Hold That Ghost (1941)

Note: This post has previously appeared on my Movies with Michael blog but because the movie features Shemp in a supporting role, I am including it here as well.  

 Hold That Ghost was Abbott and Costello's fourth appearance in a feature film and the third one in which they were the stars. It was supposed to be their third film overall and was the third completed. However, after Buck Privates (1941) became such a smash hit, it was decided to make the next movie another service comedy. So, the release of this film was delayed as the boy's made In The Navy (1941). This plan worked out well as In the Navy was the highest earning film of 1941. Hold That Ghost was originally going to be titled, Oh, Charlie! after a scene where Lou is looking to find a man (who has been killed) named Charlie. Lou as he looks around keeps saying "Oh Charlie." Hold That Ghost was again another giant hit for the boys and is my personal favorite Abbott and Costello film.

This movie was the first Abbott and Costello movie written by Robert Lees and Fredric I. Rinaldo. This writing team would prove to be perfect for the boys' scare comedies as they would also write Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) and Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951). In my opinion these are the three best of the boys' scare comedies. This is one of the five Abbott and Costello pictures directed by Arthur Lubin. His other four being Buck Privates, In the Navy, Keep 'Em Flying (1941) and Ride 'Em Cowboy (1942).

Like many of Abbott and Costello's early pictures, this movie features musical numbers as well as comedy. The film originally was not going to have any musical numbers. However, when shown an early version of the movie, a preview audience asked where The Andrew Sisters were (they had been in the Bud and Lou's previous two films). Additional scenes were then added with The Andrews Sisters performing two song numbers, Sleepy Serenade and Aurora. As an Andrews Sisters fan, I am very happy for these additions, especially since both of them are such great songs. Aurora is especially one of my favorite Andrew Sisters songs. Sleepy Serenade was written by Lou Singer and Mort Greene and The Andrew Sisters released it on record shortly before its use in this film with the words on the record stating "From New Universal Picture 'Oh Charlie!" Aurora was written by Mario Lago and Roberto Roberti, with new English lyrics by Harold Adamson. The Andrews Sisters would later again record this song for their 1957 album, The Andrew Sisters in Hi-Fi for Capitol Records. Also performing a couple songs in this movie is Ted Lewis and his orchestra. One of these songs was When My Baby Smiles at Me. This song was written by Bill Murno, Andrew B. Sterling and Lewis himself. Lewis had originally recorded and released the song in 1920, and it became one of his biggest hits. He also performed in this movie Me and My Shadow, written by Al Jolson, Billy Rose and Dave Dreyer. This song had been an important part of Lewis' live performances since it was written in 1927. Both of these are again excellent songs, but unfortunately, we only hear parts of them unlike The Andrews Sisters songs which get a full treatment here. Still, what we hear of these two songs is completely delightful. Maybe it is because I am a fan of music from this era, but I actually find the song numbers in these early Abbott and Costello movies to add to my enjoyment instead of detracting like it does for so many others today. Whatever the reason I love the musical numbers in these movies and this movie is no exception. 

Production was set back because of the scenes where Bud and Lou work at a gas station. The studio had a hard time finding an appropriate gas station. Eventually the studio up making a gas station set themselves. This set would be reused for the Abbott and Costello movie Pardon My Sarong (1942).     

One joke in the script did not make it past the censors. When working at the gas station Bud would explain why Ethel costs more stating "You can go further with Ethel." Not surprisingly this was cut out of the film. However, a shockingly risqué joke would actually be in the finished movie. Lou accidently breaks his bed, and Camille (Joan Davis) says they will have to share a bed. Lou then does his trademark whistle.

