Lost in Alaska

Known pretty much everywhere outside the US as ABBOTT AND COSTELLO LOST IN ALASKA this just never gels. Sub-standard, both from a comedic viewpoint and in production values. The boys never look comfortable.

Flimsy tale of a couple of New York firemen in the late 1890's who inadvertently "rescue" a suicidal prospector and through circumstance, find themselves heading back to Alaska with him, when they have a more pressing need to get back to San Francisco, to allay suspicions that they have actually murdered him.

For the most part, it just AIN'T funny. No more so than the strained and diabolically stupid ending. Really, for non-thinking A & C diehards!

Abbott and Costello play two volunteer firemen who save the life of suicidal prospector Nugget Joe (Tom Ewell), only to find themselves accused of his murder. Joe heads back to Alaska for his girlfriend and the boys tag along. They soon find everybody wants Nugget Joe dead and they have to keep him alive so they can prove their innocence. Tom Ewell is great as Nugget Joe. His constant suicide attempts are the funniest bits in the movie. This is a rare case of a supporting actor outshining Bud and Lou. Bruce Cabot plays the villain. Mitzi Green is a forgettable leading lady. Most of the funny stuff is early in the movie. Once they get to Alaska, it's not as good.

Bud&Lou were up to their foreheads in work in 1952,with their television show and making color films JACK AND T He BEANNTALK and ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET CAPTAIN KIDD under separate contract with Warner Brothers. Home studio Universal got the short end of the stick. If the film looks like it was dashed off in a hurry,it probably was. You can mildly understand why t he NY TIMES TV PAGE once reviewed it with "Lost is right".

But the freespirited attitude is al ittle catching---you can imagine thAt larGE portioNS of it were ad-libbed--especially the finale' where the boys throw every random object they can find at the bad guys. Also some fun with harridan landlady Minerva Urecal(the poor man's Margaret Hamilton). She threatens to get the cops and have them evicted. Abbott says-"Oh,it's much too cold for you to be flying around on a broom!" Luckily for Bud,she misses the joke.

The creative juices at Universal were grinding to a halt when Abbott and Costello made Lost In Alaska. The film is obviously taken from the classic Road To Utopia that Bing and Bob did at Paramount a few years back.

The Dottie Lamour role in this film went to Mitzi Green, but the boys aren't fighting over here. She's the squeeze of Tom Ewell a poor sad sack sourdough who wants to kill himself because she gave him in the air. Bud and Lou begin the film as volunteer firemen in San Francisco who save Ewell from drowning himself though Costello nearly goes down in the effort. Then they accompany Ewell to Alaska to maybe get a share of his gold if they can straighten his love life out.

Ewell's a popular guy in Skagway, everyone wants to see him dead because of his strike. Keeping him alive is a full time job for Bud and Lou.

The best routine in the film is Bud putting one over on Lou when they agree to take one hour shifts keeping tabs on Ewell. Bud sleeps for an hour then Lou wakes him, but Bud just puts the clock ahead an hour and then wakes Lou after about a few seconds. Poor Costello can't figure out why he's so drowsy. I wish the rest of the film were as good.

Universal no longer was being kept alive by Abbott&Costello, their box office was assured by a crop of new leading men like Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis, and Jeff Chandler. The quality of their films declined in the Fifties and Lost In Alaska is an example of same.

Abbott and Costello's 50s offerings do nothing other than make you hanker for the halcyon days of the 40s where their best efforts are to be found. Sure there are a couple of decent films in the 50s such as Meet Jekyll/Hyde & The Mummy, but in the main you sense the boys are tired, you sense that the once glowing genius is a shadow of its former self, we sense right because it's true, never more so proved than with this barely average piece.

There are a couple of decent scenes in here, and sure enough the pratfalling antics off Costello will raise a smile, but the writing doesn't give them much to work with, the co stars are suitably bored with the plot, and the biggest crime of all is that we don't get a remotely mirthful ending to save the picture.

5/10 out of loyalty to a couple of comic geniuses going thru the motions, oh and a crab that stole the film.