The Naughty Nineties

Abbott and Costello are at their comedic best in their underrated gem, "The Naughty Nineties." It's interesting to note that this could be considered their first film where their characters aren't a team. Abbott plays a ham actor on a show boat, with Costello as a drummer and handyman. It's rumored that A&C began to have a falling out at the time this film was made in early 1945, which may (or may not) have led to playing separate characters. ("Little Giant" and "The Time of Their Lives" are two more examples.)

The film is best known for the classic "Who's on First" routine. While the boys have the routine down pat and perform it almost flawlessly (except when Costello almost forgets the name of Abbott's character), it falls a little flat without audience reaction. Evidently, the director instructed the audience in the show boat not to laugh, which robs A&C of natural audience reactions. The funniest bit in the film is the part where Costello attempts to sing "My Bonnie"; thinking he is being coached by Abbott, he raises and lowers his voice with comedic hilarity -- one of the funniest segments in the entire A&C series of films.

Ably supported by a decent cast, "The Naughty Nineties" comes in at a snappy 76 minutes of fun and laughter. One of their best from their mid-40s period. 8 out of 10.

This is a very pleasant Abbott & Costello outing. It is a period piece that puts a lot of the boys routines into it and some extra stuff as well. You just need to put your brain away and sit back & enjoy it.

The riverboat theme used here is appropriate as the naive Costello's comedy bounces well off the bad guys schemes. There are some great throw away lines in the film in addition to the Whose On First routine which today they are most remembered for.

Their supporting cast here is fairly good. The production qualities are good and the music works into the film better than some of their films where the music stops the action. Costello borrows the Marx Brothers Horse Feathers routine about throwing a drowning man a life saver. While even Costello can't perform a the frantic pace the brothers did, he is quite energetic and funny here.

This is the film to see if you're fairly new to Abbott and Costello, or if you just want to see a whole bunch of their best routines strung together for merry fun and entertainment! It's an easy 76 minute ride on a cheerful riverboat as Bud plays a ham actor and Lou is his zany assistant. The boat's captain is none other than dear old Henry Travers, best known from IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE. When the kind-hearted Captain Jack gets swindled by a trio of crooked card sharks, they gain three quarters' possession of his ship and try to turn it into a rigged gambling operation. It's then up to Abbott and Costello to help Jack get it back.

It's nice to see A&C in a costume "period picture", and the setting on the traveling riverboat is perfect. Lois Collier makes a beautiful vixen, and Joe Sawyer (who starred with the comedy team in other films) makes the quintessential mean guy who keeps getting foiled by the boys. There are a few little songs, but this time they fit nicely into the air of the proceedings and are never overlong.

But best of all, THE NAUGHTY NINETIES packs more funny routines into its short running time than you can count: Lou tangles with a real bear thinking it's only Bud in costume; Costello mimics Joe Sawyer as a mirror while Sawyer tries to shave; Lou becomes a punching bag during Sawyer's violent nightmare; Costello keeps throwing back every fish he catches to snag an even bigger fish; and on and on they go. But two of the very best gags of all are incorporated into this film -- the first is a classic bit of business where Costello misinterprets stage directions from Abbott, as he tries to sing "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean", and the grand highlight is the famous "Who's On First" routine - complete and perfectly rendered in this outing. It was reportedly done in two takes because the crew could not keep from laughing. Listen closely and you can hear them trying not to break up. ***1/2 out of ****

THE NAUGHTY NINETIES is one of those films of Abbott & Costello that is a favorite with their fans for the skits that are in them: the plot about the trio of gamblers plotting to take the showboat away from good old Captain Sam (Henry Travers) is tolerable, because it can be ignored. We like the old Captain, but we await the sketches involving the boys. In the end they help save the Captain, so they do become his pair of guardian angels - his "Clarences", if you will.

But the sketches are priceless, in particular the rehearsal sketch and the immortal WHO'S ON FIRST.

In another review I compared Bud and Lou with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Bud Abbott's persona is not like Oliver Hardy's, although both try to dominate (Bud, with more success) Lou and Stan. Ollie is quite self-important, but is (actually) as stupid as Stan is. His self-delusion is just added on the cake. But Bud normally is street smarter, and bullies Lou. He barks orders left and right to him, orders that Lou thinks he understands. The orders are in abbreviated form, using slang or short form descriptions that most people will understand, and that is doomed to confuse Lou.

