Sunday, October 2, 2011

On This Day in Abbott and Costello History

Today October 2nd William "Bud" Abbott was born in 1895.



William Alexander "Bud" Abbott (October 2, 1895 – April 24, 1974) was an American actor, producer and comedian.[1] He is best remembered as thestraight man of the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, with Lou Costello.


Abbott was born in Asbury Park, New Jersey into a show business family. His parents worked for the Barnum and Bailey Circus: his mother, Rae (née Fisher), was a bareback rider and his father, Harry, was an advance man. Abbott dropped out of school as a child and began working at Coney Island. When Abbott was 16, his father, now an employee of the Columbia Burlesque Wheel, installed him in the box office of the Casino Theater in Brooklyn. Eventually, Abbott began putting together touring burlesque shows. In 1918, he married Betty Smith, a burlesque dancer and comedienne. Shortly after his marriage, Abbott and his new wife began producing a vaudeville "tab show" called Broadway Flashes. This show toured on the Gus Sun Vaudeville Circuit.[2]Around 1924, Abbott started performing as a straight man in an act with Betty. As his stature grew, Abbott began working with veteran comedians like Harry Steppe and Harry Evanson.[3]


Abbott crossed paths with Lou Costello in burlesque in the early 1930s. Abbott was producing and performing in Minsky's Burlesque shows, while Costello was a rising comic. They formally teamed up in 1936 and performed together in burlesque, vaudeville, minstrel shows, and cinemas.


Abbott suffered from epilepsy throughout his life. In the early 1960s, he suffered the first in a series of strokes. In 1972, he broke his hip and shortly after that was diagnosed with prostate cancer. Abbott died of the disease at the age of 78 on April 24, 1974, at the Motion Picture & Television Country House and Hospital in Woodland Hills, California.(synopsis from Wikipedia)


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bud_Abbott







Sunday, April 10, 2011

Remastered Version of Rio Rita

A couple a days ago I mention a remastered version of Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd was released by WBShop.com. Well today they have also released a remastered version of Rio Rita.

http://www.wbshop.com/Rio-Rita-1942/1000202891,default,pd.html?cgid=

 As with the Captain Kidd version the quality seems to be quite good and there is also a 3 minute sample so that you can check out the quality. Once again it seems like these videos are only available from WBShop.com as these are "Made to Order" DVD's. WBShop.com does seem to offer Digital Downloads but not yet for these releases.

Nazi spies have infiltrated the Hotel Vista del Rio, a resort on the Mexican border. They plan to use a radio broadcast by a famous guest, Ricardo Montera (John Carroll), to transmit coded messages to their cohorts. Doc (Bud Abbott) and Wishy (Lou Costello) are stowaways in Montera's car, who steal a basket of "apples" that turn out being miniature radios used by the spies. Rita Winslow (Kathryn Grayson), the hotel's owner and childhood sweetheart of Montera, hire Doc and Wishy as house detectives, who discover the Nazi codebook and give it to Montera. They are then kidnapped by the spies, and left in a room with a bomb set to explode, but manage to escape while Wishy plants the bomb in the pocket of one of the culprits. Meanwhile, the broadcast has already begun and Montera, refusing to participate in treason, fights the spies until the Texas Rangers arrive. The spies' escape by car is thwarted when the planted bomb finally explodes.(synopsis from Wikipedia)






http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_Rita_(1942_film)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035259/

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Remastered Version of Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd

Warner Bros. has released a re-mastered version of Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd on DVD. It seems like it is only available at WB Shop. (see link below).  I have yet to see this version and I'm unsure of it's quality but it can't be as bad as what's been previously available. There is a 3 minute preview of the movie quality at WB Shop site and the quality looks decent.






http://www.wbshop.com/Abbott-and-Costello-Meet-Captain-Kidd/1000205102,default,pd.html?cgid=ARCHIVENEW


Oliver "Puddin' Head" Johnson (Lou Costello) and Rocky Stonebridge (Bud Abbott) are on their way to Death's Head Tavern, where they work. They encounter Lady Jane (Fran Warren), who asks them to bring a love note to the tavern singer, Bruce Martingale (Bill Shirley).
At the tavern, the notorious Captain Kidd (Charles Laughton) is dining with Captain Bonney (Hillary Brooke), a female pirate. She accuses Kidd of raiding ships in her territory and is asking for restitution. Kidd informs Bonney that he has hidden the amassed treasure on Skull Island, and that only he has the map to its exact location. He agrees to take her, with her ship in tow, to the island so that she can receive her share. During the discussion, Oliver happens to be waiting on them, and inadvertently switches the map for the love note that he was carrying. Rocky discovers the mistake and goes to Captain Kidd, demanding a share of the treasure and a place on the voyage in exchange for the map. Kidd ostensibly agrees, but intends to kill Oliver and Rocky once he gets the map.
The voyage begins (with the addition of Bruce, who has been shanghaied), and Kidd unsuccessfully attempts to regain the map throughout the entire voyage. (Meanwhile, Bonney mistakenly believes that Oliver wrote the love note and has now fallen for him—further complicating the whole situation). During the voyage, Kidd raids another ship, which happens to have Lady Jane on board, and she is kidnapped.
The two ships finally arrive at Skull Island; Oliver and Rocky begin to dig up the treasure, when Kidd arrogantly declares his plans to dispose of them along with Captain Bonney. They alert Bonney to Kidd's true intentions, and her crew attacks. The treasure is recovered, and Bonney's crew wins the fight, with Kidd becoming her prisoner.(synopsis from Wikipedia)


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044320/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbott_and_Costello_Meet_Captain_Kidd





Sunday, January 30, 2011

On This Day in Abbott and Costello History

Today January 31st "Buck Privates" opened in 1941.

Slicker Smith and Herbie Brown (Abbott and Costello) are sidewalk peddlers who hawk neckties out of a suitcase. They are chased by a cop and duck into a movie theater, not realizing that it is now being used as an Army Recruitment Center. Believing that they are signing up for theater prizes, they end up enlisting instead.
Meanwhile, spoiled playboy Randolph Parker (Lee Bowman) and his long-suffering valet, Bob Martin (Alan Curtis), are also enlisting at the old theater. Randolph expects his influential father to pull some strings so he can avoid military service. Bob, on the other hand, takes his military obligations in stride. Tensions between the two men escalate with the introduction of Judy Gray (Jane Frazee), a camp hostess and friend of Bob's upon whom Randolph sets his sights.
At boot camp, Slicker and Herbie are mortified to discover that the policeman who chased them is now their drill sergeant(!). Randolph, meanwhile, learns that his father will not use his influence on his behalf, believing that a year in the Army will do Randolph some good. Life at camp is not so bad, since the Andrews Sisters appear at regular intervals to sing patriotic or sentimental tunes, and Herbie continues to screw up with little consequence.
Randolph decides to skip an army shooting match (that his company eventually loses) to meet with Judy, which causes the rest of his company to resent him. But during a war game exercise, Randolph redeems himself by saving Bob and coming up with a ruse to win the exercise for his company. He is finally accepted by his unit, and wins Bob's and Judy's admiration in the process. Randolph soon learns that he's been accepted to Officer Training School, but initially refuses thinking that his father's political influence was responsible. However, his commanding officer assures him that his training record (along with recommendations from others in his class) factored in the decision. Randolph later finds out that Bob has also been offered an appointment to OTS, and Judy announces that she will be joining them as a hostess at the OTS training facility. (synopsis from Wikipedia)




http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033436/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_Privates