Some gag sequences would be reused in later Abbott and Costello films. One of them would be a comic ballet between Lou Costello and Joan Davis. Lou would later do a similar (though not as funny) bit with Dorothy Ford in Jack in the Beanstalk. A sequence of a moving candle would be reworked into Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. That moving candle routine was actually where the idea to make Hold That Ghost came from. They had performed this routine on burlesque and also for their original audition for Universal. One joke written for this movie, but that didn't make it into the film was actually used in the later Abbott and Costello film, Ride 'Em Cowboy. In this joke Bud mentions a herd of cows to which Lou responds, "Of course I've heard of cows."

Because Lou's scared act went over so well with audiences, a scene with Lou scared would be put into the next Abbott and Costello movie, Keep 'Em Flying.

Shemp has a small role as a soda jerk in this film. While he may not have much to do here, he does truly leave an impression and gets the most out of this small role as he possibly could.  

There is so much to recommend about this movie. It has some of the funniest scenes the team ever did. These include the amazing comic ballet, the changing rooms and Lou's failed attempt at being a waiter. Many individual jokes here are also very funny. I love when Lou states that he is scared to go into the dark with no one to talk to. Bud asks him why he doesn't just talk to himself. Lou responds, "I get too many stupid answers." Also adding to the comedy here is an amazing comedic performance by Joan Davis. Her comedic chemistry with the boys is perfect and she adds so many great laughs to this movie. Watching her and Lou do the comic ballet is a wonder to behold. The musical numbers are again great here. Filled with energy and excitement these songs are just a joy. As many of you know at this time, Universal excelled at making horror films, and the same care and attention seems to be on this movie. The look of this movie, from the lighting to the cinematography is incredible. It gives an amazing sense of atmosphere that is absent from most slapstick comedies. Due to this the movie gives much of the same amazement that is seen in the best of those Universal horror films and the images as well as the jokes and the songs stay in one's mind after the movie is over. Beyond all this though the movie is just tremendously entertaining. There is not one dull spot and the whole film just puts a smile on my face each time I watch it. No wonder this is my favorite Abbott and Costello movie. 

-Michael J. Ruhland

Resources Used


The Abbott and Costello Story by Stephen Cox and John Lofflin

https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/78178/hold-that-ghost#overview

DVD Audio Commentary by Film Historian Jeff Miller. 

Buck Privates (1941)

 

Note: This post was originally on my Movies With Michael blog but because it features Shemp in a supporting role, I am including it on this blog as well. 

Everyone who like me is an old movie addict, has a movie that started their addiction. For me that film was Buck Privates. As a kid I quickly fell in love with this movie. I thought Abbott and Costello were the funniest thing I had ever seen and the songs by The Andrew Sisters' song numbers were so much fun. Since I was a kid, I wasn't too critical about the romantic subplot either. This was pure entertainment of a type I was unfamiliar with before and it didn't take long for me to fall in love with classic films.

Buck Privates marked the first starring feature film for Abbott and Costello. Though they had both appeared in One Night in the Tropics before, that movie had them strictly as part of the supporting cast. Anyone who has seen One Night in the Tropics would completely understand why Abbott and Costello quickly became movie stars. That film featured Abbott and Costello at the top of their game performing some of their best skits and clearly stealing the show from the people who were meant to be the stars. Still even though Buck Privates featured Abbott and Costello as the stars, the two hardly move the plot forward. Their entire arc in the film involves the boys being drafted into the army and having to put up with having a sergeant that already has a grudge against the two. The real story of involves a spoiled rich man (Lee Bowman) who as soon as he gets drafted into the army has only one thought, how to get out. However there is one thing he likes about the army and that is a beautiful hostess played by Jane Frazee. However his former valet (Alan Curtis) has a crush on her as well leading to a love triangle.

