year he became a grandfather.  He came to television in 1949 with The Ed Wynn Show, for which he won an Emmy and a Peacock in 1950—and the show ended.  The next year, he supplied the voice, and inspired the appearance, of The Mad Hatter in Walt Disney’s Alice in Wonderland.  Still “retired”, his now-adult son, Keenan Wynn, recommended him for a role in the Playhouse 90 production of Rod Serling’s Requiem for a Heavyweight—due to his nerves since he had never acted in a non-comedic role, he kept flubbing his lines, and Ed Wynn was almost removed from the production, since the production would be broadcast live.  However, Jack Palance threatened that he would leave the show if Ed Wynn wasn’t there, and to the surprise of most of the cast, Ed Wynn performed flawlessly.  Ed Wynn also performed with his son later on in The AbsentMinded Professor.

With his first success as an ‘actor’, Ed Wynn did many more serious roles over the years, including the dentist Dussell in The Diary of Anne Frank, a variety of TV appearances including One for the Angels on The Twilight Zone, but he’s best remembered for his work in the movies, including Cinderfella (1960) with Jerry Lewis, The AbsentMinded Professor (1961) with Fred MacMurray, recapping his Perfect Fool/Fire Chief character, Walt Disney’s Babes in Toyland (1961), and perhaps his most famous role as Uncle Albert in Mary Poppins (1964).

Ed Wynn continued working up to the time of his death on June 19, 1966 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA, of cancer.  Ed Wynn is interred along with his son, Keenan Wynn, at Forest Lawn, Glendale, CA., in the Great Mausoleum. The epitaph on his niche reads: “Dear God, Thank You.”

Quotes from Ed Wynn

• “A comedian says funny things. A comic says things funny.”
• “Wasn’t it Whistler who said that a great painter was one who could hide the effort which he put into his work? The same thing goes for gags. It often takes hours to think up something that is said in seconds.”
• “I’ll be back in a flash with more trash.” - his famous exit line
• “I can’t give you a definition [of humor]. It is too subtle to be pinned down. I can say that it differs from wit, which exaggerates the truth, while humor presents the truth in an original way.”

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You are here: Reviews > Abbott and Costello reviews >Abbott and Costello in The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap

Abbott and Costello‘s movie, The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap is a spoof on the typical Western, with Bud Abbott and Lou Costello playing traveling salesmen who stop in the Old Wild West town of Wagon Gap, Montana on their way to California. Upon entering the town, Lou shoots a pistol into the air, as the town drunk is murdered; Lou is tried for the murder, and under an actual Montana law of the time period is sentenced to assume the debts and dependents of the dead man. Lou is now being worked to death during the day by the Widow Hawkins (played by Marjorie Main of the ”Ma and Pa Kettle” movie series) and her seven children, and by the saloonkeeper at nights to pay off the dead man’s debts.

Lou then discovers that no one dares to kill him, since they would inherit the Hawkins clan - Lou swiftly becomes the Sheriff and starts cleaning up the town, and begins pushing Bud Abbott around in a funny reversal of their roles.

I rate it 3 clowns on a 5-clown scale.

Funny movie quotes from Abbott and Costello’s The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap

Lou Costello : That wild goose chase of yours is going to lay an egg.

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Lou Costello : We stop the stage, the bandits are waiting for the stage, and then you show up instead of the stage.
Bud Abbott : That’s pretty well-staged.

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Lou Costello : Marriage is a three ring circus: the engagement ring, the wedding ring and suffering.

Trivia from Abbott and Costello’s The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap

• The film was originally written for Jimmy Stewart, but when he couldn’t commit to it, it was refashioned for But Abbott and Lou Costello, with Costello playing the part originally intended for Stewart.
• Lou Costello’s father, a western-film buff, died during the production of this movie, and as a tribute Lou listed him in the credits as Associate Producer, Sebastian Cristillo.
• The story was based on an actual law in effect in Montana in the 1880s, which stated that a man who killed another man was responsible for the care and support of his victim’s family.
• The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap is the only Abbott and Costello feature to be adapted for the Abbott and Costello comic book

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You are here: Reviews > Abbott and Costello reviews >Pardon My Sarong - Abbott and Costello

Editorial review of Abbot and Costello‘s Pardon My Sarong, courtesy of Amazon.com:

Abbott & Costello travel to the South Seas in this gag-filled exotic comedy. Screwball bus drivers Algy (Abbott) and Wellington (Costello) travel off the course yacht. A hurricane detours the craft to an uncharted island, inhabited by innocent natives and a sinister Dr. Varnoff (Lionel Atwill). Mistaken for a legendary god, Wellington is betrothed to a beautiful native girl (Nan Wynn), in the hilarious “Tree of Truth” scene. Chosen to appease an angry volcano god, Wellington learns the volcano has been rigged by Varnoff and his men who plan to collect the gullible natives’ sacred jewel. Rising to the occasion, Wellington vanquishes the villain with feats of unbelievable athletic agility in this delightful South Seas caper.

