Alright, so begins our next lengthy bi-weekly journey and our next Bud and Lou journey - THE ABBOTT AND COSTELLO SHOW. 2 seasons, 26 episodes per season that were shot between 1952 - 1954. We’ve already done all the features, every gosh darn one of them, with all the romantic couples, musical numbers and monsters your heart can desire. Well all that can be thrown out the window for this part of the journey because here we have unadulterated comedy with Bud and Lou along with a cast of other comic misfits. The only pretty much straight character in this whole thing is Hillary Brooke, but she provides the beauty and charm and is an excuse for Lou to be childishly bashful around a pretty lady. I’m a big fan of Ms. Brooke. Along with Bud and Lou we get Gordon Jones as Mike the Cop, Sidney Fields as the landlord or whatever other role suits him, Joe Kirk as the gloriously un-PC Italian stereotype Mr. Bacciagalupe (being quarter Italian myself, I’m allowed to make fun one out of every four days) and of course, the future Stooge himself, Joe Besser as Stinky, the childish little boy in the Little Lord Fauntleroy outfit.
So onto the first episode, which according to my Passport DVD set, is called THE DRUGSTORE. The format of the show is here right away. Start out with Bud and Lou on stage. Have a pretty girl walk in front of them holding a sign showing the special guest cast members. Have Lou either comment or gesture about being blocked by the sign. Then we get Bud and Lou working their magic with some old verbal routine. For this first episode, the stage stuff lasts about five minutes and is the gem where Lou tries to tell the story of Jonah the Whale. We get Bud interrupting Lou about the most inane things, like what kind of apples are being used, if Lou knows what “capsize” means, etc. The timing of Bud’s interruptions and Lou’s frustrated reactions can’t be done justice in writing. A nice kicker is when Lou interrupts himself about the details of a stool later on because he knows Bud is going to do it anyway. Then there’s the end when Bud just deflates Lou so slowly about the story in general. Love the lonely way Lou walks off the stage dejected. Great opening to this show and series.
Now that the stage stuff is done, we get the basic story. Nothing complicated like some of the features. It’s simply Bud and Lou can’t pay the rent, so to avoid going to jail, landlord Sid Fields suggests they work for the money in his relative’s drugstore, the relative also played by Sid Fields. That’s it. That’s all we need for an excuse to make comedy.
They seem to have most things figured out already on episode one, the only exception being Hillary Brooke. Hillary is normally a neighbor Bud and Lou know but here she seems to be a stranger. She shows up twice, first as a woman Lou runs into on the street where she gaslights Lou about asking directions to the library and secondly, as the pretty customer Lou flirts with for kisses (the latter scenario you’d never see in a comedy today). All fun stuff, though. But yeah, Hillary will become a more known and sweeter character soon enough. I can’t picture her in later episodes calling Lou a fat masher.
Sid Fields get dual roles as the landlord and drugstore owner. Classic scene where Bud and Sid argue about the rent and all the physical frustrations from Mr. Fields get taken out on poor Lou through punches - multiple punches. It’s funny the way Bud gets Lou in the middle just in time for each punch, a funny scene. Also great dialogue with Mike the Cop over Bud and Lou being taxpayers who pay his salary. Questions the real role Mike should play, like getting Lou a glass of water and whether Lou can fire him! Great frustration comedy here.
The drugstore? Simply an excuse for great Lou comic situations. The brilliantly set up scene where Lou gets the three boys candy. The frustrated customer that throws money away as Lou throws ice cream away to match him. The ice cream, of course, lands on everyone in the store. The already mentioned flirting scene with Hillary, the insomniac customer - all great stuff. Just put them in a simple setting like a drugstore and let the comedy fly.
Finally, I of course have to mention Joe Besser! He works WAY better with Lou than he does with Moe and Larry. I think it’s because here, Joe is literally a child and in that role, he makes Lou Costello look like the more mature one. Think how hard that is to do. The playing hopscotch, the wimpy little hits and punches to Lou’s arm, the vocal inflections, the lollipop stuff, the castor oil speech - this is why Joe Besser was put on this Earth as a comedian.
So yes, a very enjoyable first episode, as they all are. This is going to be a fun ride and I can’t wait to hear your comments.