Mexican Hayride (1948)
With Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein being such a huge success at the box office, you'd think that Universal would try to just cash in on that right away and make even more crossovers between Abbott and Costello and the Universal Monsters. Actually, that wasn't the case, at least, not yet. Instead, they chose to adapt a Cole Porter musical, Mexican Hayride. Add this to the fact that Charles Barton, director of The Noose Hangs High and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, was set to helm this project, Universal must have thought they had all the elements to succeed. They did not.
Costello is Joe Bascomb, a man from Iowa who's on the run after getting involved in an oil stock scam set up by Harry Lambert (Abbott). After another misunderstanding involving his ex-girlfriend, Mary (Virginia Grey), Bascomb finds himself travelling through Mexico as the United States's "goodwill ambassador" under the new name of Humphrey Fish. Meanwhile, two cops (Tom Powers and Pat Costello) are also following Bascomb's trail.
The story is bad. First off, the whole idea in the first place involves Abbott's character pulling off an oil scam, only for him to pull off another scam in Mexico involving silver mine stock. However, unlike Little Giant where they actually do set him up as the villain, here they kind of switch it back and forth, to the point where they try to make it seem as though another character named David Winthrop is the villain, even though Abbott's character is clearly in the wrong. Heck, he leaves Costello's character stranded with police officers despite the fact that he helped free him. There's something just so sickening about seeing him go free at the end of this film that I haven't felt in any other films. The closest I can think of is Pardon My Sarong, and we all know how bad that film is, right?
There are other problems with the story. There's this whole subplot with Bascomb's ex-girlfriend in which she's mad at him because...I guess something involving the oil scheme? At first, you think that the film is setting up that they'll get back together, but no. Instead, they set up this even more confusing romance involving Bascomb and Lambert's business partner, Dagmar. Dagmar initially steals money from Bascomb to give to Lambert, only to give it back to Bascomb later. There's a scene where Bascomb kisses her that I think they're trying to use as a turning point for her character actually falling in love with Bascomb, but it's incredibly rushed, and she ends up causing even more trouble by taking the money and not clearing Bascomb's name. Oh yeah, and Mary ends up with David, because...well, that's it. Just because.
Surely the Cole Porter songs must be good, though. I wouldn't know, because for whatever reason, they decided not to use any of the Porter songs in this film. The only song in this film is a rather boring number involving Dagmar attempting to seduce Bascomb.
The comedy's a bit more hit-and-miss than usual. For example, there's a hilarious scene involving Sid Fields as a reporter in which he tries to interview Costello's character but constantly interrupts and berates Costello's character. It's a great scene, but it's later followed by a similar scene involving an elocution teacher that comes across as more annoying than funny. For all the funny, well-paced scenes such as Bascomb disguising himself as a trombonist or the "silver ore" verbal exchange, there are also dull comedy bits that go on for too long such as Bascomb sitting next to a smoker or trying to make an enchilada and failing.
There's also a running gag involving Bascomb having to dance every time he hears the Samba which seems promising, but ultimately ends up building up to a lame joke during the bullfighting climax involving the bull also doing the Samba briefly. The climax itself is decent, but that's just it. Decent.
After the most recent two films, Mexican Hayride is a huge downgrade in quality. It is a bit funnier than Pardon My Sarong, and unlike that film, at least what's funny is spaced out throughout rather than just at the beginning, but I'd say that Mexican Hayride is the worst Abbott and Costello film that I've seen in a while. The fact that the first film after Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is this bad does not give positive signs for the future.
4 out of 10
Costello is Joe Bascomb, a man from Iowa who's on the run after getting involved in an oil stock scam set up by Harry Lambert (Abbott). After another misunderstanding involving his ex-girlfriend, Mary (Virginia Grey), Bascomb finds himself travelling through Mexico as the United States's "goodwill ambassador" under the new name of Humphrey Fish. Meanwhile, two cops (Tom Powers and Pat Costello) are also following Bascomb's trail.
The story is bad. First off, the whole idea in the first place involves Abbott's character pulling off an oil scam, only for him to pull off another scam in Mexico involving silver mine stock. However, unlike Little Giant where they actually do set him up as the villain, here they kind of switch it back and forth, to the point where they try to make it seem as though another character named David Winthrop is the villain, even though Abbott's character is clearly in the wrong. Heck, he leaves Costello's character stranded with police officers despite the fact that he helped free him. There's something just so sickening about seeing him go free at the end of this film that I haven't felt in any other films. The closest I can think of is Pardon My Sarong, and we all know how bad that film is, right?
There are other problems with the story. There's this whole subplot with Bascomb's ex-girlfriend in which she's mad at him because...I guess something involving the oil scheme? At first, you think that the film is setting up that they'll get back together, but no. Instead, they set up this even more confusing romance involving Bascomb and Lambert's business partner, Dagmar. Dagmar initially steals money from Bascomb to give to Lambert, only to give it back to Bascomb later. There's a scene where Bascomb kisses her that I think they're trying to use as a turning point for her character actually falling in love with Bascomb, but it's incredibly rushed, and she ends up causing even more trouble by taking the money and not clearing Bascomb's name. Oh yeah, and Mary ends up with David, because...well, that's it. Just because.
Surely the Cole Porter songs must be good, though. I wouldn't know, because for whatever reason, they decided not to use any of the Porter songs in this film. The only song in this film is a rather boring number involving Dagmar attempting to seduce Bascomb.
The comedy's a bit more hit-and-miss than usual. For example, there's a hilarious scene involving Sid Fields as a reporter in which he tries to interview Costello's character but constantly interrupts and berates Costello's character. It's a great scene, but it's later followed by a similar scene involving an elocution teacher that comes across as more annoying than funny. For all the funny, well-paced scenes such as Bascomb disguising himself as a trombonist or the "silver ore" verbal exchange, there are also dull comedy bits that go on for too long such as Bascomb sitting next to a smoker or trying to make an enchilada and failing.
There's also a running gag involving Bascomb having to dance every time he hears the Samba which seems promising, but ultimately ends up building up to a lame joke during the bullfighting climax involving the bull also doing the Samba briefly. The climax itself is decent, but that's just it. Decent.
After the most recent two films, Mexican Hayride is a huge downgrade in quality. It is a bit funnier than Pardon My Sarong, and unlike that film, at least what's funny is spaced out throughout rather than just at the beginning, but I'd say that Mexican Hayride is the worst Abbott and Costello film that I've seen in a while. The fact that the first film after Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is this bad does not give positive signs for the future.
4 out of 10
Comments
Post a Comment