ABBOTTCOSTELLO COMP UNI PICS COLL FF

to the list of great show business misconceptions you can add the notion of Laurel & Hardy being the greatest comedy team of all time. don't get me wrong: i certainly couldn't call myself a comedy connoisseur if i couldn't appreciate Stan & Ollie. and they certainly gave us a number of fine comedies (SONS OF THE DESERT, BONNIE SCOTLAND, THE FLYING DEUCES). but let's face it: their minimalist style is positively prosaic compared to the urbane chaos of The Marx Brothers and/or the graceful bombast Abbott & Costello.Bud & Lou are occasionally accused, in conjunction with The Three Stooges, of glorifying violence. what people miss is that it's supposed to be an impulsive act of momentary frustration, never genuine animosity. Abbott & Costello, for all their internal trials and tribulations, still ultimately feel like genuine friends.he admittedly hides it well, but the character played by Bud Abbott has a heart. it may seem as though Abbott just keeps Costello around to receive the business end of his temper and/or greed, but he always manages to dredge up loyalty and concern when push comes to shove. (consider ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN, where he states that they have to save Lou from Dracula. or RIDE 'EM COWBOY: circumstances have gotten Lou engaged to a less than appealling Indian squaw, but when the "marriage" finally takes place it turns out the "bride" was Abbott in disguise. or the running gag in which Bud is in tears thinking Lou has been killed, and Lou's reappearance prompts "you doublecrosser!!" and a good slap.) usually, "nobody picks on my pal but me" seems like the lamest cliche' in the book, but somehow Bud Abbott made it work.and of course Lou, while seeming to be a complete innocent, manages to get the upper hand in a number of their routines, in the sense that we never stop rooting for his singularly endearing character. Lou's loveable "everyman" quality brings a unique dimension and unshakable dignity to the cliche' dumb-half-of-the-team character, bringing pathos as well as humor. you'll laugh at Stan Laurel, but you'll never EMPATHIZE with him in quite the same way.in a way, it's what's known as The Dr. Watson Effect: in much the way the more "normal" Dr. Watson's loyalty and admiration makes the aloof character of Sherlock Holmes more accessible, Abbott somehow becomes likable simply because Costello is willing to put up with him. just as Watson sees past Sherlock's lack of social skills and disinclination to feel emotion if he can help it, Lou sees something in Bud that makes up for his more frequently displayed dark side, and we the audience see it as well, filtered through Costello.and with that we finally get around to the product we're supposed to be pitching. there's a grand total of 28 films here, including a formerly "lost" little gem called IT AIN'T HAY. that may seem like a lot, and with some it would be a bit much, but Abbott & Costello's talent is such that the cornball "never enough" cliche' actually seems to fit. even their least impressive efforts still have something to offer.take ONE NIGHT IN THE TROPICS, their first film appearance. because studio muckety-mucks still weren't quite sure if they merited their own contract, they decided to test run the team by shoehorning them into a film already in production. the film that results is just as awkward and uneven as logic dictates it should be, yet somehow it manages to engage and entertain. and why? the most readily apparent explanation would be that Abbott & Costello must've been a good luck charm.the weakest and least satisfying film they did for Universal is easily LITTLE GIANT. this ill-advised departure from their usual formula is best described as a poor man's Frank Capra film. but if nothing else it showcases abilities they didn't often get a change to demonstrate: Abbott had a fine character actor in him, and while Costello's gift for pathos makes intermittent appearances in their more standard formula, you'd probably never guess that he could be a dramatic actor to the extent necessitated here. the finished product teeters precariously on the brink of maudlin sap, but there's still a few laughs to be had. (it features my very favorite of their burlesque bits, "7 X 13 = 28.")even what's usually termed their worst film, ABBOTT & COSTELLO GO TO MARS, has it's charms. it has as much good-natured fun with the sci-fi conventions of the time as SPACEBALLS and GALAXY QUEST would have with their own. the priceless pair of dimwitted escaped convicts who act as the team's evil twin(s) are in themselves worth the price of admission. obviously this film was so singled out because science-fiction was still largely written off as a less "legitimate" genre of storytelling, but it owes as much of it's unflattering reputation to simple misrepresentation: to this day the most frequent criticism is to point out that they actually go to Venus...without bothering to explain that first they go to New Orleans during Mardi Gras, where, based on everyone's bizarre costumes, they ASSUME they've landed on Mars. the title was a joke, not a flub.but i daresay you'd rather hear about the highlights. their twin masterpieces - BUCK PRIVATES and ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN - are only the most obvious examples. other winners to look forward to include HOLD THAT GHOST, THE WISTFUL WIDOW OF WAGON GAP, ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET THE KILLER: BORIS KARLOFF (easily their most underrated effort), WHO DONE IT?, IN THE NAVY, HIT THE ICE, RIDE 'EM COWBOY, IN SOCIETY, ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET THE INVISIBLE MAN, KEEP 'EM FLYING, THE NAUGHTY NINETIES (and NOT simply because it's the one film in which they performed "Who's On First" in it's entirety), BUCK PRIVATES COME HOME, ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET THE MUMMY, and most surprisingly, THE TIME OF THEIR LIVES. this latter tale of falsely accused Revolutionary War figures who's ghosts are cursed to haunt a mansion, was joint with LITTLE GIANT in deviating from their norm. but unlike LITTLE GIANT, it is a masterstroke which makes you almost regret their rigid adherence to formula from that point on. almost.as a rule the films have the same basic weakness in their awkward attempts to "balance" Abbott & Costello with off-the-rack love story subplots - many of which feel like they're just going through the motions - and, as if that weren't bad enough, some of the dorkiest excuses for songs you'll ever hear in your life! (the '30s and '40s was a delightful era for movies radio drama, but alas, the Dark Ages for pop music.) this practice is what most dates these films, and more besides. more than one subsequent generation would refer to these as "bathroom moments." (interestingly, Groucho effectively predicts the phenomenon at such a point of The Marx Brothers' film HORSE FEATHERS: "i'm stuck here, but there's no reason you folks can't go wait in the lobby 'til this blows over.")this, you pretty much have to put down to the context of the times. inadvisable as more recent "conventional wisdom" would deem it, this something-for-everyone formula somehow worked for audiences in the throes and/or wake of The Great Depression. most likely it's because people need entertainment that much more in times of such crisis. and anyway, the question of "staying power" wouldn't of occurred to anyone involved. in an world with no television, let alone cable tv or home video, there'd be no reason to worry about how a given film would be taken in five or six months, much less five or six decades. posterity simply wasn't (yet) an issue. so about all you can do is keep reminding yourself that this was done because it was "good for business" at the time, not to inconvenience (and/or irritate) entire generations who hadn't even been born yet.the major complaint from the critics toward Abbott & Costello was always over-emphasis on the time-honored burlesque sketches. and we do get quite of few of them repeated over the course of the set. but that okay, even more, that's right, because that was their strength. they honed these routines to faultlessness, and no one ever did them better. what's more, they preserved for posterity a wealth of comedic gold that might otherwise of been drowned without a trace in the Sands Of Time. and yes, that's where what turned out to be their signature piece came from."Who's On First," much like "Stairway To Heaven," almost did a disservice to it's performers by becoming so legendary. they became so synonymous with it that there are times when Abbott & Costello seem to be construed as a one-hit wonder. but trust me, just as there's more to Led Zeppelin than "Stairway To Heaven," there is more to Abbott & Costello than "Who's On First." buy the set and watch the movies, and see for yourself.

