Deux nigauds chez les barbus

COMIN' ROUND THE MOUNTAIN (Universal-International, 1951), directed by Charles Lamont, stars the comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in another one of their funny outings. Having already appeared in an earlier hillbilly romp titled THE WISTFUL WIDOW OF WAGON GAP (1947) where the strong presence of Marjorie Main assumed the title role, their second and final venture in them thar hills places them in the middle of a hillbilly feud. Dorothy Shay, introduced in the opening credits as "The Park Avenue Hillbilly" makes her first screen appearance here, and last, though it didn't hurt her chances for the duration of her career as both night club and television entertainer.

The fun begins at New York's Club Chez Bleu where Al Stewart (Bud Abbott), a theatrical agent, introduces two of his latest discoveries, Dorothy McCoy (Dorothy Shay), and The Great Wilbert (Lou Costello), an escape artist. While Dorothy's singing style proves popular with the patrons, Wilbert is not so lucky with his Harry Houdini act, unable to break free after being padlocked in chains. A mishap not only sets him free but he and the others fired by the boss. As a mouse has Wilbert belting out a distress yell only known by Dorothy's family back home, she learns Wilbert to be both kin folk and grandson of the late "Squeeze Box" McCoy, leader of the Kentucky clan. With his grand-pappy's photo and concertina proving him to be the sole heir to a fortune, Wilbert and Dorothy venture back to the hills, with Al tagging along for his ten percent commission, to claim the fortune of gold with whereabouts known only by Grandma McCoy (Ida Moore). During the course of the story, the trio find themselves in one misadventure after another, ranging from being caught in the middle of a long running feud between the Winfields and the McCoys, to a turkey shoot at the county fair, and finally a love potion leading to mismatched partnerships. While being constantly menaced by Devil Dan (Glenn Strange), Wilbert tricks a young hillbilly gal named Matt (Shaye Cogan) into giving both he and Al the treasure map to the Lost Springs Mine, which turns out to be in Winfield territory.

Often dismissed as a lesser Abbott and Costello comedy, COMIN' ROUND THE MOUNTAIN is redeemed by Costello's magic show performance; the presence of Margaret Hamilton as the bewitching old hag who sticks Costello for the money owed her for love potion jug by holding a voodoo doll looking very much like Wilbert; and Glenn Strange (The Monster in ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN) playing the nitwit menace constantly yelling out Wilbert's name in a strong hoarse voice which, on a personal level, gets funnier each time he does it; and the climatic chase leading to the buried treasure. Hamilton, best known in her long screen career as the Wicked Witch of the West in THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939), is somewhat of a Hollywood in-joke here. Her role leaves one guessing (Wilbert, too) whether she's a witch or not. Her few minutes of glory with Bud and Lou, especially Lou, makes up for the weakness in the story. This witch-voodoo sequence is clipped as one of the highlights to the documentary titled THE WORLD OF ABBOTT AND COSTELLO (1965), with the narration of Jack E. Leonard that can be a bit annoying. Among the many classic Abbott and Costello exchanges, the "You're forty, she's ten" routine where Wilbert finds himself engaged to a teenage mountain girl sure fits the bill.

Setbacks for many happen are the handful of songs interludes provided by Dorothy Shay, including "Agnes Wink," "Why Doesn't Someone Marry Mary Ann," "Sagebrush Sadie," "You Broke Your Promise" (actually the film's best song) and "Another Noth on Father's Shotgun." Also in the cast are Kirby Grant in straw hat playing Clark Winfield; Joseph Sawyer as Kalem, leader of the clan; Guy Wilkerson as the long bearded Uncle Clem McCoy; and Virgil Taylor as the dim-witted Jasper Winfield. Ida Moore makes an ideal Granny (don't ever call her an "old woman"), a forerunner to Irene Ryan's characterization in the popular TV series of "The Beverly Hillbillies" (1962-1971).

Aside the fact that the title had been used previously in a 1936 Gene Autry western for Republic Pictures and again for a 1940 Paramount comedy starring Bob Burns and Una Merkel, that featured for the first time radio's Harold Peary as The Great Gildersleeve, COMIN' ROUND THE MOUNTAIN starring Abbott and Costello remains the better known of the three. As much as hillbilly comedies where mountain people caricatures with silly developments being a matter of taste, COMIN' ROUND THE MOUNTAIN is good enough to be seen and believed either on VHS or DVD format.(**)

There is too little of prime Abbott & Costello in this but there is some crackling dialog when they arrive in Kentucky and Abbott says to Costello "Smell that Kentucky Bluegrass.." Costellos retort to this is by far the best dialog in the film.

The section with Margaret Hamilton is corny but well done. While not their best work, these highlights make it worth viewing. It does not sink as far as Africa Screams, & the music in it is almost as obtrusive as some of their early military comedies. At least Costello clowns around with some corny instruments in some of the jug-band sequences.

I do think it is far from their worst film. If the plot was more centered on the family feud & less on insane romances, it would work a lot better.

The feud is on between the Wingfields and the McCoys when Bud Abbott discovers his clients, hopeless magician Lou Costello and the Park Avenue hillbilly Dorothy Shay are both McCoys and Costello's inherited concertina holds the secret to a treasure of hidden gold. So off they go to the Appalachins where Costello's arrival sets off the feud that had pretty much died down.

Bud and Lou get themselves a good supporting cast with a group of players used to rustic roles. I'm wondering how the folks at Universal missed getting Judy Canova and Marjorie Main and Percy Kilbride in this film. Lou's best scene involves him haggling with a hag played by Margaret Hamilton in her wicked witch makeup over some love potion with each making a voodoo doll of the other to poke holes in.

Dorothy Shay was just about at the end of her peak of popularity which started post World War II. She was a singer with a warm contralto who decided to play up her southern roots. Dorothy made a whole lot of hillbilly ditties popular back in those days and her big hit song, Feudin' a Fussin' and a Fightin' was still selling good in 1951 when Comin' Round the Mountain came out. I have it and also a vinyl record of a Bing Crosby radio show where she sang that song as a trio number with herself, Bing, and Groucho Marx. She did what very few did in Abbott and Costello pictures, hold her own with the boys and not get lost in the supporting cast.

It's not the best of their films, but still enjoyable and just wait till you see the treasure that they do find.

In my rewatching of the Abbott and Costello series that I loved in my youth, this is by far the worst of the series that I have rewatched. The problem is not in the subject material. The problem is in the script, the execution and the performances. Abbott and Costello have never been more bland and the songs from the Manhatten Hillbilly take up seemingly half of the movie's length. The song about a half an hour in goes on forever. The old granny is fun but isn't allowed to do enough. The "courtship" between Costello and the 14 year old hillbilly girl is ghoulish. Bud Abbott is non-existent and the hillbilly clans do nothing whatsoever. There are a few chuckles and nothing more. The opener and the conclusion are awful. On the bright side, Glenn Strange is great here and Costello's duel with the witch is funny. Costello's "christening" is a gut buster. But that's it. Has a little of the same flavor as The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap but isn't in the same league, much less the same ballpark.

"Comin' Round the Mountain" may not be one of Abbott & Costello's best movies but it's still a pretty good one. A&C are in fine form. The supporting cast is strong and most of the songs are pretty good. The are quite a few laughs and a bunch of smiles in this movie. "Comin' Round the mountain" moves fast and finishes strong. It's always a welcome visit.