Customer Reviews

Jack and the Beanstalk

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Abbott & Costello made only two color movies and most circulating copies have variable color quality (sometimes so bad that the video is released in black-and-white instead). But this version of "Jack and the Beanstalk" is the best I've seen, and Goodtimes Home Video deserves a round of applause for issuing it on DVD. The original "Super Cinecolor" (less expensive and impressive than Technicolor) is generally very good indeed; I noticed a few instances of Costello's green costume shifting to blue-green, probably owing to different surviving film elements. Goodtimes did a fine job restoring this, and this DVD offers excellent value for the budget price.

The movie itself is a pleasant children's story with music. After a "modern" prologue in monochrome, Bud and Lou adapt their usual sharpie-and-patsy roles to colorful fairytale settings, and Buddy Baer is an excellent foil as the fearsome giant. (Listen for cartoon-voice Mel Blanc playing several roles in the "I Fear Nothing" song.) Makes a nice kiddie matinee, best for small children but older A & C fans will enjoy it, too.

Perhaps I'm a bit biased here, but this film was my first exposure to Abbott and Costello, and I've loved them every since. My parents bought the VHS tape of this when I was very young and I was instantly mesmerised -- those guys were the funniest team of comedians I'd ever seen. They still are, really.

In retrospect, this may not be one of their greatest films (it's not on par with Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, for instance), but it's a fun retelling of the classic Jack and the Beanstalk story, casting Lou as Jack and Bud as the crooked butcher who swaps him magic beans for a cow. Transplanting the boys into the fanciful setting works, and although some of the stuntwork and sets seemed pretty threadbare at times the story and the comedy still click well. This is also one of the few films the boys ever made that could be classified as a musical.

For completists who love Abbott and Costello and are still impatiently waiting for the rest of their films to come out on DVD, this is a must-have. Also recommended for folks with kids -- it's a wonderful movie for the young.

No need for me to review the movie since you're purchasing this as a collector, right?
So heres the details on the Good Times Home Video Version

Filmed in 1951 (release 1952) using the "Spherical" Cinematographic Process in the Academy Standard Ratio of 1.37:1, this presentation gives us the Full Frame (1.33:1) which is exactly what the director intended us to see.
The original coloring of the film was as so:
** Modern Story:Black and White (Sepiatone);
** Fanasy story: Color (Supercinecolor)

This DVD-5, MPEG2 encoded Movie was about 7 Mbps on Average (with the total disc at 7.16 Mbps)

The audio is a little weak, but definitely clear and intelligible. Dolby Digital 2.0 (Dual Mono) at 192 Kbps.

While the film still appears a bit washed out in comparison to modern presentations, it STELLAR!!! for a 1952 public domain film presentation on DVD. Hence, on a scale of 1-5 (3 being average modern DVD) this would score at 2.85/5) Very good indeed. (Especially in comparison to the "Reel Classic Film" edition of this movie. Just don't buy that version as long as this one is available.)

Pick it up ... its worth the collection!

You know the story... the film is a faithful retelling. Costello dreams himself (as Jack) and fellow movie characters into the story. The narrative device recalls Dorothy's dream in The Wizard of OZ; it plausibly lands Lou and Bud in character. Be advised that in addition to annoying film artifacts, my Madacy disc was defective (a series of small depressed circles in a ring concentric with the spindle hole) and in the Passport edition, the video is worse still and then is poorly synched with the audio! Stay away from both if you can find better transfers.

Abbott & Costello films have always been popular with children, so it is not surprising that the boys made a couple of films geared directly for the small fry. "Jack and the Beanstalk" features Lou as Jack and Bud as Dinklepuss. The boys are sent by the Cosman Employment Agency to baby-sit an obnoxious kid (David Stollery) and his baby sister. Jack falls asleep reading "Jack and the Beanstalk" and dreams himself and his friends into the fairy tale, ala "The Wizard of Oz." Sergeant Riley (Buddy Bear) becomes The Giant, while Eloise (Shaye Cogan) and Arthur (James Alexander), Donald's older sister and her date, are transformed into the Princess and Prince. Dinklepuss, of course, becomes the butcher who trades the five magic beans for Jack's cow. "Jack and the Beanstalk" is also the film where Bud Abbott first grew what became his trademark mustache. This 1952 film, directed by Jean Yarbough, faithfully follows the fairy tale, which meant Abbott & Costello could not do their standard routines. Lou, who plays to the camera big time, has a great bit with his song "I Fear Nothing," while Bud gets to take a stab at being a comic villain. The weakest part of the film is that the love interests are not all that interesting. Not Disney, but not half bad, especially for the kiddies.

