Talk About Cinema

The Ritz Brothers are a comedy team that I’ve always wanted to check out, but I never really got around to it. Being well aware that their one public domain film, The Gorilla , is not considered good in the slightest, I decided to pass on that. Taking into consideration how much I love Wheeler and Woolsey’s Cockeyed Cavaliers , I decided to check out a period piece as my introduction to the team: 1939’s The Three Musketeers . d’Artagnan (Don Ameche) travels to Paris aiming to join the King’s Musketeers. He mistakes three cooks (Al, Jimmy, and Harry Ritz) for the Musketeers and ends up teaming up with them when he discovers the Queen needs their help in retrieving an emerald brooch that she gave to the Duke of Buckingham (Lester Matthews), which could threaten to start a scandal. Even as someone who’s not too familiar with the Alexander Dumas novel, it’s pretty easy to tell that this is not a faithful adaptation of the original work. The actual Musketeers (Athos, Porthos, and Ar...

The Time of Their Lives is the second and final film to feature Abbott and Costello working as two separate acts as opposed to a duo. Not only is it the superior of these two experimental films, but it’s also one of their best films period. Costello plays Horatio Prim, a tinker who is engaged to Nora O’Leary (Ann Gillis) in 1780. Nora is a housemaid for Tom Danbury (Jess Barker), who is taking part in Benedict Arnold’s plans to betray the American army. Tom’s fiancée, Melody Allen (Marjorie Reynolds), finds out about the plot and along with Horatio attempts to expose the plot. Unfortunately, they are mistaken for traitors by American troops and shot to death. Their ghosts are cursed to stay on the estate until their innocence can be proved and 166 years later, they might get their chance when they discover a letter of commendation from George Washington to Horatio may still exist. With the help of some residents at the estate, they must find the letter to prove their innocence...

Little Giant is not really an Abbott and Costello film; rather, it’s a film that happens to star both Abbott and Costello. While they do share scenes together, this is the first film where they’re not treated as a comedy duo. Some have cited a rift between the two as being the reason for this while others have suggested that Universal decided on this in an attempt to boost dwindling box office receipts. Whatever the reason, Little Giant and their next film, The Time of Their Lives , were the results. Benny Miller (Costello), who lives on his mother’s farm, dreams of one day becoming a salesman. After completing a phonograph course, he sets out to work at the vacuum company where his Uncle Clarence (George Cleveland) works. Despite his best efforts, Miller manages to bungle every opportunity, irritating manager John Morrison (Abbott) and his wife, Hazel (Jacqueline deWitt) and he is transferred to another branch, where he attempts to build the confidence he needs to become a g...