Deux nigauds détectives

There are better films featuring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, but "Who Done It" is as good a way as any to discover why the comedy pair was one of the 1940s' most consistent box office draws. It's a marvelously elongated piece of slapstick comedy that showcases Bud and Lou in peak form.

Chick (Bud) and Mervin (Lou) are soda jerks at the Radio Center Drug Store, located in the same building where GBS broadcasts radio shows across the country. The pair want to write a mystery, so when the network director is mysteriously murdered on the air, they jump at the chance to solve the case and prove their smarts. Needless to say, this impromptu sleuthing annoys the real police, and Chick and Mervin are soon on the run.

Just about a year into their 16-year run, "Who Done It" finds Abbott and Costello bursting with energy, utilizing the confines of a radio station as background for their trademark pratfalls and patter. Even when the dialogue is less than stellar, it works at sustaining the energy and proving there was nothing too illogical for Abbott and Costello.

"Why wasn't this murder reported yesterday," Mervin demands as he shows up seconds after the murder, playing a cop.

Because it didn't happen yet, is the answer.

"Why wait until the last minute...You're going to get the electric chair, and two years besides!"

Before you can register enough to groan about that one, Chick is educating Mervin on watts and volts. "What's volts?" "Exactly, watts are volts." "That's what I'm trying to find out...Next thing you'll tell me watts is on second!"

Then you get one of the best bits Abbott and Costello ever did on film, the Alexander 2222 routine, where Mervin tries to call the radio station from a drug store across the street and can't get through, even as a bevy of bizarre characters step into the same phone booth to call places like Nome, Alaska and Moscow. "Long distance, get me Brazil. Hello, Brazil. Is this Joe? Hi Joe! How's the coffee business?" There's lots of great silliness here, my favorite being when Lou for no reason bursts into opera.

As theowinthrop notes in his review, this is an interesting Abbott & Costello film for its focus on radio, which broke them as a national phenomenon and where they continued to work throughout their film career. There's a nice bit where Chick and Mervin, behind the counter of their drug store, act out their radio script with ice-cream scoopers ("'The Midget Gets The Chair,' or 'Small Fry'") and clever use of the tools of radio, like recordings that are activated at the wrong moment, and a prop door Mervin mistakes for the real thing. Walk through one door, and you are in a dark office where a murderer lurks, walk through another and you are in the middle of an acrobatic act.

Why is there an acrobatic act being performed at a radio station? Why are Chick and Mervin entrusted with the one piece of evidence by someone who knows they aren't cops? How does Mervin manage to climb up the side of a building after taking a flagpole in the crotch? Watching an Abbott and Costello movie, you have to ignore stuff like that.

But what you get in "Who Done It" is worth the sacrifice. You get a first-rate supporting cast including the memorable Mary Wilkes, Patric Knowles from "The Adventures of Robin Hood," Edmund MacDonald from "Flying Tigers," and most effectively, William Bendix as a dopey detective who actually manages to get himself tricked by Lou. There's also a great finale on the roof of a building that combines laughs and suspense as effectively as anything in the more-heralded "Meets Frankenstein."

Later on, the films got weaker as Lou pushed Bud to the side and showcased himself more as cuddly man-child. But here the pair was still hungry for laughs and experienced enough to understand what worked. They gave the public what they wanted with "Who Done It," and its a tribute to their lasting genius such a light endeavor still holds up today.

By 1942, with the release of "Who Done It?" Universal Studios had learned a thing or two about Abbott and Costello: Namely, that the ridiculous boy-girl subplots and the subpar music (except from the Andrews Sisters) that padded their other features to date where wholly unnecessary. Thankfully, Bud and Lou are given full reign in "Who Done It?" without any extraneous material.

That said, it's easy to see who "Who Done It?" is my favorite of all their features. Not only are "the boys" in top form, but the supporting cast is great as well; Mary Wickes is a perfect foil for Lou (bringing to mind his earlier clowning with Joan Davis in "Hold That Ghost"), and it's a shame the two didn't work together more (even *her* talents couldn't pump any life into "Dance With Me, Henry").

Abbott and Costello comedies are often long on laughs but short on plot. Not the case with "Who Done It?" The ins and outs of a radio spy ring are well crafted, providing appropriate counterpoint to the antics of Bud and Lou.

