Here Come the Co-eds

1945's "Here Come the Co-eds" was the last great Abbott and Costello picture until at least 1947's "The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap," pairing Lou with the pretty and vivacious Peggy Ryan, already a veteran of a dozen films opposite regular musical co-star Donald O'Connor. Like The Marx Brothers, A & C were at their best in surroundings where they didn't belong, and working as caretakers at an all-girl college would be a dream job for any romantic fool. As Patty Gayle, perky Peggy Ryan shines as Costello's love interest, doing a charming song and dance called 'Let's Play House,' each in turn lascivious or childlike, Lou even prefacing the number by remarking, "I feel just like Donald O'Connor!" as Peggy smiles knowingly. Another rarity is giving Bud Abbott a sister in Martha O'Driscoll's Molly (despite the 27 year age difference!), who earns a scholarship to Bixby College, greatly improving their basketball team. The climactic game between Bixby and Carlisle gives Costello the opportunity to show why he used to be free throw champion of Paterson, New Jersey, making all the actual shots without missing, except for the final trick shot that bounces from one basket to the other (11 years later, he showed he still had it, effortlessly sinking a free throw for 'The Armory Five' on THIS IS YOUR LIFE). Three years before "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein," Lon Chaney first encounters the team as the conniving caretaker, 'Strangler' Johnson, his best scene after Costello swallows his dice, making bets with Abbott by checking Lou through a fluoroscope! There's a comic wrestling match between Lou and Lon (the latter disguised as 'The Masked Marvel'), and one with Lou trying to eat oyster stew as its live occupant refuses to cooperate (revised for a frog in "The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap," then disguised as whale meat in "Lost in Alaska"). Lon Chaney worked with Martha O'Driscoll in several pictures ("Crazy House," "Follow the Boys," "Ghost Catchers," "The Daltons Ride Again" and "House of Dracula"), while reuniting with Peggy Ryan in her penultimate film, 1949's "There's a Girl in My Heart," featuring several other former Universal players- Lee Bowman ("Buck Privates"), Gloria Jean ("Never Give a Sucker an Even Break"), and Elyse Knox ("Hit the Ice," "The Mummy's Tomb").

The main attraction in Here Come the Coeds is seeing Lou Costello in drag during a girl's college basketball game. One of the players is injured and he substitutes. When he's conked on the head he develops amnesia and then Abbott and Peggy Ryan tell him he's Daisy Dimple the world's greatest female basketball player and he proceeds to act the part.

Some here have said that Costello was hardly convincing in drag. But I have to say I've seen drag performers a whole lot worse.

Abbott and Costello are paid dancing escorts at a dime a dance palace. Why anyone would pay to dance with Costello is anyone's guess. But they get fired and land jobs at a girl's college where Abbott's sister, June Vincent, enrolls due to a publicity gimmick Abbott thought up.

There was some other comment that this was the only time any female, Peggy Ryan, showed an interest romantically in Lou. Not true at all. In previous films Martha Raye and Joan Davis did. But this was the only film Costello got to do a song and dance with a female partner. He did do an outrageous waltz with Joan Davis in Hold That Ghost, but there was no singing.

Peggy Ryan was doing a whole lot of musicals with Donald O'Connor at the time at Universal. She had a nice fresh appeal and partnered well with O'Connor. Working with Costello must have been something different.

Donald Cook as the Dean of Students is paired with June Vincent. As they are a pretty sappy pair fortunately there's not much film wasted on them. Charles Dingle as the head of the board of trustees fares much better. He's his usual pompous stuffed shirt, a part he played like no one else in film history. I wish they'd given him some comedy bits with the boys.

Lon Chaney, Jr. plays the head caretaker and the nemesis of the boys. He gets right in with the comedy and serves as a great foil for Costello, especially in the wrestling match sequence. It's a ripoff of what they'd done in Buck Privates in a boxing match, but who cares, it's still a very funny sequence.

I saw just about all of Abbott and Costello's films as a lad. WPIX television in New York used to run them constantly on Sunday morning. For some reason Here Come the Coeds wasn't among them, I only got to see it a few years ago. But it was worth the wait.

With "Here Come The Co-eds," Abbott & Costello have their funniest film since 1942's "Who Done It." The duo seems more energetic in their performance, and the storyline (two ballroom dancers who find themselves as caretakers at an all-girls college) suits them well.

The "Jonah" routine shines here, and the comic timing the duo display is exquisite. Costello shows his basketball prowess during the climactic basketball game. Also a plus -- a decent supporting cast featuring Peggy Ryan ("She's cuuuuute!") and Lon Chaney Jr. as the deliciously evil head caretaker.

The movie avoids heavy and sluggish moments and is paced well, although one could still due without the music filler. All in all though, a solid effort with solid laughs. 8 out of 10.

Castle films extracted the best scenes from this feature and made two 8mm/16mm shorts "Fun on the Run" and "Oysters and Muscles" for the home film market.This was done in 1949 and both titles were among the most popular of all the A&C Castle shorts.If you look up on Ebay you can see both titles listed numerous times during the year.Most are regular 8mm,as 16mm sound was usually to expensive for the average home market user.

I have collected 16mm Castle Films since the 1960's.Before VHS & DVD,s came along, 16mm optical sound track was basically the only format for showing sound edition prints. When super 8mm came on the scene in the later 60's you could buy magnetic sound super 8 prints...

It was reported that after A&C had split up and weren't under contract to Universal pictures any longer;Lou Costello sued Castle Films for unpaid royalties he believed were due him from Castle's Home Market sales.I believe it was never settled as Costello died in 1959 and Castle Films continued on well into the 70's before becoming Universal 8...s.m.

Costello certainly earns his money in this lively romp. Between getting knocked into potted palms or whirled around like a spinning top, his sight gags fly thick and fast. The plot has the boys joining a girl's school as caretakers, and then working to save the school from bankruptcy by outwitting (sort of) crooked gamblers.

It's a good chance to catch teen fashions, circa 1945, as the co-eds parade around in casual wear of the day. Universal certainly stocked the screen with a crowd of young lovelies to look at. Still, my money's on the hugely talented Peggy Ryan who steals the show with her mugging and sprightly dancing. She's a perfect foil for the equally versatile Costello. Too bad her movie career was so brief. Also, there's Phil Spitalny and His All-Girl Orchestra. They're a matter of taste, but Evelyn sure knows how to saw away on her Magic Violin.

Anyway, it's a fast 90-minutes, with the boys in fine energetic form, along with an excellent supporting cast, especially with baddies like Dingle and Chaney, and the expected whirlwind finish.