Little Giant (1946)
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 good salesman.
On the one hand, Universal removed the elements that usually hindered their Abbott and Costello films. There are no musical numbers and no side romances. The story is entirely focused on Costello and to his credit, he does do pretty well at handling the dramatic moments. Abbott, meanwhile, plays two roles (three if you count his brief bit as an elderly grandmother). He actually does really well in his roles too, still managing to maintain a consistent performance while also playing one role as an antagonist and another as entirely sympathetic. The supporting cast also does a really good job, especially George Cleveland as Costello’s loving, but worried uncle who is caught up in the middle of an accounting scandal.
The major problem with Little Giant is the pacing of its comedy. It’s kind of the same problem with Oliver Hardy in Zenobia, where the filmmakers tried to have him act in a new direction while still trying to play it safe at the same time. In general, Costello is a bit more subdued than usual in this film, which is a nice change of pace, but this makes his moments of outburst feel more awkward than funny and the scenes where he’s subdued aren’t really that funny either. The one real comedy moment of note is a scene at the beginning in which he tries to sell anything to a customer, and that stands out more for Sid Fields’s performance than Costello’s. They also try to force in a very mediocre interpretation of 13 x 7 = 28, which goes to show that the filmmakers were not entirely devoted to this new direction that they were attempting to go in.
Unfortunately, this pacing problem can affect the dramatic moments as well. For example, there’s a scene towards the end of the film where Costello has to act really dejected and is slowly walking down a road. It’s pretty effective at first, but is then interrupted by a dumb comedy bit where Costello runs into trouble with a mule.
Little Giant is an interesting experiment. I do give them some credit for ambition, but it’s not enough to make up for what is an overall pretty forgettable experience. There are some nice dramatic moments, but Abbott and Costello have been able to handle these kinds of moments well in the past and even the idea of Abbott playing two totally separate roles was used in their next film, The Time of Their Lives. Little Giant isn’t bad by any means, but its pacing problems make it a film not really worth repeat viewings.
6 out of 10
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 good salesman.
On the one hand, Universal removed the elements that usually hindered their Abbott and Costello films. There are no musical numbers and no side romances. The story is entirely focused on Costello and to his credit, he does do pretty well at handling the dramatic moments. Abbott, meanwhile, plays two roles (three if you count his brief bit as an elderly grandmother). He actually does really well in his roles too, still managing to maintain a consistent performance while also playing one role as an antagonist and another as entirely sympathetic. The supporting cast also does a really good job, especially George Cleveland as Costello’s loving, but worried uncle who is caught up in the middle of an accounting scandal.
The major problem with Little Giant is the pacing of its comedy. It’s kind of the same problem with Oliver Hardy in Zenobia, where the filmmakers tried to have him act in a new direction while still trying to play it safe at the same time. In general, Costello is a bit more subdued than usual in this film, which is a nice change of pace, but this makes his moments of outburst feel more awkward than funny and the scenes where he’s subdued aren’t really that funny either. The one real comedy moment of note is a scene at the beginning in which he tries to sell anything to a customer, and that stands out more for Sid Fields’s performance than Costello’s. They also try to force in a very mediocre interpretation of 13 x 7 = 28, which goes to show that the filmmakers were not entirely devoted to this new direction that they were attempting to go in.
Unfortunately, this pacing problem can affect the dramatic moments as well. For example, there’s a scene towards the end of the film where Costello has to act really dejected and is slowly walking down a road. It’s pretty effective at first, but is then interrupted by a dumb comedy bit where Costello runs into trouble with a mule.
Little Giant is an interesting experiment. I do give them some credit for ambition, but it’s not enough to make up for what is an overall pretty forgettable experience. There are some nice dramatic moments, but Abbott and Costello have been able to handle these kinds of moments well in the past and even the idea of Abbott playing two totally separate roles was used in their next film, The Time of Their Lives. Little Giant isn’t bad by any means, but its pacing problems make it a film not really worth repeat viewings.
6 out of 10
Comments
Post a Comment