Deux nigauds toréadors

An Abbott and Costello movie that comes off as something of a misfire, especially following right after the great ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN, often considered one of their very best. Based on a play, this story is sort of awkward in the realm of Bud and Lou misadventures. We have Costello as a fugitive who's just won a contest where he danced a samba for 68 hours, and is now pursued by the police to Mexico. Of course, it's not poor Lou's fault; he was swindled by the character played by Abbott, and Costello needs to catch up with Bud and get his money back, and clear himself.

Naturally we get some gags here and there, but they're not among the comedy duo's finest. One running joke that really gets boring after the first couple of tries is Lou uncontrollably conditioned to dance the samba from force of habit, whenever hearing the music played. Another routine has Lou confronting a wild bull in an arena (what else would you expect in a Mexican comedy?). There are a couple of humorous scenes with assistance from guest stars like Fritz Feld (who attempts to teach Costello how to speak properly), and my personal favorite involving Sidney Fields as a fast-talking interviewer who won't let Lou get a word in edge-wise (Fields would later go on to play A&C's landlord on their TV show). Lou's brother Pat Costello has a steady role here as one of the cops constantly trailing Lou. He'd made brief appearances in other movies and often as Lou's stunt double, but Pat is pretty much a wooden Indian throughout. **1/2 out of ****

Abbott & Costello play two con-men who sell phony stock to gullible would-be buyers, who are now pursued by the police. They then flee to Mexico, where they travel incognito, and meet up with an old friend who is now a bullfighter, which of course creates lots of opportunities for Lou to get chased around by an angry bull, and who also has recently been in some kind of a dance marathon, so now whenever he hears a Samba, can't help himself dancing uncontrollably, no matter the situation. Entirely forgettable(and forgotten) comedy is competently made but utterly unfunny, and the team play rather unlikable characters this time, despite their ineptitude.

MEXICAN HAYRIDE (1948) **1/2 Bud Abbott, Lou Costello.

A&C comedy south of the border with con man Bud bilking samba-loving Lou who unwittingly foils some phony silver stock plans. Highlight: the bull fight.

This film is a bit unusual for an Abbott and Costello film in that Bud and Lou work against each other. In other words, they are not friends in the film and Lou is hiding out in Mexico. It seems that Bud is a swindler and has made it look like Lou is guilty. Naturally, Lou's goal is to get the money back so that he can pay off everyone back home and get the police to drop the case against him. Again and again throughout the film, Bud promises to give Lou all the money...in a few days.

Complicating things is that the police have just spotted Lou and are hot on his trail. But, they aren't positive it's the right guy and they are forced to back off when Lou is designated the "Guest of the People of Mexico". In other words, he was supposedly randomly chosen to be wined and dined as a sign of good will between the US and Mexico. In a very ironic scene, just when the Mexicans are set to honor Lou, the American police are ready to arrest him. What stops them is that one of the cops also matches this vague description! And, in reality, this part is played by Pat Costello--Lou's older brother in real life! Low points in the film include Luba Malina's performance. At times, she speaks with a typical American accent and in others she tries (in vain) to approximate a Mexican accent...and fails miserably. Why the director didn't bother to fix these scenes or notice is beyond me. Apparently, Malina was Russian-born and lived all around the world and if you listen, you can clearly hear this in her voice! Another is the scene late in the film where Lou is hiding out as an old lady with a tortilla wagon. His fake Spanish is really, really lame and sounds like Spanish only to someone with severe brain damage--and it's not really very funny--though the scene otherwise isn't bad at all. Could audiences back in 1948 have actually thought this was an approximation of Spanish?! High points are the lack of musical numbers and irrelevant secondary characters in the film. There is no handsome couple (unless you count Lou and Luba) and the film tends to focus exclusively on Bud and Lou.

Unfortunately, though, there aren't a ton of laughs in the film and it is a rather bland affair compared to the rest of the comedy team's work. An mildly interesting diversion and that is all.

Lesser Abbott & Costello film sees the boys hiding out in Mexico because Lou is wanted for being a forger and swindler. Except Lou is just an innocent dupe of Bud, who's the real crook. Part of the problem with this one lies right there in that description. Abbott & Costello aren't friends in this and Bud is kind of a tool. So you have Lou performing several routines with other characters instead of Bud. There are lots of pretty senoritas hanging around, so that's a plus. Lovely Virginia Grey is another plus. Some of the gags are pretty corny. A repeated gag involving Lou and samba music is particularly unfunny. It's not a bad movie and there are some laughs but something just doesn't click.