A lot of people who are trashing Universal about this excellent release simply don't know what they're talking about:1.) For starters, you have to know that when Universal originally released their other 4 volumes of Abbott & Costello on DVD, the movie IT AIN'T HAY was unable to be included due to rights issues and so it was not able to be included. Now this problem has been rectified.2.) At the time of the other 4 Volumes of A&C, Universal was foolishly trying out a double-sided DVD technology called "DVD-18". As a result, many people who bought the old DVDs complained of all sorts of random issues like skipping and picture freezing. So if there is ever a bone to pick with Universal, it was because they were experimenting with those earlier DVD-18s. This NEW SET is much more reliable and durable, since it's going to be issued in tried-and-true "DVD-9" single-sided format, which is much better quality all around.3.) Somebody complained that there were several movies missing from this collection. No, there are NOT any UNIVERSAL features missing here. The titles he's thinking of are films that were RELEASD BY OTHER STUDIOS, (SUCH AS MGM). This box set is purely all of Abbott and Costello's UNIVERSAL films.Well, that's it for now. It may be a pain in the neck for some to double-dip, but at least Universal has corrected the earlier double-sided disc catastrophe (they probably meant well with the old sets, but it turned out to be a faulty technonogy). And now they've cleared the rights to IT AIN'T HAY, where they couldn't release it previously. And to their credit they've compensated fans by adding MORE NEW EXTRA FEATURES to this set.If there's one thing Universal could do right by the fans who feel they're being "gypped", they might consider releasing IT AIN'T HAY separately at a later date, as a "stand-alone" purchase for those buyers who choose to stubbornly hang onto their inferior double-sided DVD-18 volumes.This is a FANTASTIC release and a great deal - thanks to Universal!

