Customer Reviews

The Best of Abbott & Costello, Vol. 3 (Abbott & Costello Go to Mars / Abbott & Costello in the Foreign Legion / Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein / Abbott & Costello Meet the Invisible Man / Abbott & Costello Meet the Killer / Comin' Round the Mountain / Lost in Alaska / Mexican Hayride)

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This set is as solid a value as Volume One, perhaps more so. There are more weak films in this package than in the first volume but the strongest films included are among the pair's best. The transfers, once again are excellent. Because the material is newer the audio quality is better. This should be a must for all fans of Bud and Lou.

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein ****

This is (without a doubt) one of their best features. Between the presence of the full line of Universal Studio's famous monsters and the duo in top form there's hardly a moment in this film that doesn't work. The film features one of their strongest takes on the "moving candle" routine. The interplay between the pair while they read the about the legends of the monsters is fabulous. Lou's scene in the Monster's lap is not to be missed.

Mexican Hayride ***

This is a bit off the beaten track for Bud and Lou. It's one of the few times that Bud played somebody who was actually bad as opposed to just being frustrated with and (prone to) taking advantage of the slow-witted character Lou played. It is funny though. The bullfight is not to be missed. There's also the logic of how the stock " has to be good" and the bit with the "Mother-lode". It's not their best but is far from their worst. What it lacks in consistency it often makes up for in warmth.

Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer **

This should have been far better. The plot is sound enough and the cast was strong. Boris Karloff wasn't used nearly as well as he could have been. He's central to the film's best (and funniest) scene but languishes as a secondary character afterward. There aren't enough of the regular exchanges that take place between Bud and Lou. The ones that are there are too short. Because of it the film relies mainly on slapstick to generate laughs, a device which, without the character development created by those exchanges, doesn't work.

Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion ****

There's a level of spontaneity here that makes this one of the crown jewels of the set. It's true that some of he special effects look badly dated but that's not a big problem. This film, unlike a few of their vehicles (A&C meet the Killer to name one) gives plenty of opportunity for the two to play off each other. Even better, a lot of it looks to be "off the cuff", as if they were given a framework and allowed to run. Whatever was the case they're in top form. Hilarious!

Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man ****

This is probably second in stature only to Bud and Lou meeting all of the monsters. It deserves that ranking-it comes very close to being just as good. Lou's reaction to Tommy Nelson turning invisible is priceless. The big fight is a hoot. The special effects, for the time, are great. What's really impressive is how well the film maintains an atmosphere of mystery around outrageous comedy. Hats off to (Director) Charles Barton and the crew for that.

Comin' Round the Mountain ****

This one is a riot from the pair's first appearance to the end of the film when they finally get to the treasure. The sequence with the love potion is hysterical. That "clean country air" Lou got courtesy of the skunk in his suitcase was a howler. A lot of people writing about this movie complained about Dorothy Shay and her singing. I thought she was great. For the most her numbers ran with the flow of the story and helped keep the mood bright.

Lost in Alaska ***

Leave it to Lou to get into trouble with a piece of Whale meat. This film is uneven mostly because some of the gags are repeated too often. The boomerang episodes are one example; Lou's sinking for the third time is another. On the plus side there are times when the humour is right off the wall. Lou's attempt to save Tom Ewell is one. His encounter with the Alaskan Crabs is a riot. The incident with the Eskimo Medicine man is a replay of a scene with the Monster from the boys' meeting with Frankenstein but it's just as fresh as the first time. It's easy to imagine that the guy playing the witch doctor had just as much trouble getting through this scene as Glenn Strange did the first time around.

Abbott and Costello go to Mars **

The premise for this one is completely preposterous. A spaceship couldn't be built by a private company without government knowledge of it. The 1950's special effects don't stand up at all. The sequences they're used for are lame. It's far from being all bad though. Bud and Lou bring hilarity to the unbelievable. The Mardi Gras scenes and the interstellar lie detectors are pure fun. The sentiment the Venusian's Queen feels for Lou is something we all identify with. Weak outing or not the boys' charm is still there.

I just can't get enough of Abbott and Costello!

I waited for quite a few years for ANY Abbott and Costello movies to hit DVD. There were very few in print. It was frustrating.

Well, the wait paid off big time. The first two sets were incredible. Universal has gone the extra mile and these sets are winners on so many levels.

Each set thus far includes 8 HIGH QUALITY films for under $20!

When I say HIGH QUALITY, I'm not just talking about the quality of the prints, which is very high, but the movies themselves are not lost turkeys. These are the truly all classics, and this set includes some of the great Universal Monster tie-ins, which were previously sold individually for more than the price of this set of 8!

Based upon the track record for classic movies going out of print, I suggest you buy them while they are still in this format.

The Best of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Volume 3 is set to release to dvd on August 3rd, 2004. This collection includes:

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
Mexican Hayride
Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff
Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion
Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man
Comin' Round the Mountain
Lost in Alaska
and Abbott and Costello Go to Mars

I can't wait for this dvd to come!!

I remember growing up watching old Abbott and Costello movies on Sunday afternoons with my Dad (along with the classic monster movies and the old Blondie shows). Buying these DVD's is like reliving great memories from my youth. The picture quality on these DVD's is outstanding - they are very well done. This third volume in this series is going to be the best of them all - this DVD will have some of my all time favorite A&C movies. I have watched the first two volumes numerous times since purchasing them and look forward to this next volume with great anticipation.

