Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1952)
Remember how I said Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein was a strange idea for a crossover? Well, that's a normal idea compared to the idea of Abbott and Costello's second and last color film, Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd. At least the Universal Monsters were already part of a long-lasting franchise. Captain Kidd was a 1945 dramatic film featuring Charles Laughton in the role of the title character. They even managed to get Laughton on board to reprise his role for this film. Why they chose Captain Kidd specifically to make a crossover with, we may never know.
Abbott and Costello play Rocky Stonebridge and Oliver Johnson, a pair of tavern workers who are entrusted by Lady Jane (Fran Warren) with the task of delivering a love note to their co-worker, Bruce Martingale (Bill Shirley). Captain Kidd (Laughton) and his crew are in town and while serving him, Oliver mixes up the letter with an important map belonging to Captain Kidd. Rocky seizes on this opportunity to blackmail Kidd into taking them with him to find the treasure so they can split it.
The plot doesn't really make a ton of sense when you think about it. For example, the whole idea of bringing Rocky and Oliver with him seems like a ridiculous move on Kidd's part. He literally has his own pirate crew; all he has to do is have them threaten the two and he could easily take the map back. He also takes along another captain named Anne Bonney (played by Hillary Brooke) who he agrees to split the treasure with later, but then betrays her. OK, first of all, why did he bring her in the first place if he was going to betray her? And second, when he does betray her, why doesn't he have anyone watching her to make sure she doesn't try to escape? Heck, she tells him that her ship's crew is going to follow them in case he makes any false moves. Did it ever occur to him that she could signal them to attack his crew?
Kidd's stupidity aside, other elements of the plot have forced elements to them. For example, the pirates just randomly shanghai Bruce. Yeah, they're pirates, but it comes out of nowhere, and it's not like they're ever shown shanghaiing anyone else. There also are some very dark elements as well; almost all of Kidd's crew gets killed near the end, and keep in mind, this is a musical comedy; even if it involves pirates, that seems way too dark.
The musical numbers aren't too bad. The opening number, "Meet Captain Kidd," is kind of catchy, although it's unfortunately followed by a rather uncomfortable (although at least brief) montage of the pirates chasing after women. Probably the best number is actually one involving the romantic leads, "Speak to Me of the Tall Pine." Part of that is due to Costello having to pretend he's singing both the male and female parts of this song when a fellow pirate overhears it, but the song actually is kind of sweet. The rest of the numbers are kind of bland, but not unbearable.
So, yeah, not the greatest impression so far, but there is one element that truly makes this film worthwhile: watching Charles Laughton descend into madness. Oh, sure, his character is arguably one of the dumbest captains in a pirate film (he literally handcuffs himself while trying to demonstrate to Oliver how the other pirates should have handcuffed him), but...it's Charles Laughton doing Abbott and Costello-style comedy. And you know what? He actually does it convincingly. Yeah, one of the most-known dramatic actors in history, and he actually does feel like he could have been a comedian had he aspired to do so. There are a lot of great moments involving him. One moment I especially liked was when Rocky and Oliver were digging and Oliver stopped to quote a play after finding a skull. Rather than telling him to get back to work, Kidd says, "That's the wrong play!" Another good moment involves the gag in which Costello keeps getting sea water blown at him from the window. Kidd laughs at his predicament, only to get water blown into his face...from a door where water couldn't possibly come through! He follows that up with an excellent expression. His expressions and movements throughout are especially great; there's one moment where he's chasing Oliver and after falsely thinking that he's killed him, he does this silly grin and starts dancing while whistling. The man really seemed like he was having fun with the role.
Abbott and Costello themselves do a pretty good job too. It never feels like they're phoning it in, and they're helped by the presence of their Abbott and Costello Show co-star Hillary Brooke playing a pirate love interest for Costello. Make no mistake, though, this is Laughton's show from start to finish. Practically all of the major comedy routines involve Laughton and the few comedy moments not involving him are little things involving Abbott tricking Costello, which are funny, but don't compare to the main bulk of the comedy involving Laughton.
Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd is a pretty flawed film, but Laughton is just so good in it that it's certainly worth recommending for that alone.
8 out of 10
Abbott and Costello play Rocky Stonebridge and Oliver Johnson, a pair of tavern workers who are entrusted by Lady Jane (Fran Warren) with the task of delivering a love note to their co-worker, Bruce Martingale (Bill Shirley). Captain Kidd (Laughton) and his crew are in town and while serving him, Oliver mixes up the letter with an important map belonging to Captain Kidd. Rocky seizes on this opportunity to blackmail Kidd into taking them with him to find the treasure so they can split it.
The plot doesn't really make a ton of sense when you think about it. For example, the whole idea of bringing Rocky and Oliver with him seems like a ridiculous move on Kidd's part. He literally has his own pirate crew; all he has to do is have them threaten the two and he could easily take the map back. He also takes along another captain named Anne Bonney (played by Hillary Brooke) who he agrees to split the treasure with later, but then betrays her. OK, first of all, why did he bring her in the first place if he was going to betray her? And second, when he does betray her, why doesn't he have anyone watching her to make sure she doesn't try to escape? Heck, she tells him that her ship's crew is going to follow them in case he makes any false moves. Did it ever occur to him that she could signal them to attack his crew?
Kidd's stupidity aside, other elements of the plot have forced elements to them. For example, the pirates just randomly shanghai Bruce. Yeah, they're pirates, but it comes out of nowhere, and it's not like they're ever shown shanghaiing anyone else. There also are some very dark elements as well; almost all of Kidd's crew gets killed near the end, and keep in mind, this is a musical comedy; even if it involves pirates, that seems way too dark.
The musical numbers aren't too bad. The opening number, "Meet Captain Kidd," is kind of catchy, although it's unfortunately followed by a rather uncomfortable (although at least brief) montage of the pirates chasing after women. Probably the best number is actually one involving the romantic leads, "Speak to Me of the Tall Pine." Part of that is due to Costello having to pretend he's singing both the male and female parts of this song when a fellow pirate overhears it, but the song actually is kind of sweet. The rest of the numbers are kind of bland, but not unbearable.
So, yeah, not the greatest impression so far, but there is one element that truly makes this film worthwhile: watching Charles Laughton descend into madness. Oh, sure, his character is arguably one of the dumbest captains in a pirate film (he literally handcuffs himself while trying to demonstrate to Oliver how the other pirates should have handcuffed him), but...it's Charles Laughton doing Abbott and Costello-style comedy. And you know what? He actually does it convincingly. Yeah, one of the most-known dramatic actors in history, and he actually does feel like he could have been a comedian had he aspired to do so. There are a lot of great moments involving him. One moment I especially liked was when Rocky and Oliver were digging and Oliver stopped to quote a play after finding a skull. Rather than telling him to get back to work, Kidd says, "That's the wrong play!" Another good moment involves the gag in which Costello keeps getting sea water blown at him from the window. Kidd laughs at his predicament, only to get water blown into his face...from a door where water couldn't possibly come through! He follows that up with an excellent expression. His expressions and movements throughout are especially great; there's one moment where he's chasing Oliver and after falsely thinking that he's killed him, he does this silly grin and starts dancing while whistling. The man really seemed like he was having fun with the role.
Abbott and Costello themselves do a pretty good job too. It never feels like they're phoning it in, and they're helped by the presence of their Abbott and Costello Show co-star Hillary Brooke playing a pirate love interest for Costello. Make no mistake, though, this is Laughton's show from start to finish. Practically all of the major comedy routines involve Laughton and the few comedy moments not involving him are little things involving Abbott tricking Costello, which are funny, but don't compare to the main bulk of the comedy involving Laughton.
Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd is a pretty flawed film, but Laughton is just so good in it that it's certainly worth recommending for that alone.
8 out of 10
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