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I have seen only a few of the Abbott and Costello films, and find in most of them that the films themselves are but an excuse for them to do their (hilarious) routines, with some uninteresting story added in for padding. Since they made no bones about this, and it generally worked, because they did not disguise it (unlike Laurel and Hardy). With many of A&C's pictures, their scenes are always great. I find their TV show to be the purest representation of their humor. BUCK PRIVATES must surely rank not only as the best Abbott and Costello movie, but also as one of the best comedy films of all time. On top of this, it is like an 84-minute slice of American history. The romantic sub-plot in this film is very relevant to audiences of the day and is not trivial or silly (like those in the films of the Marx Bros. and Laurel and Hardy). Lou Costello is hilarious as ever here. Abbott is in full form too. The supporting cast is perfect, especially Nat Pendleton, not to mention a brilliant series of music numbers by the great Andrews Sisters. Their main number, "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy," is truly a historical moment, and it's a great performance to boot. It's easy to see how this was the most popular comedy of it's day. All in all, I was very impressed by this film. I hope it gets shown more often on TV so new audiences can enjoy this rousing and hilarious movie.

Fun wartime comedy starring Abbott & Costello. It's just their second film (and their first as the stars) but it has a freshness about it that some later films of theirs don't have. The energy level is high in this one and the musical numbers don't feel as intrusive as they sometimes did in the duo's early films. The plot has Bud and Lou accidentally enrolling in the US Army while trying to escape from a policeman and finding themselves at boot camp with the same policeman now as their drill sergeant. Funny routines from the boys include the famous drill routine, the craps game, and "you're 40, she's 10." Great songs from the Andrews Sisters include "(I'll Be with You) In Apple Blossom Time," "Bounce Me Brother with a Solid Four," and the timeless "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy." The only negative for me is the lame love triangle involving Alan Curtis, Jane Frazee, and Lee Bowman. Bud and Lou are in great form here. Nat Pendleton is fun as the drill sergeant. It's not one of Abbott & Costello's best but it is entertaining.

This is one of my favourite outings from Bud & Lou, the start of their phenomenally successful career in the service comedies and one of a series of smile-jerkers from them and Universal. This was also the one that made it for them in the movies and turned them into America's no. 1 box office stars during the War.

They're a couple of street tie-selling con artists who unwittingly join the Army (along with playboy Lee Bowman) in trying to escape the clutches of the Law in the shape of cherubic Nat Pendleton. It's not so easy to escape ones duty however, and so follows a series of unconnected inconsequential adventures learning to be soldiers or lovers all with that special lighthearted wartime Universal treatment. A&C went through their routines with impeccable timing and a professionalism that belied all the slapstick. Favourite bits: playing unintelligible (to me) clubhouse dice; Abbott inoculated and Costello's reaction; the mathematics of borrowing USD 50; the historic performance of Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy by the Andrews Sisters and then the sudden end to the boogie-woogie boxing match; the unusual deadpan arrangement to Jane Frazee's I Wish You Were Here. The Voice Of Hellzapoppin returns! No kidding but what chance did the Japanese and Germans really have - sorry for identifying who the enemies were in these socially inclusive times, because they weren't in the film - to pit themselves against all this? The American War Machine was awakening, with the might of Hollywood behind it and A&C playing their part with their entertaining flagwavers the same as George Formby did on a smaller scale for the British War effort.

The box office success - and critical praise too - of this took Universal by surprise and they didn't make nearly as much money as they could have, a mistake they never made again with A&C. Recommended, an antidote to now and to me always a joy to behold and hear.

While this was the Abbott & Costello's second feature, and only Abbott's second film (Costello had appeared in several films as a stuntman and background extra in the late '20s), you sure couldn't tell, as the pair handled themselves like veterans. They are so assured and confident here that they appear to be making up their routines as they go along, although in reality they had polished them to near perfection during their years in vaudeville, burlesque and on the Broadway stage. This film is a terrific example of the flawless timing that not only convulsed their audiences but astounded other comedians (Steve Allen said that he had never seen anyone who could match them). Some criticism has been directed at the duo for the insertion of superfluous and usually second-rate musical numbers in most of their films--a decision made by Universal Pictures which the team had no control over--and while that may be true for several of their subsequent efforts, it isn't here. The numbers are well staged and the songs, especially "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy," are infectious. The "plot" about a spoiled rich boy and his servant who enlist in the army is lame, but it doesn't really matter. This is a showcase for Bud and Lou's talents, and they don't disappoint. Director Arthur Lubin said that he pioneered the use of two cameras to cover scenes mainly because Costello was so off-the-wall and bounced all over the place so much that one camera simply couldn't contain him, so he ordered up another camera and had it trained exclusively on Costello. The boys do their best routines here--The Crap Game, The Ten/Forty routine, the Drill routine--and they are a joy to watch. Anyone who thinks that Bud Abbott wasn't the best straight man in the business should watch the Drill routine and check out how he consistently and skillfully reins in Costello whenever Lou's manic energy takes him too far outside the skit while still allowing him the freedom to employ the ad-libs and improvisations he was famous for. Abbott never really got as much credit as he deserved, and this scene alone shows why he deserved it.

Abbott & Costello did make some films that were beneath their talents, and some that were just plain unfunny, but this is definitely not one of them. This is a tremendously enjoyable film. Highly recommended.

My uncle who later served in France during the second World War was one of those whose lives was interrupted by the peace time draft before the USA entered World War II. It was with some touch of irony that he will mention to this day he never saw any camp hostesses like Jane Frazee or the Andrews Sisters.

But Buck Privates is an Abbott and Costello film, not a serious drama about the first peace time draft in American history. Bud and Lou got in the short run of this film several of their classic routines.

When Universal signed Abbott and Costello on the strength of their running appearances on Kate Smith's Radio Show, they were expecting to do a series of B programmers with them. They never dreamed that these two burlesque comedians would become the national icons that they did.

Shot on a shoestring the film made an exponential profit for Universal studios. Without the usual Hollywood ballyhoo that would have accompanied a major Hollywood production, Buck Privates returned many times the cost of production.

And through the serendipitous casting angel, Buck Privates also included the Andrews Sisters who got to sing three of their standards in this, I'll Be With You In Apple Blossom Time, You're A Lucky Fellow, Mr. Smith, and the immortal Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy from Company B.

There are in fact so many musical numbers and so many A&C routines in this short film, there's barely room enough for a plot which involves a playboy Lee Bowman, his former chauffeur AlanCurtis, and Jane Frazee the camp hostess they both want to get better acquainted with. But because of that the film doesn't drag for a second.

Buck Privates set the standard for the films that Bud and Lou did for Universal. No doubt about it, their best work was in the early Forties and Buck Privates is the best of all.