AFRICA SCREAMS is one of the films ABBOTT AND COSTELLO made outside of Universal, this time it was independent Nassour Studios and it was distributed by United Artists. Like the four Stooge shorts we all know of, this, along with JACK AND THE BEANSTALK are the two public domain Abbott and Costello features. That means you can buy this for $1 at any Dollar Store or watch it for free on YouTube. I really do enjoy this film for the most part, but I can understand it not being a favorite of Abbott and Costello purists. We are now well into the Universal International era where not only do the musical numbers and romantic sub plots go away, but so do the Burlesque back and forth routines between Bud and Lou, all which would be catalogued, sans music and romance, on the television show a few years later. Now the movies are taking on straighter comic plots and situations, a scenario AFRICA SCREAMS definitely falls under. In fact, there are elements that make AFRICA SCREAMS feel more like a Bowery Boys or even Three Stooges feature.
The Three Stooges, did I mention them? Well, in Africa Screams, you get appearances of not only Shemp Howard, but also the man who went on to replace him, Joe Palma....errrr, I mean Besser. In the case of Shemp, this would be his only film appearance he filmed outside of The Three Stooges after Curly’s stroke and when he’s on screen, he’s in fine form. The joke here is Shemp’s character is an almost blind man with glasses - think THE TOOTH WILL OUT. The bit where he struggles handling the Winchester rifle properly and when he hold Lou up at the point of a gun and confuses a tree for Lou are really well done, classic Shemp bits. I certainly got big laughs studying his mannerisms and delivery here. Besser is also fantastic. I always said he lacked chemistry with Moe and Larry but certainly not with Lou Costello. The two combustible personalities always work well together, as can be seen here when Lou tries to remove the end piece of the water hose from Besser’s finger. This same chemistry can be seen anytime Lou and Joe worked together on the television show when the latter played Stinky. So yes, AFRICA SCREAMS is of definite interest to Stooge fans.
No real standard Bud and Lou routines here, AFRICA SCREAMS is really more of a standard low slapstick comedy. We get Lou dodging alligator bites in a boat, having routines with lions and there is even an orangoutang in the plot, giving this film, more than any other film in the series so far, a very Saturday morning kid show feel to it. Look, I like that kind of thing, so it’s not a knock coming from me, but I can understand how the Bud and Lou fan looking for the more intelligent comic patter of Bud and Lou would be left wanting for more. It all depends on your taste. But for me, this film is fine. Lou is energetic throughout, always lying about his accomplishments of being a big game hunter to impress when in reality his character is a big scaredy cat. Literally scared of cats, Lou’s opening scene where he’s trying to tame the kitten and gets scared when the cat hisses had me in stitches. I guess it’s because I’m a cat lover. However, Bud steals the show this time with his greedy, diamond hungry act towards the end. Bud does an excellent job displaying delusions of grandeur with all the wealth he was going to receive, going on about the yachts and the buildings and multiple homes he is going to buy. If you catch it, he also talks about getting a winter home in Maine and a summer home in Florida - let that sink in. Anyway, Bud is absolutely fantastic here, one of his best performances for sure.
No romance this time, but we do have a beautiful femme fatale in Miss Hillary Brooke, whose sophisticated and classy delivery always gelled well with the contrasting style of Bud and Lou. Bud and Lou must have seen this as she was a much welcome regular in the first season of Bud and Lou’s TV show. In my eyes, she’s Bud and Lou’s Christine McIntyre.
The lull in AFRICA SCREAMS for me is Clyde Beatty’s lion taming bit, though I can understand why they did it. Beatty, a legit animal trainer, provided the animals for the film. Frank Buck, a legit celebrity animal hunter, was also used in this film.
So overall, I like this one. Great cast with some Stooges and the best lady Bud and Lou ever worked with. Nothing sophisticated, nothing Earth shattering, just 79 minutes of unpretentious Saturday morning fun for kids, both literal and the types like me in arrested development. Queue this one up with a Stooge short and a Bowery Boys feature and enjoy.
