Customer Reviews

Abbott & Costello: Africa Screams & Jack Beanstalk [VHS]

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Many cheapie companies offer this title at a lower price. Pass up those horrible copies and buy this excellent IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT / HAL ROACH STUDIOS DVD mastered from the original 35mm NITRATE NEGATIVE!

This is the same excellent master film used by Image for their Laserdisc release. The only thing missing here is the Bloopers & Out-takes that were on the Laserdisc.

This movie is the best of the five independent films that Abbott & Costello made in my opinion. And it stands up better than most of their 1950's Universal films. Where else will you see Bud & Lou teamed up with some of the THREE STOOGES? Shemp Howerd and Joe Besser join Abbott & Costello's safari to add to the laughs!
Besser would later join Bud & Lou for their 1950's TV show as "Stinky" before becoming a Stooge!

A classic A & C film. The boys play two employees of a NY department store. Lou's claim that he can draw a map from a famous big game hunter's book, gets them involved with an unscrupoulous gang of fortune hunters who are organizing a safari to Africa, to hunt for diamonds. Two of the film's BEST highlights are the team's encounters with then famous big game hunters Clyde Beatty and Frank Buck. The film also teams them with Hillary Brook (who co-starred with them in the film "ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET CAPTAIN KIDD", and later co-starred with them in the first season of their TV series "THE ABBOTT & COSTELLO SHOW"), and Joe Besser and Shemp Howard ( of "THE THREE STOOGES". Howard co-starred with the team in their films "BUCK PRIVATES", "IN THE NAVY", and "IT AIN'T HAY". Besser co-starred with them in their TV series "THE ABBOTT & COSTELLO SHOW" playing the part of 'STINKY').

AFRICA SCREAMS has been in the public domain for years. This dusted-off version looks and sounds the best of a-n-y version I've seen. This is the first version I've seen with the Nassour Studios logo opening the film and it has closed-captioning, as well. I skip the colorized version, as I oppose that sort of thing. However, Legend Films has made this one worth the wait. The scene where the tribal chief is scared white by the giant gorilla is here intact, as well, whereas I've often seen it where his face has been blurred over with darkness. I've found this to be a fine film of the team's, as opposed to, say, MEXICAN HAYRIDE or LITTLE GIANT. If you're still hunting a fine print of AFRICA SCREAMS for your A & C collection ... well, here it is.

One of my favorite memories of growing up has always been watching old movies with my father. Dad was a big fan of Abbot & Costello, Laurel and Hardy and the Three Stooges. When we would watch these when I was young, I always enjoyed being with my dad, just because these movies would always make him laugh. They were the type of comedies that I was able to understand and enjoy as well, and they have been a shared bond between us ever since. Needless to say, I looked forward to sharing some of our favorites with my two young sons. Call me old fashioned, but I thought I might try to pass on the tradition.

Here's the problem with my boys: like all boys under the age of ten, they don't have much of an attention span. They are more than willing to watch a movie with their dad, but one of the things I've noticed that makes them lose interest very quickly is movies that are in Black and White. Now my sons are no film snobs, they are seven and five years old. Colorized movies often touch a nerve in the film community, but in my son's case, it's purely a matter of them knowing what they like. Black and white TV or Movies just aren't as common anymore, and to them, it sort of acts like a trigger that maybe they'd rather be watching something else.

I certainly believe they will gain an appreciation for black and white cinema as they age, I don't want to force it on them. Until then, I am thankful that colorized versions of movies that I enjoyed with my dad exist. This version of Africa Screams, by Legend Films, is a completely different animal than the low quality of colorization process that I grew up with as a kid. Though it may not be Abbot & Costello's most famous comedy, it is one of my kid's favorites, and I have enjoyed the repeat viewings of it that they have demanded. The plot finds Costello unwillingly traveling to Africa as a wide variety of different people pursue giant gorillas, stolen diamonds, and even Abbot & Costello themselves. There's a good deal of fun animal scenes, including an impressive one where Clyde Beatty tames three lions. (My five year old used to find this part scary, but now it's one of his favorite scenes.) Costello's antics and buffoonery never fail to amuse my kids; he's like a human embodiment of a cartoon character. Even thought we've watched the movie together at least five times, every time they laugh at something silly that the duo perpetrates, it makes me laugh as well.

