Lost in a Harem

In Port Inferno, singer Hazel Moon performs in a club with bumbling magicians, Peter Johnson (Bud Abbott) and Harvey Garvey (Lou Costello). The guys' act goes badly and the trio gets thrown in prison. They encounter a crazed prisoner who goes nuts whenever he hears the word Pokomoko. Prince Ramo helps them escape and they join him to regain his throne from his uncle Nimativ.

This is Abbott and Costello going crazy in a lot of unreal situation comedy. See this for their comedic routines. There is lots of it. They can get long but enjoy them for what they are. It's a couple of comedy masters doing their work.

Mildly amusing A&C. Moving over to big-budget MGM means bigger production values than usual. And some of the Middle-East cityscapes are really impressive. The boys are helping the prince of the realm (Conte) regain the throne from the evil usurper Nimativ (Dumbrille). Needless to say, their help is a lot funnier than effective. The sketches are okay but the connecting narrative is flatter than usual. And too bad we don't see more of the harem than the pudgy little keeper who looks a lot like Costello—a funny bit.

Actually, my favorite part is the frenetic dance routine imaginatively set to the exotic strains of Scheherezade—the long scarves flying fast and furious. Surprisingly, we don't see much of Jimmy Dorsey and his orchestra, despite their featured billing. At the same time, there's the lovely Marilyn Maxwell who mostly gets to stand around and look blonde.

Some of the funnier parts—pretending to be Hollywood talent scouts to get the harem girls on their side, the derelict (Leonard) doing his "Slowly I turn…" bit that usually ends with Costello looking like a pretzel, and the invisible man routine that turns Costello into a janitor. Anyway, it's a peppy 90-minutes and if not among their best, at least it has its share of laughs.

Like MGM's previous Abbott and Costello film, RIO RITA, LOST IN A HAREM has a sound and feel to it that is indicative of being filmed in a sound stage with lots of echo--an odd choice for a desert film. As a result, the film has a certain artificial and claustrophobic feel to it. Why MGM wouldn't take this immensely popular comedy team (one of the biggest box office draws of the era) and put them in a higher quality film is a mystery. MGM had a habit of misusing comedy teams--particularly in the post-Irving Thalberg era.

Now this doesn't mean that they cut lots of corners indoors, but what they did do wasn't exactly crowd-pleasing. These musical numbers were even more lavish than those in the Universal Pictures films the team made and starred Jimmy Dorsey and his famous orchestra--in the desert. All these songs didn't give the fans what they wanted--more Abbott and Costello. As a result, their three MGM films failed to make the money the studio had expected.

Despite these shortcomings, the film does have some laughs. While far from sophisticated, the prison skits with the seriously crazy cell-mate are pretty funny and are based on old Vaudeville routines--particularly the 'Pokomoko' skit. In fact, it was done in other films and by other comedy teams (such as The Three Stooges)--and was probably done by other comedy teams long before Abbott and Costello. Murray Leonard was very funny (though far from subtle) in these routines and worked well with the team.

As for the plot, it's a bit silly and unfortunately also has the formulaic lady and her love interest (who really do little in the way of plot or comedy). In this case, a beautiful blonde just happens to be in this desert country and the boys are trying to help her escape back to America. Unfortunately, there is an evil usurper (Douglass Dumbrille--who was pretty funny in a cartoony way) who has taken the throne and uses his cool hypno-rings to make people do his bidding. He immediately is taken by the blonde and the boys get caught up in a plot by the rightful monarch (is this an oxymoron?) to get the hypno-rings--helping him and the rebels to depose Dumbrille. Naturally, much of the film consists of the boys running about the palace and trying to avoid being executed.

Whether you like this film will depend a lot on whether or not you find these antics funny. Abbott and Costello fans will clearly find enough to merit watching, though those not familiar with the duo might find this hard-going, as the film is watchable but far from their best.

Lavish (by their standards) production values, tuneful music (Jimmy Dorsey and his band contribute a lot to that), and some chucklesome routines, but the story is too repetitive: A & C get captured by the evil sheik, escape, get captured, escape....and so on. Pokomoko! **1/2 out of 4.

The review dated 21 May 2000 is indeed amazing. The reviewer states that he never cared for Bud and Lou. Well, dear reader, I sure hope that y-o-u never waste your time on a topic that you have no interest in. Profit from Ron's time-wasting and do what you enjoy. This film, which may be a step-up, budget-wise, may also be a step down in content, to some. It is definitely a product of its time and audiences of World War II couldn't get enough of Abbott & Costello. If you enjoy big band music, the idea of Jimmy Dorsey's band will excite you. To see one of the era's prettiest women, Marilyn Maxwell, this is a fine showcase. Just as every Bogart film isn't CASABLANCA, every A & C film isn't MEET FRANKENSTEIN. But this one will do ...