Why so much hype?

So much average

Purely Joyful Movie!

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

I don't know. I hate to be a spoilsport but this is mainly a comedy made for kids. And I got a big kick out of Abbott and Costello when I was ten. But I'm not ten anymore, and hearing Abbott always snarling at his partner is something of a turn-off. If it ever seemed funny, it doesn't now. It just sounds rude. And Costello flipping his hands and wriggling his fingers like worms when frightened or confused. Much of their schtik came from vaudeville and burlesque. It must have gotten big laughs from the patrons while they waited for the burlesque queen to do her number. Strip tease dancing -- there's a bundle of lack of talent for you. It's disgusting. I used to try to get into the Empire Burlesque in Newark but they wouldn't let me in because I was underage.The story has something to do with a lot of money being mis-delivered by Abbott and Costello, two window washers who are mistaken for a bookie's messengers.The most amusing scene is supposed to take place in a dentist's office near the opening. It struck me as the lowest form of vaudeville-derived slapstick.It's too bad because you can do a lot with dentists. Think of both versions of "The Little Shop of Horrors" or "Ten", or even a Red Skelton comedy -- "A Southern Yankee", maybe -- in which the scene with the dentist's chair was staged by Buster Keaton. W. C. Fields did a number on it. There is a hilarious episode of "Married With Children", called "Tooth or Consequences", in which Joe Flaherty plays a dentist named "Dr. Plierson," and calls for his assistant to bring in a tarpaulin because he'll soon be "up to my knees in blood." They're all funnier than the dentist's chair pushing Costello's head through the ceiling.I am happy, though, that others enjoy it as much as they seem to. I'm certain the kids will feel the same rush I did. You know, in the end, you pay a price for growing up.

In their heyday, Bud Abbot and Lou Costello were so often sought after for personal appearances by adoring fans, studio executives and a host of worthwhile organizations. It's of little wonder as they gave the 40's the much needed laughter of their era. In the movies, they provided audiences with many memorable skits, vaudeville routines and standard films. This movie is one of the least known of all their successful runs. It's called " The Noose Hangs High. " The story is of a couple of window washers, (Bud Abbott and Lou Costello) who are mistaken for a delivery service, entrusted to deliver $50,000 to Nick Craig, a dangerous bookmaker (Joseph Calleia). The tasks goes awry when they inadvertently lose it. The female lead (Cathy Downs) who accidentally receives the money goes on a spending spree and explains she no longer has their money. When the mob boss promises to harms the boys, they all go on a mad quest to find someway to repay the debt. Although the movie does not contain their most memorable routines, it nevertheless has a few like 'better dress, no don't dress!' and 'Here's one for me, one for you, two for me, One, TWO for you.' The film also features big Mike Mazurki and Fritz Feld. This is one film which definitely belongs with anyone's Abbot and Costello collection. Good fun. ****

The Noose Hangs High marks Abbott&Costello's only film for the short lived Eagle-Lion Productions. This was an effort by J. Arthur Rank over across the pond to break into the American film market with his own production and distribution company.Bud&Lou are a pair of window washers who are mistaken for messengers that are employed by bookie Joseph Calleia. It seems as though he's been taken to the cleaners by one of his bettors and though it hurts he has to pay off. The messengers are to get the money from Ben Welden and deliver it to Calleia.Of course Welden has ideas of having the boys held up and stealing the money for himself. Costello actually eludes the crooks, but sends the money to Cathy Downs by mistake. Now he and Bud have 48 hours to come up with the money or ELSE.Leon Errol is along for the ride as his usual drunken playboy and he subs for Abbott as Lou's straight-man a couple of times. Though in those routines I can't tell who's the one really getting the laughs.What always gets me about The Noose Hangs High is Calleia and how he could be that dumb to mistake these two for good help. What's that say about him. Proof of that is a routine where both Abbott and Costello make a monkey out of big dumb leg breaker Mike Mazurki. The Noose Hangs High is a remake of the Universal film For Love Or Money. I haven't seen the original, but the material was definitely rewritten to suit Bud&Lou. It becomes nothing more than a vehicle for the boys to do several of their burlesque routines. Which for their fans is more than enough.

THE NOOSE HANGS HIGH is not really one of the more commonly known films from Abbott & Costello, but it has been recently released on DVD and is recommended for fans of the comedy team. It features Bud and Lou as window washers in the big city who get unwittingly involved with crooks and $50,000 of their loot.While the plot itself may be typical and no great shakes, the selling point of this comedy are the funny A&C routines that are peppered throughout the movie... We get to see Abbott prove to a gangster that he is not actually here but rather "Someplace Else"; funnyman Leon Errol drives Costello bonkers by discussing horses and how "Mudders eat their Fodder"; Bud makes Lou continually "Dress and Undress".The real gem of this feature is a terrific scene near the end, as Abbott and Costello engage in an endless array of crazy conversations, and it's one of the best things they ever did that managed to get captured on film: the boys are eating dinner at a fancy restaurant in an effort to run up a huge bill to get deliberately arrested when they cannot pay the check... all the while they're tangled up in a delicious diatribe where Abbott rants about the values of "Mustard", going into the "Ball Park," having a "Headache," asking Costello how he could "Marry a 10 Year Old Girl", and more! This one's worth watching for these golden exchanges alone. *** out of ****