Since this independent Abbott & Costello comedy wasn't produced by Universal or MGM it comes off less slick than some of their other films, yet still emerges as pretty funny and is worth a look for fans of the team. Bud and Lou are joined by sometime-Stooges Shemp Howard and Joe Besser, and also lovely Hillary Brooke, who would later join them for their regular weekly television show.
Brooke is a crime boss looking for a certain map that's in A&C's possession, so she and the boys (including Shemp and Joe) journey to the jungles of darkest Africa to search for what the men think is a rare type of orangutan gargantua gorilla (or some sort of nonsense); but actually, Hillary's only hunting for a secret treasure trove of precious diamonds. When Abbott finds out what's really going on, he becomes quite the self-centered businessman and is really funny and more mean than usual (which always works for me in these comedies).
Some jokes include Costello getting locked in a cage with a lion, the humorous "I Lost My Pal" routine, and Lou tangling with cannibals. Real-life lion tamer/big game hunters Frank Buck and Clyde Beatty are also on hand to do their stuff if you go for that sort of thing. **1/2 out of ****
Africa Screams
1949
Action / Adventure / Comedy
Africa Screams
1949
Action / Adventure / Comedy
Plot summary
When bookseller Buzz cons Diana into thinking that his friend Stanley knows all there is to know about Africa, they are abducted and ordered to lead Diana and her henchmen to an African tribe in search of a fortune in jewels.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
August 27, 2024 at 10:05 AM
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Fairly funny jungle hijinks with Bud & Lou **1/2
Lots of fun with the loony couple in the African jungle
The frantic duo now as library clerks (Abbott and Costello) who become involved into African adventures when an ambitious group led by a nasty , evil woman (Hillary Brooke) thinks Costello knows a treasure map . They , then , go to an Africa safari which leads a secret treasure , the king Salomon's diamonds . Stranded in Africa happens numerous humorous adventures , odds and risks .
The picture contains slapstick , simple humor , parody and results to be pretty amusing . This is an okay comedy but a cheapie production in low budget developing a sarcastic look to jungle films . Most entertainment and madcap scheme comes from the animals apparition when are frightening to Costello such as a gorilla , Croc and lions , especially when happens into a cage . This is first independently financed film that Abbott and Costello made whilst under contract with Universal , it was released by United Artists . In supporting cast appears familiar faces joined in the mayhem , thus : Hillary Brooke (acting alongside with the crazy duo in ¨Against the captain Kidd¨ too) as femme fatal , she is especially known as wicked roles (¨Woman in green¨ against Sherlock's Basil Rathbone) ; Clyde Beatty and Frank Buck , they were actually lions tamers , in fact world renowned animal trainer Clyde Beatty provided his own animals for the film ; The Baer Brothers , Max and Buddy , real life muscle men heavyweight fighters and Buddy Baer (playing a giant) starred with the mad couple ¨Jack and the bean stalk¨ ; even appears the one time ¨Stooges¨ (Howard and Besser) . Atmospheric cinematography , though a colorized copy of this film was released in 1988 and mostly shot in studio .This middling spoof film was regularly directed by usual director of their films , Charles Barton . The flick will appeal to nutty duo fans . Hilarious and humorous gags make this one of the best from barmy pair . Low-budget comedy could have been better .
Vaudeville Safari
Hi, Everyone, I have a theory that any movie scene will get better if you put a gorilla into the mix. It works better if the gorilla is big.
There is a reason to spend the one dollar you might have to cough up for this film. There is a Crosley in the movie. Most people have never seen a Crosley. Most people do not know what a Crosley is. The Crosley was a small somewhat popular car that was built shortly after World War 2 (by a refrigerator manufacturer). If you watch this movie until the end you will see Lou getting out of a Crosley station wagon.
This is also a pleasant romp through the wild jungle with Bud and Lou and some ex champion boxers, famous wild animal tamers, one pretty girl and a couple of stooges. The scenes with Clyde Beatty and his lions are obviously real. He was an actual lion tamer. The scene with Lou in the cage with the lion looks very real even though it had to be a blue screen or matte job.
One oddity I noticed here was that Lou Costello is playing the part of Stanley Livington (no "s"). First name Stan and last initial "L." I wonder if that was a tribute to Stan Laurel? The gorilla is very well played. The gorilla suits used in many of the movies of the 1940s and 50s looked much better than the Chew Baca and other more modern gorillas.
Worth a look.
Tom Willett