Abbott
and Costello Show
Season 2
R4 DVD
B&W
TV Series
Comedy
Beyond Home Entertainment 2009
Reviewer:
Bob Estreich
Bud
Abbott and Lou Costello teamed up in 1936 to work the burlesque circuit. This
was the U.S. equivalent of Britain’s music halls. Bud Abbott was at the time
one of t he best standup comedy straight men in the country and the team
quickly became well known. They made the transition from burlesque to to radio
via the Kate Smith Radio Hour, which was effectively a transplant of burlesque
humour to a new medium. In 1939 they signed with Universal Pictures for whom
they eventually brought out ten years of hit films.
Many
of these films featured traditional burlesque styles, dating back to the silent
movie days. They had the standard dialogue, slapstick and pratfall routines
that audiences knew and loved. Universal especially produced a range of Abbott
and Costello Meet … these films featured one of the Universal stable of stars and monsters such
as Dracula (Bela Lugosi), Frankenstein, Captain Kidd (Charles Laughton
reprising his 1948 role), even the Keystone Kops (Universal’s version of the
silent movie group).
During
World War 2 they did many shows to boost morale, like Buck Privates, and reintroduced many of their earlier
routines. They also crossed the USA on a self-funded War Bonds fundraising
tour. In New York alone they raised 89 million dollars worth of sales in three
days and were honoured by the Mayor.
They
also had their personal demons. Both were hardened gamblers. Both had
increasingly poor health. Abbott had epilepsy and a drinking problem. In 1943
Costello went back to work after a round of chronic rheumatic fever and on that
day his baby son Butch drowned in a swimming pool accident.
In
the 1950s Abbott and Costello moved to television. They did two series of TV
shows for CBS starting in 1952, one of which is on this DVD set. The shows were
not a success at the time and sponsorship dropped off. This was partly a result
of competition from more sophisticated sitcoms like I Love Lucy
(sophisticated?) and partly because they simply had very little new material.
They were just providing visual versions of their old radio jokes which by now
were becoming stale. Their increasing age and ill health were starting to count
against them as well.
In
1956 the Internal Revenue (tax department) moved in over unpaid payroll taxes.
They sold their homes, most of their other assets, and the rights to their
films. In 1957 their partnership was dissolved. Lou Costello died on March 3rd,
1959, just after finishing his last film. Bud Abbott died of cancer in 1974.
Their
contribution to American comedy was recognized in 2001 when the United States
Library of Congress selected Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, the Killer
for preservation in the National Film Registry as a culturally significant
film.
Jerry
Seinfeld, one of the current breed of American comedians, saluted them:
“If
it weren’t for Abbott and Costello, many of the wonderful burlesque routines
which are part of the American fabric would have been lost forever.”
Their
classic “Who’s on first” routine has been reworked by many comedians over the
years. It is shown on this 5-disc DVD set and demonstrates just how well they
worked together. Strangely, their work
suffered a lull after their deaths but is now coming to the notice of a new
generation of audiences who seem to appreciate their style. Once again Abbott
and Costello are back on the distribution lists. This DVD set is a worthy addition.
The set also includes much historical footage and many of Lou Costello’s home
movies, as well as interviews with his daughters that fill in the private lives
of these remarkable performers.
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This
review will appear in Volume 2 No.4
(2009) of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.
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