Quem é o Culpado?

By 1942, with the release of "Who Done It?" Universal Studios had learned a thing or two about Abbott and Costello: Namely, that the ridiculous boy-girl subplots and the subpar music (except from the Andrews Sisters) that padded their other features to date where wholly unnecessary. Thankfully, Bud and Lou are given full reign in "Who Done It?" without any extraneous material.

That said, it's easy to see who "Who Done It?" is my favorite of all their features. Not only are "the boys" in top form, but the supporting cast is great as well; Mary Wickes is a perfect foil for Lou (bringing to mind his earlier clowning with Joan Davis in "Hold That Ghost"), and it's a shame the two didn't work together more (even *her* talents couldn't pump any life into "Dance With Me, Henry").

Abbott and Costello comedies are often long on laughs but short on plot. Not the case with "Who Done It?" The ins and outs of a radio spy ring are well crafted, providing appropriate counterpoint to the antics of Bud and Lou.

And what antics there are! Lou is convulsively funny here, from the opening moments where he deals with an obnoxious elevator boy (and "wins" a bet concerning the production of orange juice) to the later chase on the studio rooftop (and clever use of the sign "Vote for Townsend Phelps"). Classic bits--such as the insanity of "Alexander 2222", which reaches a new and self-deprecating conclusion--are here as well.

Sadly, Universal didn't remain knowledgeable about what to do with A&C for long; soon after, the love stories and drippy songs were back. But "Who Done It?" remains as a testimony to what this incomparable comedy team could achieve on its own.

This has always been one of my favourite Abbott & Costello's, it's a short, frantic murder mystery with plenty of slapstick routines to keep us fans happy. I think the pace of it all and the average volume of Lou's voice probably puts some people off, but hey they can't really be fans then, can they?

A murder is committed in full view in a radio studio, Bud and Lou are on the case unasked as detectives before the "real" ones show up. There's an odd love interest with Patric Knowles and Louise Allbritton, because he comes into the story, departs gallantly saying he won't take charity from a woman, and after the murder also gets involved unasked. Favourite bits: Watt's a volt; Lou in the "clues closet", Lou crashing through glass windows leaving his fleeing shape and even making an impression on a wall - all complete with hat; Alexander 2222.

The marvellous wartime Universal studio atmosphere pervades with some beautiful shadowy lit shots at the radio station - in fact the A&C films I love best are all from this period, replete with the atmosphere the Universal technicians achieved seemingly so effortlessly then. To a fan: one of their best, to an unbeliever: don't trouble yourself or the fans.

In 1942, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello capitalized on their smashing success and churned out what is arguably their best effort up to that point. This time around, Bud and Lou play two dim-witted soda jerks trying to work their way into the radio business. When a "whodunit" mystery writer meets them and gives them tickets to that night's play, the duo jump at the opportunity. However, they soon find themselves in the middle of a real murder case when the studio's Executive Director is bumped off in the same manner as the victims in the mystery script. Thanks to one of Bud's bright ideas, they become prime suspects in the case while the murderer targets them as well. Trying to clear their names and solve the case, Bud and Lou embark on a wild chase that evokes laugh after laugh after laugh.

After seeing this film, it is not at all difficult to see why Abbott and Costello were so popular. Every routine is treated like a masterpiece and their comedic delivery is as close to perfect as you will find anywhere. Take the soda bar scene, for example. It's not that the "Muck and Mire" radio script is so inhumanly dumb, but rather Lou's constant heckling of the straight-faced bud that is funny. Then there is the way Lou reacts to everything. The man is just priceless. These guys had comedy nailed like few others ever managed.

Another reason Who Done It? is so great is the supporting cast. Sure Bud and Lou almost get in trouble for pretending to be cops, but it is a wonder that the real ones managed to keep their jobs for more than a day. Williams Bendix as Brannigan is even dumber than Lou! Now that is a first! His buddy is not too bright either. Sure, Bud and Lou nearly get in trouble for pretending to be cops, but the real ones are nearly as bad. Adding even more laughs is Mary Wickes as Juliet Collins. The subplot with her and Lou completes a one-two-three punch that is one of A&C's best ever.

Finally, there cannot be a great Abbott and Costello without a famous routine or two. The "volts are watts" scene is terrific, and who can forget "Alexander 2222"? For fans of Bud and Lou, the best part has to be when they hear "Who's on First?" on the radio and DISLIKE IT! The director managed to create a terrific flow from one wacky sequence to the next. For Bud and Lou in top form, look no further than Who Done It? Laughs guaranteed.

Who Done It finds our intrepid duo as soda jerks who want to be mystery writers and work on the Murder at Midnight Show. Bud and Lou go to a broadcast just in time to witness the real murder of the head of the network, Thomas Gomez.

So what do our two geniuses think to do? They decide to impersonate police officers and try and capture the criminal themselves. Interfering with a police investigation is an offense unto itself, but when Abbott and Costello do it, it's strictly for laughs.

The two cops who don't think it's that funny are William Gargan and William Bendix. Supposedly Costello was not happy with Bendix playing the dim bulb detective because he was getting more laughs than him. Mary Wickes who plays the secretary of Thomas Gomez also said she did not get along with Costello on the set.

The actual murderer turns out to be a very peripheral character who only had a couple of inconsequential lines before he's unmasked at the end. I tend to think there was probably more of his part, but it was edited out. Not that there are not a host of suspects like Patric Knowles, Jerome Cowan, Don Porter, Ludwig Stossel, and even Wickes and Louise Allbritton.

One actor who did not get any billing, but should have because he was very funny constantly getting the better of poor Costello was Walter Tetley who played the fresh mouthed young elevator operator. What he did to Costello bordered on sadism.

Who Done It is a fine slapstick burlesque of all these mystery films that all the studios were putting out back then. I guess it said that if even Abbott and Costello can solve a case anyone can.

We think of Abbott and Costello as burlesque comics, but the medium that gave them the national exposure allowing them to go into film was radio. It was on radio that the sharpness of such routines as "Who's On First" was demonstrated to millions, laying the groundwork for the film audience that Universal benefited by. And it was WHO DONE IT? that was their film about radio. They are soda jerks in a restaurant in the building that a radio station is headquartered in. They both want to break into radio. But when they are finally on the premises of the station, they are among the witnesses (and suspects) at the murder of the station's owner (Thomas Gomez). Due to Costello's continuous ability to make errors, they are suspected of the murder by the two detectives (William Gargan and William Bendix) who are assigned to the case. They are determined to try to solve the case and clear themselves.

Gargan and Bendix were ideal foils for A & C, especially Bendix who meets Costello's dumb with dumber. The nadir for both cops is when they are guarding the front of the office building from Abbott and Costello entering it while the investigation is continuing. Bud and Lou, determined to enter the building, walk in backwards, so the cops think they are seeing them walk out (at least momentarily). Rumor has it that Costello determined never to make another film with Bendix - he was jealous of the latter's getting more laughs than him. It may be true, but then Lou was doing pretty well on his own here.

As it is a war picture, the mystery also deals with a spy ring. The actual perpetrator is a surprise of sorts at the end. A good comedy, I give it 8 out of 10.