Deux nigauds dans le foin

Abbott and Costello are at their very best in this agreeable comedy. They play a couple of Manhattan taxi drivers with a fondness for a sweet young girl and her horse. Costello means well in trying to be nice to the animal, but his feeding it candy ultimately causes the horse to get sick - and die. So he and Abbott set out to make things right by getting a new horse for the girl, whose dad (Cecil Kellaway) runs a horse and carriage ride in the city. I know that synopsis sounds rather dramatic, but there is a lot of well-staged comedy between the serious moments. And Bud and Lou are as sharp in ever performing them. Some routines include: their classic "the horse eats his fodder", the boys getting swindled at a phony horse race outfit, Lou getting into trouble at a restaurant for not being able to pay his check, and other assorted gags. Third Stooge Shemp Howard also has a part, but the real fun comes courtesy of fat man Eugene Palette, who is the perfect foil for Costello's antics. As with almost all of A&C's movie of this period, there is some singing and dance numbers here; however, I find them to be rather entertaining and endurable this time out. *** out of ****

It Ain't Hay (1943)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

I can finally say I've seen every Abbott and Costello film. It took me a while but I finally track down a copy of this one, which hasn't ever been released on home video due to some sort of rights issue. In the film, Costello accidentally kills a little girl's horse so he sets out to get her a new one. After waiting so long to finally see this one it really didn't turn out to be anything overly special. There are still some good gags but nothing too classic, although an inside joke about Universal was pretty nice. The "horse eats its father" joke was a highlight as was another scene where the boys try to pull a fast one and sneak off without paying for their lunch. Shemp Howard co-stars but it's Eugene Palette who really steals the film.

Universal kept Abbott&Costello very busy during the World War II years. They made so many films one wonders when they had time to do personal tours and war bond rallies. One of the more unusual items the team made was It Ain't Hay which was taken from one of Damon Runyon's Broadway stories. You'll recognize some of the character names from Guys And Dolls.

Lou Costello accidentally kills Cecil Kellaway's horse. Kellaway drives a horse drawn cart in Central Park and Lou's guilt, plus the guilt laid on him by everyone else including Bud in a great scene, makes him buy a horse that some racing stable was selling.

Problems arise when Bud and Lou discover they have the wrong horse, the horse they were to buy was a dead ringer for the champion 'Teabiscuit'. The boys pick up the real Teabiscuit, but when they discover the mistake are determined to cash in on it.

The movie is plainly ripped off from the Marx Brothers A Day At The Races, but that doesn't prevent it from being funny. One definite weakness was that the musical score in the Marx film was a lot better than what Harry Revel and Paul Francis Webster wrote for It Ain't Hay. Still Leighton Noble and Grace McDonald handle the music end nicely and it doesn't get in the way of A&C's routines. And Eugene Palette as the villain gets a few laughs himself as he always does.

It Ain't Hay is not often shown and that's a pity. Catch it if possible and hope it comes out on both VHS and DVD.

This film has not been restored and the Bud and Lou routines are great with perfect timing. One of their best routines are when they are by the race horse which is pulling the open carriage and Lou is briefed on the horse being a mudder and that the horse eats his fodder. The Step Brothers dancing scene is top rate and I haven't seen anything like it anywhere else. The Damon Runyon dialogue is great but because of the studios and family licensing differences, this film will pass into oblivion. What a shame this will be lost when so many would really enjoy it. The copies that are available are of such poor quality you really can't enjoy them.

Abbott & Costello take on Damon Runyan although, apart from three dodgy racetrack bettors, there's little of the writer's trademark quirky characters to hand. There are no stand-out routines to speak of, but a couple of decent gags, and Eugene Pallette is always good for a laugh.