Abbott y Costello salvados por un pelo

A&C Meet the Kops is a funny movie, then and now. Bud and Lou were funny men, and their best film work was done at U-I in the postwar years, starting with their Meet Frankenstein classic. All their U-I Meet Somebody movies were funny, some were very funny. This one's a hoot all the way. I saw it with Power and Hayward in UNTAMED, Fox Redwood, April 15, 1955. Can't get better value for money than that. I was 16, am now 63. Maybe you have to be really old to get it, but youngsters, these guys are better than Adam Sandler, Jim Carrey, Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller all put together. No, really, they are.

There is a real change in the role portrayed by Bud Abbott in this picture. In past films, he has had the role of Costello's straight man for dialogue scenes. He played a sharp, smart, heavy. No one was meant to take this seriously, but Abbott played the bad guy! He usually gets the best of Costello. (This is not true of their famous "Dice Routine", "The Lemon Bit" and that oh so satisfying conclusion of "Africa Screams".) When it came to physical comedy, Costello was on his own, with Abbott nowhere to be found. But starting with this film, and continuing with "A & C Meet the Mummy" and "Dance with Me, Henry", Bud Abbott has become a buffoon. He takes more pratfalls in this film and in "The Mummy" than he did in all of his other films combined. Now it is obvious that a stunt man is doing the physical bits for him, but it is nice to see Abbott become funny. Why didn't this happen sooner? Maybe it was Lou Costello's ego. Maybe it was Bud Abbott's illness. Maybe Abbott just didn't care and let Costello carry the team.

With "Keystone Kops", the writers have finally made Bud Abbott funny. He tries to be gruff and mean, but it just isn't in him. He tries to show that he is braver and smarter than Costello, but no one believes him. There is finally some depth to the team. Costello is still silly and innocent, but now Abbott is a phony to the world. In the past he was able to fool everyone but Lou.

Now I am not saying that I do not enjoy the previous A&C efforts. Some of them are brilliant comedies and John Grant's routines are always marvelous. However, it took so much time for the characters of Bud and Lou to grow. I only wish there were more films to see their metamorphosis.

"Abbott and Costello meet the Keystone Kops" gives a nice homage to the silent film era, in most ways. In that and every other respect, this film is flawed only by the long and eventually tedious chase scene involving the fake Keystone Kops. I admit it is enjoyable to watch people run in fast motion (typical of silent films), but that scene gets boring before long. I am a big Abbott and Costello fan. Here, the acting is good. Fred Clark is good as Joseph Gorman, and the man who plays the producer (I don't remember his name) was billed last, and he is one of the best actors in the cast, better than Fred Clark, even! Also, Roscoe Ates (the hillbilly who stutters) was perfect! The mistaken identity scene of the two policemen and crooks is hilarious. This film also has many other hilarious touches: Costello being thrown out of the theater (twice), the train scenes, the stop-motion when Joseph Gorman (disguised as Sergei), yells Cut!, Abbott and Costello being carried by each other at various times, and many more. This is not the best A&C film (only one film is reserved for that honor), but this is not a bad

film. It doesn't need to be better, really. It all depends on your expectations (and that should never be very high anyway).

Good movies about the early days of movies are scarce, which is strange and disappointing considering what a wealth of good material exists about that era. Peter Bogdanovich's NICKLEODEON started off pretty well but descended into trite soap opera before it finished. One of the best movies about silent movies is this one, maybe because it has a real feel for the time and the characters and presents them with a certain degree of authenticity. All that aside it's also a lot of fun. Bud and Lou are on form, the supporting cast (especially the great Fred Clark) is good, and the stunts are funny and well executed with nary a CG shot in sight. One of the best things about it is the lively musical score, in part by an uncredited Henry Mancini who recycled some of it for the chase scenes in Blake Edwards THE GREAT RACE. Recommended for slapstick fans.

Costello plays Tubby, a fan of the Nickelodeon flickers, sometime around 1914. Abbott is Slim, who convinces Tubby to buy a motion picture studio with his aunt's money. The duo are conned by Joe Gorman (Fred Clark) who follow him to California. Will the duo catch up to Gorman, or will Gorman get the best of them?

"Meet the Keystone Kops" is probably the last fun film Abbott and Costello made. It is a surprise, considering that Costello just recovered from a major illness. Indeed, Costello looks thinner than in any of his previous films, so calling his character "Tubby" is somewhat off the mark.

Both Abbott and Costello are at their slapstick best. This too is a surprise, considering that Costello supposedly told Abbott in an earlier time not to slap him anymore!

Fred Clark is deliciously evil as Joe Gorman and is one of Abbott and Costello's finest foils. Clark's skill as an actor, coupled with his sense of comedy, are wonderful to see.

7 out of 10.