Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion (1950)
It's been quite a stretch of time since I've seen a good Abbott and Costello film and, unfortunately, Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion continues that trend. While not quite as bad as Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff, this film was still a chore to sit through.
Abbott and Costello play wrestling promoters Bud Jones and Lou Hotchkiss, who fix wrestling fights. One of the wrestlers, Abdullah (Wee Willie Davis) is supposed to lose the next match but refuses and leaves to return to Algeria. Since they took money from a syndicate in order to bring him there, they have to go to Algeria and bring him back. In the process, they get mistaken for spies by Abdullah's cousin, Sheik Hamud El Khalid (Douglass Dumbrille), who is involved in a railroad scheme along with Sgt. Axmann (Walter Slezak), a Foreign Legionnaire. Axmann tricks Bud and Lou into joining the Foreign Legion, Bud and Lou meet a French spy, they have to prove that Axmann is involved in the scheme, then they have to stop the fort from being blown up...
OK, so here's one of the major problems. The plot of this movie is surprisingly complicated. I guess I can at least give it credit for not being what I expected. Judging by the title, I was expecting a Buck Privates or Keep 'Em Flying rehash, and while there are some scenes similar to that, it does not take up the majority of the film. What we instead get is just a ton of exposition and situations thrown together, with the only real large break from it all being a rather tedious scene of Abbott and Costello lost in the desert. It's not even as though the exposition is written very well. For example, at the beginning, Abdullah takes part in a rehearsal but is dismayed at having to lose the next fight. OK, so why did he not leave before the rehearsal if he didn't want to lose? He kind of just stays there for no real reason other than the opportunity to beat up Lou. Even the whole syndicate thing is never exactly cleared up. Yes, Abdullah does return with them to the U.S. at the end, but there's never really an indication he'll throw the fight for them. In fact, given all the time that had passed, it's likely that they missed the fight altogether. Are we just supposed to assume the syndicate bumped off Bud and Lou upon their return?
So, complicated story aside, how does the rest of this movie hold up? Well, for starters, it has common Arabian stereotypes, such as people wielding knives or the presence of harems. Lost in a Harem had these stereotypes too, but at least they made it clear early on that they weren't all villains. Here, they make it out as though almost every person of Arab descent is either villainous or, in Abdullah's case, the cause of Bud and Lou getting stuck in this situation. I don't want to get political here, but these stereotypes are much harder to ignore here because of how blatant they are.
At least the comedy here is better than in Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff. There's some funny, small moments throughout, such as Costello confusing the word "oui" for "we" and when they're searching Axmann's quarters for evidence that he's a traitor. For me, the best scene was when Bud and Lou think they're being followed, but it turns out that they keep seeing and hitting each other. These are fun scenes, but there's also some really tedious parts as well, such as the the scene at the beginning where the wrestlers keep tossing Lou around. Not to mention that there are also bits that were done better in their earlier films, such as the mirage scene or when Abbott thinks that he accidentally killed Costello.
So, once again Abbott and Costello turned out a film that retreads on their previous work with more emphasis on confusing and uncomfortable elements rather than on good comedy. Well, if memory serves me right, at least the next film is a big improvement.
4 out of 10
Abbott and Costello play wrestling promoters Bud Jones and Lou Hotchkiss, who fix wrestling fights. One of the wrestlers, Abdullah (Wee Willie Davis) is supposed to lose the next match but refuses and leaves to return to Algeria. Since they took money from a syndicate in order to bring him there, they have to go to Algeria and bring him back. In the process, they get mistaken for spies by Abdullah's cousin, Sheik Hamud El Khalid (Douglass Dumbrille), who is involved in a railroad scheme along with Sgt. Axmann (Walter Slezak), a Foreign Legionnaire. Axmann tricks Bud and Lou into joining the Foreign Legion, Bud and Lou meet a French spy, they have to prove that Axmann is involved in the scheme, then they have to stop the fort from being blown up...
OK, so here's one of the major problems. The plot of this movie is surprisingly complicated. I guess I can at least give it credit for not being what I expected. Judging by the title, I was expecting a Buck Privates or Keep 'Em Flying rehash, and while there are some scenes similar to that, it does not take up the majority of the film. What we instead get is just a ton of exposition and situations thrown together, with the only real large break from it all being a rather tedious scene of Abbott and Costello lost in the desert. It's not even as though the exposition is written very well. For example, at the beginning, Abdullah takes part in a rehearsal but is dismayed at having to lose the next fight. OK, so why did he not leave before the rehearsal if he didn't want to lose? He kind of just stays there for no real reason other than the opportunity to beat up Lou. Even the whole syndicate thing is never exactly cleared up. Yes, Abdullah does return with them to the U.S. at the end, but there's never really an indication he'll throw the fight for them. In fact, given all the time that had passed, it's likely that they missed the fight altogether. Are we just supposed to assume the syndicate bumped off Bud and Lou upon their return?
So, complicated story aside, how does the rest of this movie hold up? Well, for starters, it has common Arabian stereotypes, such as people wielding knives or the presence of harems. Lost in a Harem had these stereotypes too, but at least they made it clear early on that they weren't all villains. Here, they make it out as though almost every person of Arab descent is either villainous or, in Abdullah's case, the cause of Bud and Lou getting stuck in this situation. I don't want to get political here, but these stereotypes are much harder to ignore here because of how blatant they are.
At least the comedy here is better than in Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff. There's some funny, small moments throughout, such as Costello confusing the word "oui" for "we" and when they're searching Axmann's quarters for evidence that he's a traitor. For me, the best scene was when Bud and Lou think they're being followed, but it turns out that they keep seeing and hitting each other. These are fun scenes, but there's also some really tedious parts as well, such as the the scene at the beginning where the wrestlers keep tossing Lou around. Not to mention that there are also bits that were done better in their earlier films, such as the mirage scene or when Abbott thinks that he accidentally killed Costello.
So, once again Abbott and Costello turned out a film that retreads on their previous work with more emphasis on confusing and uncomfortable elements rather than on good comedy. Well, if memory serves me right, at least the next film is a big improvement.
4 out of 10
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