So now I've been able to convince my boys that "old" movies can be funny and entertaining, and I hope to add to our library of colorized classics that we can watch together. The only problem is now their grandfather, my dad, who I grew up watching these movies with. He doesn't like the colorized versions! Dad remains a lovable curmudgeon, firmly planted in his own time. Fortunately for me and him, the disc also contains a great black and white version on the same disc. I feel that this can be used to gradually transition my kids, once they're ready, onto other favorite movies which are only available in black and white. The other night, once the kids had gone to bed, my dad and I sat up and watched the restored black and white version. I'm thankful that the same great movie can give me a chance to share something I enjoy with my kids and with my dad.

I have already reviewed Africa Screams as a movie in a previous review of a separate DVD release. Therefore, I will focus mainly on the quality and characteristics of this particular release...

Despite being one of more than a dozen independent releases of Africa Screams, this release stands out as being rather unique. What makes it so unique? A couple factors. First, Africa Screams has been colorized, an attempt to captivate a modern audience that, sadly, has no use for monochrome films. When a film of this era is artificially colorized, it sacrifices much of its charm and appeal. Naturally, I prefer the black & white version of the movie. However, it's nice to have the color version as a welcome change of pace. Fortunately, this DVD offers the viewer the option to watch the movie in its original monochrome form, another thing which makes this particular release stand out, the dual capacity afforded to the viewer. It must also be noted that artificially colorized films in the past tended to look phony, pink skin, sickly shading, etc. Modern colorization technology has dramatically improved, because this particular film appears almost natural. The only glitch I noticed was in the fading to black in certain scenes, the outline of the setting remained on the screen until the next scene faded in. Other than that, I must say the quality of the colorization is tremendous.

Another feature that makes this release of Africa Screams is the close captioning, for those of us who like to watch movies using this feature, since some of the dialogue is whispered, spoken too quickly, or badly enunciated. With the close captioning, you never miss a line of dialogue. As far as I can tell, this is the only Africa Screams release with close captioning/subtitles.

A few further observations on the movie...

Watch fearless lion tamer Lou Costello, in a precious opening scene, braving a perilous and intimidating jungle setting...of a department store...attempt to tame a FEROCIOUS... cute little kitten...

Witness two Third Stooges, Shemp Howard and Joe Besser, entertaining at opposite ends of the spectrum. The brilliance of Shemp Howard vs the idiotic "comedy" of Joe Besser. Besser ruined The Three Stooges during his tenure as the Third Stooge, and he tries his best to bring down this film with his tired and annoyingly un-funny antics. However, Africa Screams is such a wonderful film that it rises above and overcomes Besser's inane performance...

Enjoy the scenes deep in the jungles of Africa in which an African cannibal chief with a sweet tooth for fat guys connives to make Costello Soup for lunch...NGAWA...he keeps repeating in a delightfully stereotypical scene that would never be tried today. Rather, liberal Hollywood directors would dress the savages in three-piece suits and bowler hats in order to avoid negative politically incorrect images so as not to offend anyone...

Witness a hysterical scene as Costello tries to convince Hillary Brooke that he is no coward, with the aid of his friend, Bud Abbott, dressed in a lion-skin suit. Then watch Costello's drastic change of emotions, from belly-aching laughter to horrified whimpering, as he realizes that the REAL lion has shown up, and that he has mistakenly locked himself in a cage with the real beast...

See Max and Buddy Baer as the two henchmen of the villainess, played by Hillary Brooke. Pay close attention and you will hear a clever reference to the Max Baer vs. Joe Louis boxing match of the 1930s...

Plus, watch as Africa Screams pays homage to another great film of that era, King Kong...

