Customer Reviews

Time Of Their Lives [VHS]

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Lou Costello stars as a tinker who is mistakenly shot and killed as a traitor during the American Revolution, and then cursed to spend the rest of time until doomsday on the property where he died. Marjorie Reynolds is also trapped there with him as a ghost, and they develop a warm friendship as time goes by. The film fast forwards as a young couple restore the estate and move in, only to discover that the rumours about it being haunted are true. Bud Abbott stars as a visiting friend of theirs, a man who is a descendant of one of Costello's enemies. This is not a typical Abbott and Costello film, since they are not really teamed together, despite sharing some scenes, and it is also unusual because this film not only has the expected slapstick, but it also displays a lot of heart and sentiment. Costello and Reynolds are very effective as the unfairly accused traitors trying to put their pasts behind them (even after death), and Gale Sondergaard as the clairvoyant housekeeper is an excellent choice for that role. Fans of the duo and people who generally don't watch their films will want to catch this one because it will probably surprise them quite a bit.

and I even cried at the end - happy tears.

This is for usre one and Abbott and Costello's best films.

Luckily it is available in DVD now on the Best of Volume 2 alone with 7 other gems.

Don't miss it!

I saw this when I was a kid and was facinated and enjoyed it immensly. It was a change from the slapstick comedy Abbott and Costello usually do. Costello is an intelligent man and I always hated when he was abused by Abbott. This was a movie that I would see a million times and am trying to get it on DVD

By far my favorite Abbott & Costello movie ever. Costello is considered a traitor and sentenced to live in a well until he as a ghost can prove that he wasn't a traitor. He haunts Bud Abbott who plays a great great grandson of the man who betrayed Costello until he finally helps Costello...who plays a tinker, prove his innocence. The movie is very funny and in my opinion the best plot of any of the Abbott & Costello films. If you want one Abbott & Costello movie, this is the one you should get!!!

Considering all the light fare these fellows pushed out during their careers (especially director Charles Barton), this one has surprising poignancy -- as well as a few warmly memorable lines that are still quotable to this day -- "Odds Botkins" being a favorite.

Starting back in Revolutionary times, Lou Costello and the beautiful Melody (Marjorie Reynolds) are shot by the Continental Army after being mistaken for British spies. A Continental officer curses their souls and binds them to the plantation where it happened -- unless proof can be found that they weren't traitors, which is hidden in a clock in the form of a letter from General George Washington. A hundred and fifty years later, people who've taken over the land (including a lookalike descendant of Costello's colonial tormentor Bud Abbott) meet these ghosts and try to find the letter that clears their name.

Where is the DVD? This is one of my all time favorite movies from my childhood, and it is seldom shown on television anymore. I would recommend this movie on DVD to anyone who would listen, if it would only be sold in that format. It will alway's be the best Abbot and Costello movie in my view.

One of the few movies where Bud and Lou did not work together. Lou, at his slapstick best, is a ghost living in a well, while Bud is a paranoid psychiatrist. Several Hilarious scenes, including Lou under the table during a seance and Lou in the police car that so that it could no leave the grounds. A must see for Bud and Lou fans.

This is the first movie I can remember seeing. We had just taken a tour of the Pennsylvania state museum and the trip through time in the film really made a memorable connection for me. I enjoyed it as much 60+ years later as I did the first time.

I am a history major with a focus on U.S. Colonial History so when I saw this movie on T.V. years ago I really enjoyed the comedic twist the famous duo made of the movie. This is a rare instance when Abbot and Costello were not working together during the movie and it definitely works.

Lou Costello portrays a bumbling colonial ghost who is cursed to haunt the house and land where he died because he was accused of being a traitor to George Washington. Of course their is a very lovely sidekick who is also a ghost since she was also accused as well.

Bud Abbott portrays one of the "modern day" (1940's) persons who is spending the night in the house. Along the way the group Abbott is with is spooked hilariously, but ultimately the group end up trying to clear Costello and his sidekicks name.

Overall a great family movie that everyone will enjoy.

THE TIME OF THIER LIVES
Universal Pictures
Release Date(s):August 16, 1946
Runtime: 82 minutes

Director:
Charles Barton

Producer:
Val Burton

Writing Credits:
Val Burton
Walter DeLeon
John Grant
Bradford Ropes

Cast:
Bud Abbott......Cuthbert Greenway/Dr. Ralph Greenway
Lou Costello....Horatio Prim
Kirk Alyn.......Dandy
Lynn Baggett....June Prescott
Jess Barker.....Tom Danbury
Binnie Barnes...Mildred Prescott
Robert Barrat...Major Putnam
Vernon Downing..Leigh
Marjorie Eaton..Bessie
Ann Gillis......Nora Leary
Selmer Jackson..Curator
Rex Lease.......Sergeant Makepeace
Marjorie Reynolds....Melody Allen
John Shelton....Sheldon Gage
Gale Sondergaard...Emily

Music by:
Arthur Lange
William Lava
Milton Rosen

Cinematography by:
Charles Van Enger

Film Editing by:
Philip Cahn

Art Direction:
Jack Otterson

Other Crew:

Plot Summary:

Horatio Prim and Melody Allen become two ghosts who were mistakenly branded as traitors during the Revolutionary War. Their spirits were cursed to never leave the property of the Danbury Estate unless cleared of being traitors. Now in 1940's New England, with the help of Dr. Ralph Greenway and some guests, they search to retrieve a letter from George Washington which would prove their innocence and free their spirits.

Routines & Hilarious Moments:
Lou's problems with invisibility
Ghost Lou toying with Bud

Trivia (...): (1)This would be the first Abbott and Costello feature directed by Charles Barton, who is generally regarded as their best director.(2)The cost of the special effects made this the most expensive Abbott and Costello feature up to that time.(3)This was the second, and last, feature in which Abbott and Costello did not play as a team.(4)Lou Costello's practice of taking home props proved to be a major promblem for the special effects crew. Some of the special effects shot required the sets and props to remain intact for shooting with, and without, the actors. Reportedly on one occasion when Lou removed a prop, it required two days of re-shooting for the special effects department.(5)When this film was scheduled to be shot, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were in the midst of one of their feuds, and were not speaking to each other. Consequently, the two have very few scenes where they appear together. They were also feuding when they began to shoot "LITTLE GIANT" (1946), which is why they also have few scenes together in that picture.(6)Writing in the Saturday Evening Post in 1949, Bud Abbott said this was his favorite film role, because for a change he was the butt of all the punishment, instead of Costello.