This was a gift. I knew enough to stay away from Madacy products. The quality of the print is just awful with lines, missing frames, terrible contrast, fuzzy focus, washed out color, and the worst sound I 've ever heard on a DVD. I wish I could recommend a good copy of this movie but I don't know where to get one since it's public domain.

The color spectrum in JACK AND THE BEANSTALK (1952) has never appeared quite right, not even when the movie was touring theaters. This is due to an inferior two-strip process known by various names, but here called Supercinecolor. This film wasn't sensitive to purples and pinks, so faces tend to look orange or red. With an emulsion on both sides of a single celluloid strip, the colors that -are- there fade faster and stock is more susceptible to scratch damage and other types of blemishes.

This was the second and final Cinecolor comedy that Bud and Lou produced independent of UNIVERSAL (the first was ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET CAPTAIN KIDD) and despite the presence of Charles Laughton in the other, "Jack" is the superior work (probably why as of 3/10, A&C Meets Kidd isn't available on DVD).

Here, the opening and closing "modern" stories bookending Jack's fabled climb into the clouds are sepiatoned. In this delighful tale, Costello as the boy cheated out of the family cow by Mr. Dinklepuss (Abbott, who gives him a handful of "magic" beans), sings most gloriously:

I fear nothing when I am in the right!
Who ever pushes me around will find me full of fight!
I fear nothing when I do nothing wrong
And so I toddle on my way and sing a merry song!

I'll be defiant and be obstreperous
If any giant should try and salt-and-pepper us!
And I'll rise up, up to my fullest height
'Cause I fear absolutely nothing when I'm in the right!

A man believes what he believes
And by these principles a man must stand
A time will come for rolled-up sleeves
And it might help to have a fist on hand!

If I believe that I am right
There's only one thing to be done
I don't go looking for a fight
But I have never run away from one!

But only fools will take a dare
And there are things that only fools defy
If I smell trouble in the air
I hold my breath until the breeze blows by!

I'll snort defiance like some rhinoceros
Afraid of giants, now, isn't that preposseros!
I find courage a thing of great delight!
Sing fee-dilly-ay and fee-dilly-aye with steady hand and steely eye!

(spoken) I fear nothing when I am in the right!

I'm a fan of Abbott and Costello and was curious about the films not included on their massive box set that covers almost every film they starred in. 'Jack and the Beanstalk' was one of the 5 films not included on that set, but finding a decent print on DVD wasn't going to be easy having been in public domain for many years. I tried a few different releases with some disappointing results, washed out and blurry video and low audio. I happened to come across a release by Goodtimes video and found the print to be very good. The color and picture are clear and despite having some scratches, it is a pleasure to see this film looking this good. The Goodtime release is out of print, but you can find copies of it for under $5.00. If you're a A&B complete-ist, this is is the one you want....at least until a proper special edition is released.

The film itself is fairly enjoyable for the young at heart and A&B fans. It's of course very juvenile, but has its charms. If you grew up watching it, then you will have fond memories of it. It's not their best film, but a worthy addition to any A&B film fan's collection.

This was exactly what I was looking for. In this day of anime violence and off-color innuendo in kid's programming, I have been picking up DVDs of entertainment from my own childhood to share with my grandchildren...and they love it!!! They even go around singing the songs from the movie, corny as they are.

It takes a while to transport yourself mentally back to a simplier time but once you get there it's an enjoyable escape. As one of the other reviewers mentioned, this is similar to the "Wizard of Oz" in that there is a dream sequence that transports the "hero" (Jack) back in time. While it's a fairy tale, there are moral overtones.

The greedy butcher loses everything in trying to hold on to the goose who lays the golden egg. The evil giant is defeated. Jack, who is an unsuspecting hero comes out on top at the end. True romance comes through as the prince and princess discover they love each other for who they are and not the titles they hold.

Children will get the messages. They're all straight-forward. The costumes add to the film. There are musical numbers, including dancing throughout. This is a nice escape film which is very family friendly.