Product Details

• Actors: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Clyde Beatty, Frank Buck, Max Baer
• Directors: Charles Barton, Jean Yarbrough
• Writers: Earl Baldwin, Leonard Stern, Martin Ragaway, Nathaniel Curtis, Pat Costello
• Producers: Alex Gottlieb
• Format: Black & White, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: ROAN
• DVD Release Date: July 31, 2001
• Run Time: 157 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005QAQ0
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #126,463 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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• For more information about "Abbott and Costello in Jack and the Beanstalk / Africa Screams" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best BEANSTALK on DVD, December 4, 2005

By	yaremar (Pilsen, USA) - See all my reviews

This Abbott and Costello Double Feature from the Roan Group offers high-quality copies of AFRICA SCREAMS and JACK AND THE BEANSTALK, two ubiquitous "public domain" titles that can be found almost anywhere DVDs are sold. While it's superior to most copies in circulation, the Roan edition of AFRICA SCREAMS is not as crisp as some others. For example, the $1 disc from Digiview has noticeably sharper picture quality, particularly in an early sequence when Bud and Lou are outside Hillary Brooke's mansion at night. Curiously, both editions seem to have used the same source material for their DVD transfers, although the Digiview version cunningly edits out the copyright notice in the opening credits. (See my review for the Digiview release.)

That leaves JACK AND THE BEANSTALK, and if you've been searching for the best DVD copy currently available, this is it. (It seems to have been taken from the Image Entertainment laserdisc, which also featured some extras not included here.) The print used for this transfer was in excellent shape, and is a faithful representation of how the film was originally released in 1952: the opening and closing sequences are in sepiatone, and the "Super Cinecolor," though not as vibrant as Technicolor, is pleasing to the eye. (In most copies of JACK AND THE BEANSTALK, the color is washed out and dupey-looking.) It also has the original Warner Brothers opening logo and the closing-door "End" title that are missing from other DVD editions.

Both of these films were independently produced by the team. AFRICA SCREAMS is the funnier of the two, but neither can be ranked with their best efforts for Universal. (Although as a kid, JACK AND THE BEANSTALK was one of my favorite A&C pictures, and contains a number of still-amusing sequences.)

Since excellent-quality copies of AFRICA SCREAMS are available on other, cheaper discs, it would depend on how badly you want JACK AND THE BEANSTALK to pay the $19.98 list price for this edition. This is a title most collectors can live without. However, if you want to add it to your library, it is worth the extra expense to spare yourself having to sit through the generally mediocre copies available from other distributors. If you're planning to start collecting the team's films on DVD, I would suggest beginning with one of the first three BEST OF ABBOTT AND COSTELLO "Franchise Collection" volumes from Universal, which contain eight movies per two-disc set. You can generally find them for around $20 each...the same price as this Roan Group disc, which is best suited for completists.

4.0 out of 5 stars ROAN IS BEST!!!!!, May 2, 2009

By	larryj1 (az) - See all my reviews

I agree with the previous reviewer 100% regarding the Roan edition. It would have to be my choice because Jack and the Beanstalk includes the trailer.

11 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars BIG booooo for amazon.com, March 2, 2002

By	G. HOFFMAN (Little Hartley, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Due to the lack of description I thought this DVD might contain some of their TV work or something like that, oh boy was I wrong.

What is it ? - "Jack and the Beanstalk" & "African screams" Neither of these movies compare favourably to some of thier classics like "Hold that Ghost" or "A&C meet Frankenstien", especially Jack and the Beanstalk.