Even this plot is somewhat slight though as the main appeal of the movie is meant to be Abbott and Costello's comedy skits. Sure enough Bud and Lou are given some of their best material in this film. This material was provided heavily by John Grant. Grant had already worked with Abbott and Costello on burlesque and radio before the duo ever entered movies. A former burlesque comedian himself, John Grant had a near perfect knowledge of all the old vaudeville and burlesque routines, which proved to be perfect for Bud and Lou. Grant would continue to work with the duo until the end of their screen career. Here like in many other films he received the credit "Special material for Abbott and Costello Provided by..." Bud and Lou here are also at the top of their game full of youthful energy and pure comedic expertise. Though the boys would perform some of these skits in later films they rarely did it as well as they did here. In fact multiple takes needed to be made of the marching scene because director Arthur Lubin (the main director of Abbott and Costello's early movies and their second best director behind Charles Barton) kept cracking up. Bud and Lou had been performing these skits on stage for years and with this movie the skits reached comedic perfection.




It was common place in this era for musical numbers to be inserted into the feature films of comedy teams. Though this practice has gotten a lot of flack from old movie fans, when the music is as good as it is in Buck Privates who am I to complain. Just like Bud and Lou, The Andrew Sisters are at the top of their game. This movie quickly made me a fan of their music and why not. These songs (Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy, Bounce Me Brother With a Solid Four, I'll Be With You in Apple Blossom Time) are all fantastic. This certainly left an impression on audiences of the time, and The Andrew Sisters would appear in the next two Abbott and Costello movies (In the Navy (1941), Hold That Ghost (1941)). Even Jane Frazee receives a delightful song number (I Wish You Were Here). The music would lead this film to receiving its only two Academy Award nominations, for best musical score (Charles Previn) and best song (Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B).

For this film former writer Alex Gottlieb (tell me that name doesn't make any of my fellow movie fans automatically think of A Night at the Opera (1935)) was promoted to a producer. He was not the first chosen to produce this film. In fact Universal executive Milton Field told him he was "the twenty-seventh writer I've talked to. Everyone else turned it down. They all want to be producers, too. But they all said that these are a couple of cheap burlesque comics who will never get anywhere." The reason Gottlieb agreed was that he had seen Bud and Lou preform in person and was very impressed by the effect the had on audiences. Gottlieb would tell Field, "I will be the star producer on your lot, I will make Universal rich, and I will make stars out of Abbott and Costello."

The film was a huge hit out grossing very prestigious movies of the same year such as Citizen Kane, How Green is My Valley, Sargent York and Here Comes Mr. Jordon. Just as Alex Gottlieb predicted Abbott and Costello were now movie stars of the highest order. Many films would copy Buck Privates trying to repeat the success, but none were able to. One of these movies would even star the legendary comedy duo Laurel and Hardy (Great Guns (1941)).

This also marked the first Abbott and Costello film to feature Shemp Howard (of Three Stooges fame) in a supporting role. He also appeared in the Abbott and Costello movies, Hold That Ghost (1941), In the Navy (1941) and Africa Screams (1949). 

The following is from an issue of Screenland Magazine, "It's another one of those cases of long standing years of admiration which finally lead to a happy and unbelievable climax. You're seeing the once idolized Jack Mulhall in 'Buck Privates' today because he once was a movie hero to a stage struck high school boy back in Patterson, New Jersey. Jack Mulhall hailed from near Passiac and young Lou Costello felt that that made a particularly logical tie between them, and Lou got the movie bug very, very badly although he had never met Mulhall. In all the years of his struggle to gain recognition as an entertainer he never met the actor he admired above all others. It wasn't until a very few days before 'Buck Privates' was to go into production that he was introduced to Mulhall amid the bustle and rush of an executive's office at his studio. Lou let his bosses know that it had always been a boyhood dream to appear in a picture with Jack. That is the reason you're seeing this one time idol as the doctor in 'Buck Privates.'"  

This following page from The Exhibitor has a very special story about what happened during one showing of this movie. If you have any trouble reading click on the page and use your touch screen to zoom in.

     

Again I love the way theaters advertised movies back in the day and you can see a fine example of that on the following page from The Motion Picture Herald.











-Michael J. Ruhland

Resources Used

http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/69830/Buck-Privates/articles.html

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033436/?ref_=tttr_tr_tt