Sure many will criticize that this volume like the previous two don't have all the best movies but if you bought the previous two then you know it's not about their movies but their talent. On a second note BEWARE TO BUYERS.... many of the DVD's are damaged. I bought mine at B*** Buy and since have had to return them over six times because the bottom of disc a and b (actually side 2) have had this weird "cirlce like film" ingrained in the disks. So make sure to look at the disks carefully AFTER you buy them and if needed return for an exchange other than that- enjoy! "PING!!!!!!"

8 additional films from the comedy masters Bud Abbott and Lou Costello including their best Monster films.

This a two DVD doulbe sided set with two films on each side. There are no additional features for this DVD.

*****Meet Frankenstein - (and Dracula with a breif unappearance by the invisible man. This is the best of the monster films. Bud and Lou work at the freight station and deliver two packages to the local house of horrors. They contain Dracula and Frankestein (played by the great ones Lugosi and Chaney). Dracula wants to revive Frankenstein by using Lou's brain. It is a great time with the classic monsters.

****Mexican Hayride - This is based on a Cole Porter musical (without the Cole Porter songs). Bud has swindled a town out their savings and pinned it on Lou. Lou has followed Bud to Mexico and is in turned chased by the Feds. This is light weight but still enjoyable.

**Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff - Bud and Lou work at a hotel. A famous lawyer is killed and all the guests have a motive for murder. This is a poor example of the duo's work but does have its moments. One of them is not Karloff who plays a laughable hypnotist.

**In the Foriegn Legion - Bud and Lou a wrestling promoters but their star wrestler bolts and returns to Algeria. Bud and Lou follow to get him back and get involved with a corrupt sheik. Very predictable.

***Meet the Invisible Man - A man boxer is framed for murder. His girlfriend's father is a mad scientist who has developed a syrum for invisibility but not perfected it. Of course its accidently injected into the boxer. Short story long.... Lou with the help of the invisible boxer becomes a contender and traps the real killers. Weak premise but Lou has some great scenes.

****Coming Round the Mountain - Bud is a talent agent, Lou the worst magician. But it is discovered that Lou is last relative of a hillbilly who has a hidden fortune. But for course there is a blood fued going on. Not a classic story but the boys have a great time. It's kind of Bud and Lou meet the Kettles.

***Lost in Alaska - The boys are in Alaska and stumble into a outlaws and the sheriff and a hidden fortune in gold. Very predictable but still funny.

*****Go to Mars - Lou is a good natured caretaker at the local orphanage who accidentally stumbles on to a rocket base. When Bud and Lou are putting supplies onto the rocket, Lou launches it. They first land in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. They are pick up a couple of escaped convicts and are off to Mars where men have been banned. By today's standards the special effects are cheesy but for 1953 they are fun.

For the price this is a great value.

This is what offering a great value is all about! I've got vol. 1 & 2 already and this one on order. This will be one of my favs for sure! 8 movies, fantastic quality, all for under $20!!! Man, the CD music industry needs to stand up and take notice of what's happening in the DVD industry. This is one of many great collections that have/are coming out. The Universal Monsters, The Marx Brothers, Don Knotts and several other collections all reasonably priced. You can't even rent movies this cheap. Vol 1 & 2 of this series are stellar for quality and the packaging is top notch and very convenient, they take up very little space in a storage unit. I'm not sure how many movies are left to release after this but if there's enough to do another vol 4 please do so! Thanks a million Universal Studios!

Once again, Universal have done true justice to their former stars of formular comedy / slapstick. No point in going into the movies themselves with the exception of A & C Meet Frankenstein; by far their best. This one was helped by having Bela Lugosi,Lon Chaney Jnr and Glenn Strange as co-stars; they played their monster roles straight instead of "camp". As the original stars (Logosi & Chaney) of the Dracula & Wolfman movies they added the right atmosphere which greatly assisted with the fun. (Glenn Strange had also played the monster in "House of Frankenstein"; not the same as Boris Karloff's chilling portrayal, but, never the less, very very good. I purchased this movie on its own and paid around $1.25 more than I had paid for all eight.
Once again, on the production side, the QUALITY of these eight movies can only be described as excellent. I might add that I have experienced none of the freeze up problems that other reviewers have mentioned. Neither has my son to whom I have lent all three of these collections to. Universal must have taken them from the original Masters, they are too sharp and clear to have been restored. Universal proberly don't have any Masters for the trailers, these have been reproduced with all the scratches and wear and tear that one expects to see after fifty plus years of use.
All of these movies are very enjoyable and are shown uncut. Buy this set and Vols 1 & 2 also; same quality and you can't go wrong. The one and only fault that I can find is that Universal have put all eight on two discs instead of four. This format plays just fine but there is always a high risk of damage to at least one side of the two sided discs, you just might lose two movies. Of course if you are that unlucky, then you could always purchase a second set, at this price you can afford to.
Please Note: To save time I have copied, pasted and then edited my earlier review on Best of A & C Vol 1 as most of this review is appropiate to all three.

This set is great. The complaints about defective DVD's are wrong. The DVD might come with very small, almost invisible oil spots on them. These spots will cause the DVD to freeze and jump. Just wash the DVD with some liquid dish detergent and gently dry it with a soft cotton cloth, wiping from the center of the disc to the outer edge in one smooth motion. The disc will play fine after that. Enjoy!

I have waited so long and now to have them released is fantastic. These are true comedy and can now be shown to my grandkids to experience a good laugh without swearing. Kudos to Universal for releasing these gems and hopefully more soon.