Trivia about Abbott and Costello’s Pardon My Sarong:

• Universal had smash hits with Abbott and Costello’s service comedies. With this film, they tried to duplicate the box office success that Paramount was having with the Bing Crosby-Bob Hope “Road” pictures. The experiment worked and this film exceeded the box office grosses of their service comedies to become Abbott and Costello’s biggest hit to date.

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You are here: Abbott and Costello reviews >Ride ‘em Cowboy - Abbott and Costello

Abbott and Costello’s Ride ‘em Cowboy (1942) starring Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Dick Foran, Ella Fitzgerald

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello star as two peanut vendors at a rodeo show who get in trouble with their boss and hide out on a railroad train, which unexpectedly heads west with them still on it. Upon arriving, they get jobs on a dude ranch despite the fact that neither of them knows anything about cowboys, horses, or much else. The scene with Lou Costello attempting to milk a cow is a gem of comedy. Abbott and Costello follow the same formula here as in their previous films, with a romantic subplot and music, provided here by Ella Fitzgerald.

I rate it 4 clowns on a 5-clown scale.

Trivia about Abbott and Costello’s Ride ‘em Cowboy:

• The original production plans were delayed in favor of another of Abbott and Costello’s service comedies, Keep ‘Em Flying (1941), which were proving to be huge box office hits for Universal.
• This was the last Abbott and Costello film to be directed by Arthur Lubin. Like their previous collaborations, this became one of the biggest hits of the year.

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You are here: Reviews > Abbott and Costello reviews >The Naughty Nineties - Abbott and Costello

Editorial review of The Naughty Nineties, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, courtesy of Amazon.com:

In this zany Abbott and Costello musical comedy, Bud Abbott plays a ham actor and Lou Costello, his dimwitted assistant on the Mississippi showboat, the River Queen. When the boat docks in St. Louis, Bud and Lou try to rescue Captain Sam from a poker game with three card sharks, but they are too late. The gamblers win a controlling interest in the River Queen and—to Captain Sam’s dismay—set up a crooked casino operation on board. Before ridding the showboat of the villains, Abbott and Costello perform several of their most famous bits, including the complete rendition of their hysterical ”Who’s on First?” routine, which has become one of the most popular comedy moments ever captured on film.

I rate it 4 clowns on a 5-clown scale.

Trivia about Abbott and Costello’s The Naughty Nineties:

• Contains the famous “Who’s on First?” routine. The routine began life as part of Abbott and Costello’s Vaudeville act, then it debuted in their first film One Night in the Tropics (1940), though none of the previous incarnations were as lengthy as the one in this movie.
• The only baseball defensive position NOT mentioned in the “Who’s on First?” routine: Right Field.
• The scene of Abbott and Costello doing their classic “Who’s on First?” routine is run continuously at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. It is regarded as the best version of this routine in existence.
• Listen closely during the “Who’s On First” routine. The laughter that can be heard faintly belongs to the film crew and director. After numerous takes trying to eliminate it, the power of Abbott and Costello to elicit laughter during this sequence proved too strong. The director had no choice but to leave the giggling in.
• Lou Costello recycles the “Lifesavers Candy” routine Groucho Marx used in the Marx Brothers‘ hit Horse Feathers (1932).
• The boat used as the showboat “River Queen” in this production was also used as the “Cotton Palace” in Show Boat (1936)

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You are here: Reviews > Abbott and Costello reviews >Little Giant - Abbott and Costello

Abbott and Costello in Little Giant (1946) starring Bud Abbott, Lou Costello

Little Giant was an enormous change for both Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. It is different from most of their comedies in several respects—Abbott and Costello are not a team, indeed are not even friends. Rather than relying on gags and verbal humor, it is a situational comedy, with an accent on physical humor. Although a comedy, it is much deeper than their standard comedies, with Lou Costello playing a character who tugs at your heart strings - and tugs hard.