AFRICA SCREAMS (1949)

Huntington Hartford Productions

Release Date: May 4, 1949 (New York City, New York)

May 27, 1949

Runtime: 79 minutes

Director:

Charles Barton

Producer:

David S. Garber

Huntington Hartford

Writing Credits:

Earl Baldwin

Martin Ragaway

Leonard B. Stern

CAST:

Bud Abbott.....Buzz Johnson

Lou Costello.....Stanley Livington

Clyde Beatty....Himself

Frank Buck....Himself

Max Baer....Grapple McCoy

Buddy Baer....Boots Wilson

Hillary Brooke....Diana Emerson

Shemp Howard....Gunner

Joe Besser....Harry

Burt Wenland....Bobo

Music by:

Walter Schumann

Cinematography by:

Charles Van Enger

Film Editing by:

Frank Gross

Art Direction:

Lewis H. Creber

Set Decoration:

Ray Robinson

Assistant Director:

Joseph E. Kenney

Special Effects:

Carl Lee

Other Crew:

Norman Abbott....dialougue director

Albert Deano....wardrobe manager

William Nassour....executive in charge

Plot Summary:

Buzz and Stanley are booksellers in a department store. Several people start asking about a map in a book about Dark Africa. Stanley claims to know the map from memory. Buzz cons a female customer, Diana Emerson, into thinking Stanley knows a great deal about the map and insists on going to Africa knowing riches await him. After encounters with lion tamers, giant apes and a wild river, Buzz returns to America. Stanley finds diamonds and buys the store they once worked for, hiring Buzz as its elevator operator.

ROUTINES & HILARIOUS MOMENTS:

Lou fears gorilla while eating

Glasses of water for tent fire

Bud in lion skin

Lou's thought dead.

Trivia (from imdb.com): There is a scene where Bud Abbott & Lou Costello are talking in their tent and Joe Besser dashes into the tent, grabs a glass of water and dashes out again. He repeats this several times until Bud Abbott stops him and asks why he's so thirsty. Joe Besser replies that he's not thirsty, it's that his tent is on fire. That was based on an incident in Lou Costello's childhood, when he accidentally set some clothes in his bedroom on fire. His father was in the living room, which was between the kitchen and Lou Costello's bedroom. Lou Costello, not wanting to let his father know that he had set his room on fire, dashed back and forth between the kitchen and his bedroom with glasses of water until his father finally asked what he was doing, whereupon Lou Costello was forced to tell what he had done.

Legend Films present "ABBOTT & COSTELLO IN AFRICA SCREAMS" (released: 27 May 1949) (79 mins) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) --- now in COLOR and Glorious Black and White --- Under Charles Barton (Director), Edward Nassour (Producer), Earl W. Baldwin (Screenwriter), Charles Van Enger (Cinematographer), Walter Schumann (Composer (Music Score), Frank Gross (Editor), Lewis H. Creber (Production Designer), Ray Robinson (Set Designer), Robert Pritchard (Sound/Sound Designer), Carl Lee (Special Effects), Joseph E. Kenny (First Assistant Director ) - - - - our story line and plot has Bud and Lou as they become part of an African expedition led by the scheming HillaryBrooke --- there are plenty of lions and other jungle beasts that get tangled up with our famous duo --- Frank Buck and Clyde Beatty also appear as themselves --- Brooke and the Baer brothers (Max & Buddy) as her henchmen, make their end of things work well, and there are also some good moments from Shemp Howard and Joe Besser --- But, Joe Beseer steals almost every scene in which he appears, take note of the scene where Beseer interrupts Abbot and Costello by running into a tent to get cup after cup of water , when the boys finally ask him why he needs so much water, he responds by telling them that his tent is on fire, a classic moment that gives the film one of the biggest chuckles --- Abbott & Costello, who are in fine form brings side splitting laughter to all their fans.

the cast includes:
Bud Abbott ... Buzz Johnson
Lou Costello ... Stanley Livington
Clyde Beatty ... Himself
Frank Buck ... Himself
Max Baer ... Grappler McCoy
Buddy Baer ... Boots Wilson
Hillary Brooke ... Diana Emerson
Shemp Howard ... Gunner
Joe Besser ... Harry
Burt Wenland ... Bobo (as Burton Wenland)

