Abbott und Costello auf Glatteis

A strong entry from Abbott & Costello which sees them unwittingly aiding a trio of gangsters to rob a bank and having to then track them down before they are arrested for the crime themselves. Costello's encounter with a little girl on an ice rink is a scream.

Photographers Flash and Tubby believe they have land a paying job when they agree to cover a group of men coming out of a bank. Little do they know that the men are bank robbers who have mistaken the two for hired guns, booked to cover the entrance during the job. They discovery this too late and suddenly find themselves suspected of the robbery themselves. With only the photographs they took as leverage, the two follow the crooks to a mountain ski resort where they plan to expose them and clear their own names.

Abbott & Costello are always a duo I come back to but yet they are also a duo that tend to deliver solid amusement rather than great films. Hit the Ice is another one of those because it is roundly "ok" even if it does have some bits that capture why people love these two. The plot is a simple affair with the usual misunderstandings and scrapes along the way but it does work, providing the love interest for Costello to flirt with and also the tough guys for him to face off against. There are a few routines that are good fun like the "teller" one or the bit where Costello packs and unpacks repeatedly, while the pratfalls and chases are amusing and are done with energy. It doesn't have enough to be considered a great film or anything but it is amusing enough to please fans and also children.

The film is padded far too much with musical numbers. You expect one or maybe two but there are loads of them here and they never feel like anything other than filler. Abbott and Costello are both on pretty good form here, they feel like they are working well off one another – with Costello in particular putting effort into his falls and double-takes. Simms' songs perhaps don't appeal but she certainly does – stunningly beautiful and she has an easy screen presence that helps as well – I feel for Knox who has to compete but doesn't really. Leonard is fun as the main villain while Knowles is about as vanilla and dull as he could have been.

Overall this is an OK piece of comedy that fans will like as well as kids. There are a couple of funny routines and, although it has too much of it, the pratfall-style comedy is OK too. The musical numbers are overused and slow the film down but at least you get to look at Simms while they are on (well, mostly). Solid but unremarkable.

I've always liked this Abbott & Costello outing, probably ranking it just in their top ten - but I really don't know why! The story is so contrived and abounding with plot leaps and non-sequiteurs I wonder what everyone was thinking about in the making and release of this. I think it must be the fun and inconsequential atmosphere created so effortlessly by Universal studios during the War that brings me back to re-watch Hit The Ice every few years, along with my love of A&C of course.

Basically: 2 photographers are mixed up in bank robbery, the main perp of which is laid up as ill in hospital as an alibi. His doctor is going to Sun Valley to take up a new post, so the gangsters tag along with him taking the suspicious nurse in tow - plus A&C trying to clear their names. Ignoring all the plot inanities along the way, this would be a pleasant but ordinary comedy with ditto songs - which were beautifully produced and evocative of the time, but not very catchy. But A&C's packing and re-packing the grip routine still holds up well even with the overly childish conclusion to it. It's also a film that can be watched credulously at 10 years old, in middle age the link to the Keystone Kops is sadly more apparent - who finds them a Laugh Riot nowadays? On the other hand compared to Blazing Saddles (the personal yardstick that I regularly use to gauge the worth of various films) this is a beautiful work of Art - seriously!

So the bottom line is if like me you can overlook plot and you like A&C then you'll do alright, if not, well, it's definitely not their best anyway!

I enjoyed this one a lot. Several funny bits. Watching Lou try to ice skate makes me laugh every time. Love the skiing climax. The gangster stuff with Sheldon Leonard is pretty great, too. I'll add that Patric Knowles and Elyse Knox are likable side characters. Usually the least entertaining part of comedies like this are the romantic subplots with whatever B stars the studio is trying to push. But here they not only don't offend, they add to the picture. I actually cared about them. Anyway, it's not a top ten A&C flick maybe but it's a fun one. Lots of slapping. We don't have enough slapping in movies these days.

Underrated A&C slapstick. The boys are photographers who get mixed up with bank robbers, ending up in a whirlwind ski run at Sun Valley. It's a darn near perfect mix of Costello prat-falls, big band tunes, and mock theatrics. Note how Lou often plays to the camera, acknowledging our presence in humorous fashion.

Plus, it's a great supporting cast of baddies, including a menacing Sheldon Leonard, a sinister Marc Lawrence, and a thuggish Joe Sawyer. And get a load of songstress Ginny Simms-. I'd stamp her name on my fuselage any day. Then there's the sweetly pretty Elyse Knox who, unfortunately, passed away just a short time ago.

Happily, the gags fly thick and fast in a script loaded with clever gimmicks, such as the handkerchief trick that's no sure thing as Lou finds out. Plus, there's the ice rink that made me appreciate what an expert athlete Costello is despite his ungainly appearance.

Anyway, the material is fresh, the boys are energetic, and the pacing is snappy, making this a top-notch entry in the A&C sweepstakes.