Bud Abbott e Lou Costello no Planeta Marte

One of the better later entries of the A&C series. The boys appear motivated which was not always the case as their careers wound down, (they separated in 1957). They've got two productive shticks here—the Mardi Gras and the planet Venus. Those costumed Mardi Gras characters are a real hoot and a good chance for Costello to react in his inimitable way. The clownish figures also show how close at times the comedic can be to the grotesque. And catch that parade of pulchritude inhabiting Venus. I'm getting my outer space reservations right away. Looks like Universal hired every tall, shapely starlet in Hollywood for this sequence, including notables Ekberg and Hyer. Then too, the special effects may be cheesy, as expected, but they are elaborate. But what's with the fat Jack Khruschen character, Harry. He comes across as a dopey counterpart to Costello, as though one dim-witted funnyman is not enough. I wonder what the story is there. As in most slapstick, plot doesn't mean much here, just a rack to hang the sketches on. All in all, it's an entertaining 80-minutes of A&C nonsense, with the boys in pretty good form.

Often cited as the team's worst film (which it's not!), this will likely fall in the `guilty pleasure' category for most fans. Vigorous juvenile slapstick merges with Freudian sci-fi in this late entry for the comedy duo (only a handful of movies remained on their Universal contract). Sci-fi elements are of the Saturday matinee variety, totally implausible and full of hokum (eg. CAT WOMEN OF THE MOON). Yet somehow, this provides the appropriate blend for A&C's `dumb and dumber' charades, in which camp elements become a part of the parody and the results are unbridled fantasy nonsense (populating the planet with Miss Universe contestants only adds to the fun). Universal would soon become a heavyweight contributer to the pulp sci-fi cycle of the 50's, yet surprisingly, this surreal spoof pre-dates them all! Thus far, this film has only been issued on VHS, the quality being overall quite good, in keeping with MCA's generally high standards for this format ... however a DVD would be most welcome.

Fans of rocket-age science fiction films will find interest in this wacky spoof. The early 1950's saw the start of the atomic age rocket ship film genre with ROCKET X-M and DESTINATION MOON in 1950 and WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE and FLIGHT TO MARS in 1951. These movies were all hits and the trend lasted through the sixties with MAROONED and JOURNEY TO THE FAR SIDE OF THE SUN in 1969 (one year after 2001 A SPACE ODYSSEY).

In 1953 Abbott and Costello quickly updated their old vaudeville routines to capture a younger, modern audience and try their hand at this phenomena. They had success spoofing the horror genre with A&C MEETS FRANKENSTEIN and A&C MEETS THE INVISIBLE MAN a couple years earlier and the young audiences who had watched Universal's monster films were now watching rocket films and would soon be watching alien monsters devour entire cities. Though flights to Mars were now a typical plot device, A&C GO TO MARS was ahead of the game by going to Venus six years before FIRST SPACESHIP ON VENUS (1959)!

Abbott and Costello start off toward Mars but end up back on Earth during New Orleans Mardi Gras. They are fooled by fanciful costumes with giant masks and believe they are on Mars. Eventually they flee to Venus populated by beautiful women and all's well that ends well.

The production values were very good, considering that studios were rushing out poorly produced imitations of ROCKET X-M and DESTINATION MOON after their success. After the quick patter routines of the duo that serviced them well in the forties had become so familiar to the audience it was refreshing to have them do something else. Though certainly not a classic and not on the list of best A & C films, for those tiring of the same routines this film is visually exciting filled with space-age fun, beautiful models and hilarious gags. Kids love the film and older adults love the 50's space-age theme. Grab the popcorn.

Your appreciation or otherwise of this little flick might depend on your level of whimsy and whether or not you were actually AROUND in the 50's and can recall the fervor of anticipated space travel and the films of those days. DESTINATION MOON, THIS ISLAND EARTH, TOBOR THE GREAT, WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE - there were so many! To see it now and compare it ..probably unfairly, with A & C's work of the late 40's, it indeed falls short of the standards they set for themselves. However as many have correctly commented, the younger viewer still finds it funny and gets something out of it.

The film was NOT made on the cheap and indeed many of the sets hold up rather well today. The title remains a misnomer in that Bud and Lou only THINK their comandeered rocket has landed on Mars. As it turns out, it is in fact just a mardi gras in southern Louisiana. This sequence was the highlight of the movie. By the time they wing their bumbling way to Venus, there is only 27 minutes of the film left.

Probably fair to say that ABBOTT AND COSTELLO GO TO MARS was made during the downside of their career and the "Space setting" was intended to net them a new generation of fans. In that regard it probably was not the success they would have hoped for. Still....ANY opportunity to see Anita Ekberg, even for a glimpse, was always worth the price of admission.

Probably not held up as classic A & C but still it is part of their legacy and should be viewed with some affection.

Along with the Bowery Boys, the Three Stooges and perhaps Elvis, no one was as good at churning out motion pictures quickly and on a tight budget than Abbot and Costello. Even present day comedians such as Carol Burnett and Jerry Seinfeld have heaped praise on the boys' slapstick brand of comedy. I've always felt they were greatly underappreciated in their day. And as the years pass by, their presence on the tube has, sadly, decreased. Most kids today probably have never been exposed to the thin straight man and his rotund buddy.

I own only one A&C comedy. And this is it. Why? Maybe its because of "Allura", the queen, played by the beautiful B-movie siren Mari Blanchard. Discarding the "spell" theory one must assume the special effects are superb. And the fantasy elements are enjoyable and surprisingly well thought out and executed. The rocket ship nearly decapitates the Statue of Liberty, fails to pay the toll at the Lincoln Tunnel and scoots underneath the Brooklyn Bridge. But the movie is simply a ride through a different era: a time of comedy, scientists and space babes. Well, everyone should be afforded one guilty pleasure.