Lost in Alaska

Abbott: "Miss McGillicuddy, you look charming today. Did you do something to your hair?"

Costello: "Yeah, she put it on her head"!

"Lost in Alaska" does have some inspired moments, and most of them are in the first half, like the "sleeping in 2-hour shifts" routine, or Costello's response to a sign that says "Use the axe only in case of fire" ("Got a match?"). But when A&C actually do get Lost in Alaska, the comedy gets largely reduced to elementary, childish slapstick (Costello falling down on the snow a lot, etc). I did laugh a couple of times, but overall the film is pretty tiresome, despite its short running time. (**)

There is a lot to like in "Lost in Alaska". Bud Abbott and Lou Costello are both in fine form. Their supporting cast is also very good. The movie has very little, if any, downtime. The are quite a few laughs and a ton of goodwill in "Lost in Alaska". Honorable mention: the song "A Hot Time in the Igloo Tonight".

Abbott and Costello play two volunteer firemen who save the life of suicidal prospector Nugget Joe (Tom Ewell), only to find themselves accused of his murder. Joe heads back to Alaska for his girlfriend and the boys tag along. They soon find everybody wants Nugget Joe dead and they have to keep him alive so they can prove their innocence. Tom Ewell is great as Nugget Joe. His constant suicide attempts are the funniest bits in the movie. This is a rare case of a supporting actor outshining Bud and Lou. Bruce Cabot plays the villain. Mitzi Green is a forgettable leading lady. Most of the funny stuff is early in the movie. Once they get to Alaska, it's not as good.

The creative juices at Universal were grinding to a halt when Abbott and Costello made Lost In Alaska. The film is obviously taken from the classic Road To Utopia that Bing and Bob did at Paramount a few years back.

The Dottie Lamour role in this film went to Mitzi Green, but the boys aren't fighting over here. She's the squeeze of Tom Ewell a poor sad sack sourdough who wants to kill himself because she gave him in the air. Bud and Lou begin the film as volunteer firemen in San Francisco who save Ewell from drowning himself though Costello nearly goes down in the effort. Then they accompany Ewell to Alaska to maybe get a share of his gold if they can straighten his love life out.

Ewell's a popular guy in Skagway, everyone wants to see him dead because of his strike. Keeping him alive is a full time job for Bud and Lou.

The best routine in the film is Bud putting one over on Lou when they agree to take one hour shifts keeping tabs on Ewell. Bud sleeps for an hour then Lou wakes him, but Bud just puts the clock ahead an hour and then wakes Lou after about a few seconds. Poor Costello can't figure out why he's so drowsy. I wish the rest of the film were as good.

Universal no longer was being kept alive by Abbott&Costello, their box office was assured by a crop of new leading men like Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis, and Jeff Chandler. The quality of their films declined in the Fifties and Lost In Alaska is an example of same.

Known pretty much everywhere outside the US as ABBOTT AND COSTELLO LOST IN ALASKA this just never gels. Sub-standard, both from a comedic viewpoint and in production values. The boys never look comfortable.

Flimsy tale of a couple of New York firemen in the late 1890's who inadvertently "rescue" a suicidal prospector and through circumstance, find themselves heading back to Alaska with him, when they have a more pressing need to get back to San Francisco, to allay suspicions that they have actually murdered him.

For the most part, it just AIN'T funny. No more so than the strained and diabolically stupid ending. Really, for non-thinking A & C diehards!