And what antics there are! Lou is convulsively funny here, from the opening moments where he deals with an obnoxious elevator boy (and "wins" a bet concerning the production of orange juice) to the later chase on the studio rooftop (and clever use of the sign "Vote for Townsend Phelps"). Classic bits--such as the insanity of "Alexander 2222", which reaches a new and self-deprecating conclusion--are here as well.

Sadly, Universal didn't remain knowledgeable about what to do with A&C for long; soon after, the love stories and drippy songs were back. But "Who Done It?" remains as a testimony to what this incomparable comedy team could achieve on its own.

Who Done It? (1942)

*** (out of 4)

Chick Larkin (Bud Abbott) and Mervin Milgrim (Lou Costello) are two idiot soda jerks working in a building that's the home of some of the most famous radio mysteries in the world. When a man turns up dead on one of the broadcasts the two pretend to be detectives so that they can solve the case and get into the radio business.

WHO DONE IT? is without question the best of the early Abbott and Costello movies at Universal. This is true for several reasons but the biggest is the fact that the studio finally had enough confidence in them that they didn't need to add musical guests and numbers to the movies. Instead of music we're instead treated to several more jokes and there's no question that it really pays off and sends the duo into a new level of filmmaking.

There are many very funny gags throughout the film but one of the highlights is a sequence where Costello believes he's being shot and stabbed but he's too dumb to realize he just hit a switch to a radio broadcast. There are some other very funny moments at the expense of two real detectives and this leads to William Bendix and Costello having some nice moments together. Both Abbott and Costello are in fine form with their comic timing perfect together. They're also greeted to a nice supporting cast including Patrick Knowles, Louise Allbritton and Mary Wickes.

Fans of Abbott and Costello are certainly going to be entertained by this film but even non-fans should enjoy the actual mystery of the story and the various gags paying homage to the days when radio was king.

We think of Abbott and Costello as burlesque comics, but the medium that gave them the national exposure allowing them to go into film was radio. It was on radio that the sharpness of such routines as "Who's On First" was demonstrated to millions, laying the groundwork for the film audience that Universal benefited by. And it was WHO DONE IT? that was their film about radio. They are soda jerks in a restaurant in the building that a radio station is headquartered in. They both want to break into radio. But when they are finally on the premises of the station, they are among the witnesses (and suspects) at the murder of the station's owner (Thomas Gomez). Due to Costello's continuous ability to make errors, they are suspected of the murder by the two detectives (William Gargan and William Bendix) who are assigned to the case. They are determined to try to solve the case and clear themselves.

Gargan and Bendix were ideal foils for A & C, especially Bendix who meets Costello's dumb with dumber. The nadir for both cops is when they are guarding the front of the office building from Abbott and Costello entering it while the investigation is continuing. Bud and Lou, determined to enter the building, walk in backwards, so the cops think they are seeing them walk out (at least momentarily). Rumor has it that Costello determined never to make another film with Bendix - he was jealous of the latter's getting more laughs than him. It may be true, but then Lou was doing pretty well on his own here.

As it is a war picture, the mystery also deals with a spy ring. The actual perpetrator is a surprise of sorts at the end. A good comedy, I give it 8 out of 10.

With "Who Done It?", Abbott and Costello reached their comedic peak in films. Convinced of their box-office appeal after six hits in a row, Universal got rid of the tedious romantic subplots and musical numbers and focused on the comedy team. The end result is a comic masterpiece and a film that ranks as one of their very best.

The boys play soda jerks at the lunch counter of a major radio network, dreaming of getting into the radio business. Through a hilarious series of events, Costello becomes a prime suspect in a murder. His reactions in the film are comedically superb; aiding the comedy are some funny routines, including the classic "Alexander 2222" phone bit.

Also aiding the film is the interesting lighting in the network building, particularly during the "Murder at Midnight" program. The lighting creates an intense atmosphere, and will seem to many to be a film noir look.

An additional benefit to the film is the fine supporting cast, including William Bendix, Don Porter, and Patric Knowles. Mary Wickes lends her comedic talents in the role of Juliet.

Although the film is one of their shorter ones (76 minutes, as a result of having no musical numbers), it doesn't lack good pacing or humour. A laugh riot throughout. I'm surprised that as of this writing, the film ranks less than a 6 on the IMDB. It definitely deserves a 9 out of 10.