BIOS:
1. Bud Abbott (aka: William Alexander Abbott)
Date of Birth: 2 October 1895 - Asbury Park, New Jersey
Date of Death: 24 April 1974 - Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California

2. Lou Costello (aka: Louis Francis Cristillo)
Date of Birth: 6 March 1906 - Paterson, New Jersey
Date of Death: 3 March 1959 - East Los Angeles, California

Specal footnote, Abbott and Costello William (Bud) Abbott and Lou Costello (born Louis Francis Cristillo) were an American comedy duo whose work in radio, film and television made them one of the most popular teams in the history of comedy --- Thanks to the endurance of their most popular and influential routine, "Who's on First?" -- whose rapid-fire word play and comprehension confusion set the preponderant framework for most of their best-known routines -- the team is, as a result, featured in the Baseball Hall of Fame --- The two comedians first worked together in 1935 at the Eltinge Burlesque Theater on 42nd Street in New York --- the duo built an act by refining and reworking numerous routines from their former vaudeville and burlesque sketches into the long-familiar presence of Abbott as the devious straight man, and Costello as the stumbling, dimwitted laugh-getter.

Universal signed them to a long-term contract, and their second film, Buck Privates, (1941) secured them as box-office stars --- The duo made over 30 films between 1940 and 1956 --- Abbott and Costello's films were saving Universal, which the duo are believed to have pondered buying themselves at the height of their success --- They were among the most popular and highest-paid entertainers in the world during World War II --- Their other film successes included "Buck Privates" (1941), "Hold That Ghost" (1941), "Pardon My Sarong" (1942), "Buck Privates Come Home" (1947), "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" (1948) and "Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man" (1951).

In 1942, Abbott and Costello were the top box office draw with a reported take of $10 million --- They would be a top ten box office attraction---helped in no small manner by their popular radio shows---until 1952. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Hats off and thanks to Barry B. Sandrew Ph.D. (Founder, COO & CTO) and his Legend Films Staff --- looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage era of the '20s, '30s & '40s --- order your copy now from Amazon where there are plenty of copies available on DVD --- if you enjoyed this title, why not check out Legend Films where they are experts in releasing long forgotten films and treasures to the collector --- all my heroes have been cowboys!

Total Time: 79 mins on DVD ~ Legend Films Video. ~ (3/01/2006)

I've been on a Abbott and Costello kick lately and I have been buying their films that weren't included in the massive box set. I have found them all but one(A&B meet Captain Kidd) and hope that one will make its way to DVD soon. Africa Screams is actually a very good A&B film with plenty of fun and action. There are many releases of this film and I tried a few before I came across my Ammie friend's review Paul J. Mular(Thank you!). His suggestion for buying the Hal Roach Studios release is spot on. The film looks about as good as we will probably ever see it and it is not altered which most of them are. The scene were the natives are scared white is intact.

The film has the boys going on a safari to Africa because it is thought that Lou knows how to draw a certain map that will of course lead to riches. We throw in some lions, monkeys, a giant gorilla, Max Baer, Shemp Howard and Joe Besser for good measure! How can you go wrong with that line up?

Good colorization,not one of their best films but nice to see in color,also B/W option, best quality print of this film I've seen.

Being born in Paterson NJ, I guess maybe I'm a little privy to the whole Abbott & Costello thing. I remember when channel 11 was WPIX..now it's WB11....but every Sunday morning; at 11:30AM, they'd run an Abbott & Costello film(they did this for years)and Africa Screams was one of our favorites.

Why? Well, it was classic Bud & Lou all the way. Picture Lou finding a trail of diamonds.....calling on Bud to help him carry ALL HIS MONEY! I'M GOING TO BUY POLO PONIES...OFFICE BUILDINGS!!!

I forget the name of the guy who plays Gunner, but you'll recognize him instantly as well........YOU GOTTA BUY THIS!!!!!!