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)