This is the one I've been waiting for since the invention of the DVD. Universal has finally provided a package worthy of the comedy team that saved the studio during their amazing run as box office champs. While their film catalog is uneven, and many of the rushed productions don't are not on a par with the duo's talents, the overall body of work still stands the test of time. The high point for film buffs and historians must be the genre blending "Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein." The film works on multiple levels and marked a comeback of sorts for Bud & Lou while providing a bookend for the Universal monsters era of big screen chills. Lon Chaney Jr. is particularly effective interacting with the boys and Bela Lugosi displays a surprising light touch in what is only his second (and final) appearance as the legendary vampire. The film was one of the original choices for a preservation project undertaken by the American Film Institute and the Library of Congress and it frequently appears on critic's lists of all-time great movies. My family watches it every Halloween and enjoys it every time. There are other gems as well... "Buck Privates," "Hold That Ghost," "Meet the Killer," and "In the Navy" are some of my other favorites. The packaging is excellently designed and the small book included is filled with useful information. Best of all, unlike previous releases, the discs are single sided. To top it off, the long missing film, "It Ain't Hay," that completes the Universal series, is included in the set... the first time it's been released finally freed from legal limbo. The collection is a time capsule of a simpler time in film making and in American history, and the good news is that the team of Abbott & Costello are talented and funny in any era. Without Bud & Lou it is likely that we would never have had "Seinfeld." If you are strangers to the comic team supreme, this is the package to help you explore what you've been missing.

It is obvious hard to decide when you don't know what is in a package, so let's start with a full list of the included movies:One Night in the Tropics (1940)Buck Privates (1941)In the Navy (1941)Hold That Ghost (1941)Keep 'Em Flying (1941)Ride 'Em Cowboy (1942)Pardon My Sarong (1942)Who Done It? (1942)It Ain't Hay (1943)Hit the Ice (1943)In Society (1944)Here Come the Co-Eds (1945)The Naughty Nineties (1945)Little Giant (1946)The Time of Their Lives (1946)Buck Privates Come Home (1947)The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap (1947)Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)Mexican Hayride (1948)Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff (1949)Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion (1950)Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951)Comin' Round the Mountain (1951)Lost in Alaska (1952)Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953)Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953)Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops (1955)Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955)Now, this may not be every movie the comedic duo starred in but it is their complete run while working with Universal Studios. The quality is excellent considering the lower quality of film releases during the war years. Regular skits and new alike, slapstick, witty banter and double-talk; what more do you want? How about a calculated price of under well $5.00 per film? (at initial release; price subject to change) Hours of entertainment that we will never see the like of again all wrapped up in a fun "steamer trunk" package.

if you want a good laugh, you can get it with this set. while pricey due to its size, it's actually not bad on a per movie basis, just watch the amazon pricing though. after i bought mine the price changed twice, first lower by $6 then up to lower by 4. the little history booklet included is a nice touch and better yet is the inclusion of the movie ' IT AIN'T HAY' which is the reason for my purchase as i had never before seen it. a good comprehensive fun set that even the children here enjoy!

Years ago been robbed and wondered if I could buy those magnificent films again. It is a real fine source of information about the burlesque period. Not to mention that I discovered plenty of informations about their career and what kind of persons Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were in real life. These films are a beautiful hommage to their work and their time. They still make me laugh out loud. Excellent quality!

one of my favorite comedy shows, have watched the movies on tv and thru vhs, all my grandchildren have gone thru the movies, and they have their favorites, a very good set to purchase for grandchildren and myself, a senior,,,, love it

These two are classic and crack me up! So funny!