In Society

In Society. 1944 Universal Pictures.
Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Marion Hutton, Kirby Grant, Arthur Treacher
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Currently available only as part of Abbott and Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection.

At the time of filming, Abbott and Costello were in the middle of a contract dispute with Universal, and they were known to abruptly knock off for the day at exactly 4:00 in the afternoon, even if they were in the middle of a scene, or even speaking a line. Regardless, this movie about two plumbers accidentally invited to a high society event where a valuable painting is stolen is a pretty good one.

Eddie Harrington (Abbott) and his assistant Albert Mansfield (Costello) work on a leak in the private bathroom of the rich Mr. Van Cleave (Thurston Hall), which is keeping him awake, unlike the costume ball thrown by his wife (Nella Walker) downstairs. Eddie and Albert try to fix the leak, and predictably flood the bathroom. Meanwhile, their friend Elsie Hammerdingle (Hutton), an attractive taxi driver, is romanced by Peter Evans (Grant), a guest dressed as a taxi driver, and he invites her to another event at Briarwood Estate where the valuable painting called The Plunger is to be debuted to the world. Eddie and Albert are accidentally mailed an invitation to this party, instead of the letter of complaint that Mrs. Van Cleave had prepared for them for destroying the bathroom.

A loan shark (Thomas Gomez) that the boys owe money to demands that Eddie and Albert steal The Plunger, which they refuse to do. The painting is still snatched, and it's up to the plumbers and Elsie to apprehend the thieves and get it back.

Recommended movie, no bout adout it. Just don't mention Bagel Street.

The Naughty Nineties

The Naughty Nineties. 1945 Universal Pictures.
Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Alan Curtis, Rita Johnson
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Available as part of Abbott and Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection.

This movie is best known for containing the classic routine "Who's on First?"

Captain Sam (Henry Travers) owns the showboat River Queen, which is traveling from port to port along the Mississippi River, bringing entertainment to every stop. While stopped in a town called Ironville, the Captain meets up with three people, Crawford (Curtis), Bonita (Johnson), and Bailey (Joe Sawyer), and all three are hiding from the law. They invite Sam to play in a card game, despite the objections of his daughter Caroline (Collier), his lead actor Dexter Broadhurst (Abbott) and a crew member named Sebastian Dinwiddle (Costello). Captain Sam is fed drink after drink, and gets involved in a crooked card game where he loses controlling interest of the boat to Bonita and Crawford.

The new owners quickly turn the showboat into a floating casino where every game is rigged in their favor. It's up to Dexter and Sebastian to help Captain Sam gain his property back, and evict Bonita and Crawford...when they're not arguing about who's on first.

Recommended movie.