In “Little Giant,” Lou Costello plays Benny Miller, a country bumpkin who has been taking a correspondence course and, upon finishing, leaves his mom and head off for the city to make his fortune. He finds a job selling “Little Giant” vaccum cleaners for Eddie L. Morrison (a mean office manager, played to the hilt by Bud Abbott in a very unsympathetic role). Benny is a failure, until the other people at the office, making fun of Benny, convince him that he can read minds; armed with his new ‘power,’ Benny becomes a super salesman. He later realizes that the other salespeople aren’t his friends, and are mocking him, after overhearing them. He goes home, feeling himself a failure, with a bird in a wooden cage for his mother (played by Mary Gordon). On the way, he stops to help a neighbor whose mule-drawn wagon is stuck in the mud. He pushes the cart out of the mud, falling into the mud himself, as the neighbor drives off even a “thank you.” He stands up, covered in mud, holding the broken cage—the bird has escaped. It’s a tear-inducing movie moment.

Surprisingly, who should come to his rescue ... Bud Abbott (in a dual role as T. S. Chandler, the cousin of the mean manager), who helps Lou to ... well, you’ll need to see the movie yourself—no need to give away everything. :)

In summary, this is an excellent movie, highly recommend, with a box of Kleenex nearby. Just remember that it’s not a typical Abbott and Costello comedy.

I rate it 5 clowns on a 5-clown scale.

Trivia about Abbott and Costello’s Little Giant:

• Director William A. Seiter had previously directed the Marx Brothers and was able to get Margaret Dumont to do a cameo as one of Benny’s intended customers.
• This was the first Abbott and Costello feature in which they did not play a team. The story centers on Lou Costello’s character while Bud Abbott does not appear until 16 minutes into the film. The two do not share a scene until 20 minutes into the film
• This film was regarded as a major departure for Abbott and Costello. It was their first situation comedy. The comedy was character/situation driven rather than gag driven.

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You are here: Reviews > Abbott and Costello reviews >Keep ‘em Flying - Abbott and Costello

Abbott and Costello in Keep ‘em Flying (1941) starring Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Martha Raye

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello play two carnival workers who join the Army Air Corps with their barnstorming stunt pilot friend. Abbott and Costello swear off women until a beautiful singer joins the USO, which begins a very unusual love triangle—Martha Raye plays the part of twin sisters, one shy and demure, and the other outgoing and earthy. This leads to one of their most famous routines, Turkey Sandwich and a Cup of Coffee - hilarious, and one of the high points of the movie.

I rate it 4 clowns on a 5-clown scale.

Funny movie quotes from Abbot and Costello’s Keep ‘em Flying:

Bud Abbott : No, you don’t want to drink. Remember, every time you go into a barroom, the Devil goes in with you.
Lou Costello : If he does, he buys his own drink.

Trivia about Abbott and Costello’s Keep ‘em Flying:

• This was originally planned for production after Ride ‘Em Cowboy (1936). The huge success of the previous service comedies, Buck Privates (1940) and In the Navy (1940), caused Universal to produce this first. The War Department also announced a recruitment campaign called “Keep ‘em Flying Week” which Universal could use as a patriotic tie-in.
• The original trailer was actually a one reel recruitment short, running about 9 minutes, for the Army Air Corps which included clips from this film.
• For the torpedo chase, Lou did his shots in front a a rear projection screen. For the long shots it’s Pat Costello, Lou’s brother, doubling Lou for the stunts.

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You are here: I Love Lucy season 6 >Country Club Dance - I Love Lucy

Country Club Dance—I Love Lucy season six, episode 177, originally aired April 22, 1957

Frankly, Country Club Dance is my favorite episode of season 6 of I Love Lucy, for several reasons.  It starts with the ‘boys’ (Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz), Fred Mertz (William Frawley) and their new neighbor, Ralph Ramsey (Frank Nelson)) are nagged by their wives into attending a country club dance where they meet a very young, and very attractive, Barbara Eden—22 years old at the time of this episode.  The men immediately fall over themselves vying for the dance time of the shapely blond, and ignore their wives for the rest of the evening.

