Deux nigauds détectives

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.

There are better films featuring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, but "Who Done It" is as good a way as any to discover why the comedy pair was one of the 1940s' most consistent box office draws. It's a marvelously elongated piece of slapstick comedy that showcases Bud and Lou in peak form.

Chick (Bud) and Mervin (Lou) are soda jerks at the Radio Center Drug Store, located in the same building where GBS broadcasts radio shows across the country. The pair want to write a mystery, so when the network director is mysteriously murdered on the air, they jump at the chance to solve the case and prove their smarts. Needless to say, this impromptu sleuthing annoys the real police, and Chick and Mervin are soon on the run.

Just about a year into their 16-year run, "Who Done It" finds Abbott and Costello bursting with energy, utilizing the confines of a radio station as background for their trademark pratfalls and patter. Even when the dialogue is less than stellar, it works at sustaining the energy and proving there was nothing too illogical for Abbott and Costello.

"Why wasn't this murder reported yesterday," Mervin demands as he shows up seconds after the murder, playing a cop.

Because it didn't happen yet, is the answer.

"Why wait until the last minute...You're going to get the electric chair, and two years besides!"

Before you can register enough to groan about that one, Chick is educating Mervin on watts and volts. "What's volts?" "Exactly, watts are volts." "That's what I'm trying to find out...Next thing you'll tell me watts is on second!"

Then you get one of the best bits Abbott and Costello ever did on film, the Alexander 2222 routine, where Mervin tries to call the radio station from a drug store across the street and can't get through, even as a bevy of bizarre characters step into the same phone booth to call places like Nome, Alaska and Moscow. "Long distance, get me Brazil. Hello, Brazil. Is this Joe? Hi Joe! How's the coffee business?" There's lots of great silliness here, my favorite being when Lou for no reason bursts into opera.

As theowinthrop notes in his review, this is an interesting Abbott & Costello film for its focus on radio, which broke them as a national phenomenon and where they continued to work throughout their film career. There's a nice bit where Chick and Mervin, behind the counter of their drug store, act out their radio script with ice-cream scoopers ("'The Midget Gets The Chair,' or 'Small Fry'") and clever use of the tools of radio, like recordings that are activated at the wrong moment, and a prop door Mervin mistakes for the real thing. Walk through one door, and you are in a dark office where a murderer lurks, walk through another and you are in the middle of an acrobatic act.

Why is there an acrobatic act being performed at a radio station? Why are Chick and Mervin entrusted with the one piece of evidence by someone who knows they aren't cops? How does Mervin manage to climb up the side of a building after taking a flagpole in the crotch? Watching an Abbott and Costello movie, you have to ignore stuff like that.

But what you get in "Who Done It" is worth the sacrifice. You get a first-rate supporting cast including the memorable Mary Wilkes, Patric Knowles from "The Adventures of Robin Hood," Edmund MacDonald from "Flying Tigers," and most effectively, William Bendix as a dopey detective who actually manages to get himself tricked by Lou. There's also a great finale on the roof of a building that combines laughs and suspense as effectively as anything in the more-heralded "Meets Frankenstein."

Later on, the films got weaker as Lou pushed Bud to the side and showcased himself more as cuddly man-child. But here the pair was still hungry for laughs and experienced enough to understand what worked. They gave the public what they wanted with "Who Done It," and its a tribute to their lasting genius such a light endeavor still holds up today.

With "Who Done It?", Abbott and Costello reached their comedic peak in films. Convinced of their box-office appeal after six hits in a row, Universal got rid of the tedious romantic subplots and musical numbers and focused on the comedy team. The end result is a comic masterpiece and a film that ranks as one of their very best.

The boys play soda jerks at the lunch counter of a major radio network, dreaming of getting into the radio business. Through a hilarious series of events, Costello becomes a prime suspect in a murder. His reactions in the film are comedically superb; aiding the comedy are some funny routines, including the classic "Alexander 2222" phone bit.

Also aiding the film is the interesting lighting in the network building, particularly during the "Murder at Midnight" program. The lighting creates an intense atmosphere, and will seem to many to be a film noir look.

An additional benefit to the film is the fine supporting cast, including William Bendix, Don Porter, and Patric Knowles. Mary Wickes lends her comedic talents in the role of Juliet.

Although the film is one of their shorter ones (76 minutes, as a result of having no musical numbers), it doesn't lack good pacing or humour. A laugh riot throughout. I'm surprised that as of this writing, the film ranks less than a 6 on the IMDB. It definitely deserves a 9 out of 10.

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.

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.