Simply A Masterpiece

hyped garbage

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The vaudeville humor as seen in the '40s comedies, the banter, Costello or Mantan Moreland, is naturally of varying charm, 'Africa Screams' has more vaudeville showcased, than slapstick, the almost nonexistent storyline, the slightly suggested plot, and so there are several good scenes: those with the crocodiles (near the boat, etc.), the lions, the cannibals, but a better plot would of helped immeasurably, anyway enjoy the movie for what it is, and for what is was meant: humble, unpretentious divertimento, where none dreamed of subtlety, a sequence of gags, less than what the opportunity for it would of afforded.Which is to state that this isn't the ultimate jungle comedy, but the likable divertimento for an evening; the opening scenes, set out of Africa, Costello at his desk in the bookshop, were better than the rest of the movie, and the map was a nice gag. Hillary Brooke, very charming in a leading role, always enjoyable on screen, is exquisite, Abbott, the insatiable coveter of diamonds, is 'Buzz'. Why such unassuming silliness gave so much pleasure to audiences 60 yrs ago is a quiz for the sociology of culture, or why has this type of innocent silliness been out-fashioned; decades later, a wholly other brand of silliness has been invented, either gross or stupid or frankly deluded.

May be the best Abbott and Costello movie. At least in my opinion. It is so funny. The whole film is funny from beginning to end. Lou is the cowardly foil to Bud's scheme to extort money from the people who want to find diamonds in Africa. Jack Buck and Clyde Beatty, both very famous big game hunters and trappers in their time, have small roles in this movie. After trekking through the jungle for a while they come to the diamond fields. Here there are diamonds laying all over the ground, Haha. Lou is wanted by the local cannibals but manages to not get eaten. He also comes across Bud's hidden bag of diamonds and takes them. In the end Bud leaves Lou to fend for himself. They both make it back to NYC but in a switch Bud is the flunky elevator operator and Lou owns a huge sky scraper along with his partner, a gorilla.

Lou Costello's considerable charisma and Bud Abbott's twisting the bonds of friendship even more perversely than usual aren't quite enough to make this worthwhile, but fans may find pleasant reminders of their overall greatness.Mild-mannered bookstore employee Stanley Livington (Lou) is drafted by co-worker Buzz Johnson (Bud) when a beautiful woman (Hillary Brooke) offers $2,500 for a copy of a map made of a location in Africa only Stanley has seen. The woman plans to swipe the map and roll the pair, but that changes when Buzz gets wind of how much wealth could be involved. Buzz and Stanley end up joining the safari, Stanley most unwillingly. He's afraid enough of kittens, never mind lions and gorillas.Asked mid-expedition why he wants to go home, Stanley says it's because he forgot something: "I forgot to stay there."Watching Bud & Lou in their post-"Meet Frankenstein" period is always dicey. Both the laughs and the sets were getting cheaper as the pair fell from their plateau of being prime moneymakers. As a rare independent-studio venture, "Africa Screams" is cheaper still, with a slapdash script and a supporting cast that consisted largely of non-actor cameos outside of Brooke, rotund girly-man Joe Besser, and Shemp Howard as a squinty, bespectacled hunter whose function in the story is as clouded as his vision.There's also lion tamer Clyde Beatty and renowned hunter Frank Buck playing themselves, along with brothers Max and Buddy Baer, well-known fighters of the period, playing the Brooke character's muscle. Several black actors assay thankless lackey roles, being called "boy" every now and again, though Stanley is as well. Then again, when you are treated with as much respect as Lou Costello in an Abbott & Costello movie, you have a case for unfair denigration.Bud's depraved indifference to Lou's welfare achieves new lows. In other A&C vehicles Bud turned Lou over to the Redcoats and even tried to guilt him into committing suicide, but here the greed of Bud's character drives him to a kind of madness. Buzz shops Stanley's welfare out to everyone, caught up in visions of yachts and polo ponies. At one point he grudgingly throws Stanley a nickel."I give you an opportunity to make me $2,500, and this is the thanks I get," Buzz huffs.Buzz does have one of those "I-can't-believe-I-killed-my-buddy" scenes when his dead buddy comes over and joins him for a good cry, but otherwise he's a heel, and a pretty demented one as well. If the writers did a little more with that, it could have represented Bud's most dynamic showcase, but they seem content trotting out old jokes about alligators and monkeys. At least they don't attempt an African version of "Who's On First.""Africa Screams" does amuse, with seasoned Abbott & Costello director Charles Barton getting the most from his two game stars, but it also runs out of steam well before the picture is halfway over. It does rally a bit in the end, and provides a final couple of minutes that's up there with "Frankenstein" and "The Time Of Their Lives" for best A&C capper. Still, if you aren't a hardcore A&C fan you may have tuned out well before then.

Leonard Maltin gives 3 stars to this movie, and only 1.5 star to "Abbott and Costello Go to Mars". That's strange, because not only is "Africa Screams" easily worse than "Go to Mars", it's probably one of the worst films that Abbott and Costello ever made. There are some funny moments (Lou whispering threats to the bad guys when they have their backs turned to him), a lovely leading lady (Hillary Brooke), some impressively trained animals, and some good special effects. But there are also too many tedious stretches (this is one of the longest 78 minutes you'll ever spend), and too many predictable gags (hmmm, they have made a trap for a gigantic orangutan, do you think Lou will fall in it?). In some of those gags, Lou is made to look downright retarded instead of amusingly dumb. The scene where he mugs to the camera for about 3 minutes straight because he is scared of a gorilla is more excruciating than funny. (*1/2)