The wives (Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball), Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance) and Betty Ramsey (Mary Jane Croft)) make no bones about their hurt feelings, and decide to fight fire with fire for the dance that they’ve already agreed to for the next night—Betty douses herself in perfume, Ethel tries a new hairdo, and Lucy wears a far-too-tight dress—and imitates Barbara Eden’s character’s voice as well.  Lucille Ball demonstrates her physical comedy skills here in the dress that’s so tight that she can’t sit down in it—and later in the evening when she forgets, and bends over to pick something up!  The men, in the meantime, feel bad about how they treated their wives, and determine to spend every dance that night with their wives.  But Lucy’s suspicious nature flares up, and she gets the other wives to march out in a huff with her.

In a very sweet ending to the episode, the wives come back hours later, and from a hiding spot see the husbands talking about their failed evening, and how they can’t win no matter what—and how they’re going to try to preserve their egos by presenting a brave face about their ‘wonderful’ evening ... and the wives decide to uphold their husbands egos by pretending that they haven’t heard, and dragging their ‘misbehaving’ husbands home.

Country Club Dance is available as part of the I Love Lucy season 6 DVD collection.

Funny movie quotes from I Love Lucy - Country Club Dance

Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): You heard, there were three ‘ayes’.
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): There’ll be three black eyes if you don’t sit down.

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Harry: Diana, this is Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Ramsey.
Ralph Ramsey (Frank Nelson): How do you do?
Diana (Barbara Eden): Hello.
Harry: This is Mr. and Mrs. Ricky Ricardo.
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): Hello.
Diana (Barbara Eden): How do you do?
Fred Mertz (William Frawley): And I’m Freddie Mertz.
Diana (Barbara Eden): Well hello.
Fred Mertz (William Frawley): Well hello.
Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance): I’m Mrs. Mertz.
Fred Mertz (William Frawley): Oh, yeah.

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[The men leave Lucy, Ethel, and Betty to go dance with Diana]
Betty Ramsey (Mary Jane Croft): Well, what are we supposed to do?
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): Well, I suppose we could dance with each other (imitating Diana) My… mother… told… me… to… pick… (points at Ethel) YOUUUU!!!!!

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Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): There’s no reason wives can’t be as glamorous as other women. After all, we were once women ourselves.

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[Betty Ramsey, Lucy and Ethel discuss their husbands falling all over Diana Jordan]
Betty Ramsey (Mary Jane Croft): You think they’d never seen a blonde before!
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): They still haven’t! If she’s a blonde, I’m a redhead!

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Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance): If I could’ve looked like Diana, do you think I’d have married Fred?

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Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): Why not not a glamorous hairdo, like the one that makes you look like Grace Kelly?
Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance): Do you think it would work?
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): It worked for Grace Kelly!

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Ralph Ramsey (Frank Nelson): I had to sleep in the rumpus room.  We call it that because whenever there’s a rumpus, that’s where I sleep.

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Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): I’ve never seen Lucy so angry before!  She was mad, shouting, angry—she was acting like me!

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Fred Mertz (William Frawley): Cute - wait till you get a look at Ethel.
Ralph Ramsey (Frank Nelson): Wait till you get a whiff of Betty.

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Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance): Fred hasn’t been this nice to me since he thought my aunt left me 500 dollars.

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Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): What’s wrong with being sweet?
Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball): When you’re this sweet it means that there’s something rotten in Cuba?

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Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance): Fred, why are you being so nice to me?
Fred Mertz (William Frawley): Husbands are *supposed* to be nice to their wives.
Ethel Mertz (Vivian Vance): That’s the flimsiest excuse I’ve ever heard.

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Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz): I had to spend half and hour trying to listen to her high school Spanish.

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You are here: Don Knotts reviews >Barney Fife and Other Characters I Have Known

Editorial review of Barney Fife and other characters I have know by Don Knotts --courtesy of Amazon.com

Fish. Chicken. Deputy. Icon. TV’s beloved Don Knotts gives his millions of fans the book they’ve been waiting for.

Don Knotts recounts with warmth and humor the events that shaped his life and a career that spans half a century: his colorful childhood in his family’s West Virginia boarding house; his hectic stint as a comic on the road, and as a rising star in the burgeoning days of live TV; his big break on Broadway in No Time for Sergeants; his five-season, multi-award-winning portrayal of Mayberry’s bumbling and beloved Barney Fife. With candor he takes us behind the scenes on the set of Three’s Company, and behind the sets of his hugely successful film comedies. And he shares bittersweet memories of The Mayberry Reunion, and affectionate recollections of his professional and personal relationships with such legends as Andy Griffith, Jack Benny, Red Skelton, Orson Welles, Lou Costello, and Arthur Godfrey.

Here is the inside story of th