In the rehearsal sketch, Lou is studying a song he wants to sing in the showboat show, and if he does it well Captain Sam will let him sing it. Bud is on stage helping direct the putting up of varying scenery. He is asked for help by Lou to help him, and to shut the little guy up, he half-heartedly agrees to do so. But he is concentrating on that scenery. So we hear Lou start singing "MY BONNIE LIES OVER THE OCEAN", and after awhile he hears Bud yelling "Higher", "HIGHER", "LOWER, etc. Of course Lou is not watching Bud directing the men with the scenery, and Lou raises and lowers his voice accordingly. The vast alterations eventually is too much for Lou, who falls into the orchestra pit while an oblivious Bud walks off stage.

The other sequence is even greater. If you say "Abbott & Costello" to anyone today, the phrase "Who's on First" comes up immediately. No other dialog of theirs is as memorable (not even that delectable skit about Niagara Falls). Indeed, due to the popularity of Baseball, the skit is honored in Cooperstown's Baseball Hall of Fame, and Bud and Lou are members of the Hall of Fame too (without being baseball players). No other comedy team approached such a signature dialog - for instance Groucho and Chico Marx did several fractured English discussions, such as "Why a Duck" in COCONUTS, but the dialog is not central to their reputations. Similarly Laurel & Hardy's use of "two peas in a pod" in THE SONS OF THE DESERT is classic, but not central to their reputation.

"Who's On First" works on the same principle as the rehearsal skit - Lou cannot follow the statements fed him by Bud, and yet Bud is not being intentionally difficult. He starts by explaining the crazy nicknames of the baseball players these days, and Lou never makes the logical connection that the nicknames can be terms like "who", "what", "I don't know", and "I don't care". Once I saw someone rewrite Abbott's description as "Mr. Who is on First base; Mr. What is on Second Base...etc." Actually the effect on Lou would probably be minimal: How many people have surnames like "Who" (this was years before the British Doctor in the futuristic tardis showed up). Moreover, they are nicknames, not proper names like "Unconditional Surrender" Grant, or "Old Hickory" Jackson. So it can't be "Mr. Who" or "Mr. I Don't Care".

Interestingly few people seem to be noting that the nicknames don't say much for these players. "Who", "What", "I Don't Know", "I Don't Care", "Today", "Tomorrow" suggests that each of the players has a failing, like "Who" suggests he is confused at the strategy of the team (who is going to be targeted by his team's pitcher on the opposite team), "What" suggests a lack of understanding orders from the team coach or captain, "I Don't Know" suggests confusion, and "I Don't care (the short stop) doesn't give a damn to be on the scene of where the ball falls when he is needed. Lou's willingness to play on the team, which we accept as his fondness of the game (and his constant image of being childlike) may actually have some merit - he may be a better player than these others.

The highpoint (to me) of the dialog is when, giving up momentarily, trying to comprehend Bud's apparent double-talk, Lou shows he can repeat the line-up's name, and describe a baseball play perfectly. Bud shows his approval of this rational approach - only to hear Lou scream out he doesn't understand what he himself has been talking about. To me that was the perfect conclusion of the great confusion known as "Who's on First".

In recent years stores have offered mechanical representations of political and entertainment figures reciting comments they are supposed to be famous for. There was one pair together: of Bud and Lou in costume from THE NAUGHTY NINETIES (Bud wearing the baseball outfit of non-existent St. Louis Wolves), reciting Who's On First. That is immortality folks.

If for nothing else, this movie can be watched for the most famous of the Abbott and Costello routines: "Who's on First?" It's performed to perfection here, with the 1980's showboat background to add some nostalgia to the mix, as well as great costumes. And watch what poor Lou has to go through when he attempts to sing while Bud is giving stage directions for the scenery!

There's also a routine reminiscent of the famous mirror scene from "Duck Soup", and a scene where Costello's shooting at some ducks that might have inspired the camping trip episode on "I Love Lucy".

There's a familiar face from a now classic Christmas movie, as the showboat captain is played by Henry Travers, known for his role as the angel, Clarence in "It's a Wonderful Life".

There's enough here to hold your interest and keep you laughing.