Episode 204: Abbott and Costello's Gravitational Pull

== Show Notes ==
: We discuss the careers of the mega popular (in the 40s) comedians Abbott and Costello and focus on their films Buck Privates, Hold That Ghost, and Dance with me Henry.
== Films Discussed ==
* The films of Abbot and Costello
** Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1941) Dir. Arthur Lubin
** Hold That Ghost (1941) Dir. Arthur Lubin
** Little Giant (1946) Dir. William A. Seiter
** The Times of their Lives (1946) Dir. Charles Barton
** Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) Dir. Charles Barton
** Abbot and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff (1949) Dir. Charles Barton
** Abbot and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951) Dir. Charles Lamont
** The Abbot and Costello Show (1952-1954) Dir. Jean Yarbrough - TV series
** Abbot and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955) Dir. Charles Lamont
** Dance with Me Henry (1956) Dir. Charles Barton
* It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963) Dir. Stanley Kramer
* Keyholes are for Peeping (1972) Dir. Doris Wishman
* Max Rose (2013) Dir. Daniel Noah
== Discussion Notes ==
* Our hosts history with the comedy dueo
** Will watched all their work as a kid, Justin didn't know who was who until this week
* Abbot and Costello - didn't change comedy, but were the definitive aggregate of comedy
** Lou Costello's early career - stuntman extra turned of-the-time xenophobic vaudeville performer
** Bud Abbott's early career - born into a family of vaudevillians
** They met at Minsky's Burlesque and magic was made (eventually)
* Will recounts the history of the baggy-pants comedian routine
* Why did the duo work?
** Abbot kept Lou in line - Lou went big and wild, and Bud bullied him back down
** Justin: It's "Ted Healy beating up on Curly the whole time"
** Contrast with other comedy teams
*** Laurel and Hardy, who felt like they almost-romantically belonged together
*** The Three Stoogers, who beat each other up but cared for one another
*** The near-homoerotic magnetism of Martin and Lewis
** Their mastery of verbal dexterity and Bud's pitch-perfect straight man
* Abbot and Costello's massive popularity in WWII
** Made ten films between 1941 and 1942
** Buster Keaton was convinced their popularity was due to the lack of competition
* Could you replace Abbot with any other of-the-time straight man?
** Justin: Definitely!
** Will: His fondness for the man says no - you can't beat his anti-charisma
* The tragedies of Abbott and Costello
** Their period of not speaking to one another
** 1943: Costello is struck with rheumatic fever and his infant son drowns
** After Costello's passing, Abbott found a lookalike
*** Will: 'like seeing your parents divorce'
* Buck Privates
** A service comedy and the first starring vehicle for Abbot and Costello, 
*** A bunch of skits tied together by a loose story
** The Python-esque rhythm to their banter gives it a musical flow
* Hold that Ghost
** A great Abbot and Costello starter movie
*** Justin: "Nothing funnier than a comedian acting scared!"
** Guest starring Shemp as a bartender!
* Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein
** Our hosts agree - the best Abbot and Costello film
*** Will: "quintessential", "borderline perfect"
** The last outing of the Universal monsters 
*** Most of the Universal monster actors reprise their roles
*** And it works because they all play it straight!
** Revitalized their careers as their WWII fame started to wane
* Dance with Me, Henry
** The last Abbot and Costello film, a story of adoption and amusement parks
*** Our hosts did not like it
**** There are no jokes! And very few bits
== Listener Letters ==
* Noah
** Are there any other (notable) directors-turned-writers that have flipped between film and fiction?
*** The notable: David Cronenberg, S. Craig Zohler
*** The notrious: Chantal Akerman, Ed Wood
*** The noted: John Sayles, Gus Van Sant, Nora Ephron, 
* Brendan
** What are our hosts thoughts on Samuel Fuller?
*** They love him!
**** Shock Corridor (1963), Shark! (1969), Dead Pigeon on Beethoven Street (1974), White Dog (1982), Return to Salem's Lot (1987)
*** Maybe an episode coming soon?
== Post-Outro Discussion ==
* Will watched one of the first VHS movies ever: David A. Prior's Sledgehammer (1983)
** 'The first shot-on-video horror movie made for the video market', claims the back cover
** Teens in a house haunted by the ghost of a boy who can turn into a sledgehammer
** Made by people who had no idea how to make a film
*** A lot of slow-motion!
* The move in 'trash film' interest from independent cult cinema to video-store detritus
* The beauty of ancient video technology
** See also Bill Gunn's Personal Problems (1980), David A. Prior's Deadly Prey (1987), and Andrew Jordan's Things (1989)
Category:Episodes
Category:Abbott and Costello