Abbott and Costello in Hollywood
Abbott and Costello in Hollywood Theatrical Poster
Directed by	S. Sylvan Simon
Produced by	Martin A. Gosch
Written by	Nat Perrin Lou Breslow
Starring	Bud Abbott Lou Costello Rags Ragland Lucille Ball
Music by	George Bassman
Editing by	Ben Lewis
Distributed by	MGM Studios
Release date(s)	August 22, 1945 (U.S. Release)
Running time	83 min.
Language	English
Preceded by	The Naughty Nineties (1945)
Followed by	Little Giant (1946)
IMDb profile

Abbott and Costello in Hollywood is a 1945 film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. A graduate of Columbia University, American director S. Sylvan Simon (1910 - 1951) enjoyed a long career as a drama coach, radio executive and stage director before signing on at Warner Brothers in 1935 to direct screen tests. ... Nat Perrin (March 15, 1905-May 9, 1998) was a comedy writer who contributed gags and story lines to several Marx Brothers films, cowrote the play Hellzapoppin that became a film, and was the producer of the television series The Addams Family. ... William Alexander “Bud” Abbott (October 2, 1897 – April 24, 1974) is a legendary American actor, producer and comedian born in Asbury Park, New Jersey. ... Louis Francis Cristillo aka Lou Costello (March 6, 1906 - March 3, 1959), was an American actor and comedian best known as half of the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, with Bud Abbott. ... John Lee Morgan Beauregard Ragland (known as Rags Ragland) (born August 23, 1905 in Louisville, Kentucky - died August 20, 1946 in Los Angeles, California) was an American character actor. ... Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an iconic American actress, comedian and star of the landmark sitcom I Love Lucy, a four time Emmy Award winner (awarded 1953, 1956, 1967, 1968) and charter member of the Television Hall of Fame. ... George Bassman (February 2, 1914 - June 26, 1997) was an American composer and songwriter. ... For alternate meanings of MGM, see MGM (disambiguation). ... August 22 is the 234th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (235th in leap years), with 131 days remaining. ... // Paramount Studios releases theatrical short cartoon titled The Friendly Ghost, featuring ghost named Casper With Rossellinis Roma Città aperta, Italian neorealist cinema begins. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... The Naughty Nineties (1945) is the fifteenth feature film made by Abbott and Costello, and is significant for containing what is considered to be the best recorded rendition of the teams classic Whos On First? routine. ... // Paramount Studios releases theatrical short cartoon titled The Friendly Ghost, featuring ghost named Casper With Rossellinis Roma Città aperta, Italian neorealist cinema begins. ... See also: 1945 in film 1946 1947 in film 1940s in film years in film film // Events Top grossing films North America The Bells of St. ... // Paramount Studios releases theatrical short cartoon titled The Friendly Ghost, featuring ghost named Casper With Rossellinis Roma Città aperta, Italian neorealist cinema begins. ... Abbott and Costello (William (Bud) Abbott, Louis Cristillo) were an American comedy duo whose work in radio, film and television made them one of the most popular and respected teams in comedy history. ...

Plot

A barber, Buzz Curtis (Bud Abbott), and a porter, Abercrombie (Lou Costello), work for a Hollywood salon. It is from there that they are sent to an agent's, Norman Royce (Warner Anderson), office to administer a haircut and shine. On the way there they run into a former co-worker, Claire Warren (Frances Rafferty) who is about to star as the lead in a new musical. At the same time, her co-star Gregory LeMaise (Carlton Young), who fame is dwindling, arrives and invites her to join him at lunch. She declines, which angers him. William Alexander “Bud” Abbott (October 2, 1897 – April 24, 1974) is a legendary American actor, producer and comedian born in Asbury Park, New Jersey. ... Louis Francis Cristillo aka Lou Costello (March 6, 1906 - March 3, 1959), was an American actor and comedian best known as half of the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, with Bud Abbott. ... Frances Rafferty, YANK magazine, 1943 Frances Rafferty (June 16, 1922 - April 18, 2004) was an American actress, dancer and World War II pin up girl. ...

While at the agent's office, Buzz and Abercrombie witness LeMaise enter and declare to Royce that he cannot work with Claire. Royce, who has just seen a young singer, Jeff Parker (Robert Stanton), audition fires LeMaise and offers the job to Parker. This causes LeMaise to change his mind, and Royce does as well, giving LeMaise his job back. Buzz and Abercrombie quickly switch careers and become Parker's agents, and then head to the studio's chief, Mr. Kavanaugh (Donald MacBride), to find a role for Parker.

Unfortunately when they meet up with Kavanaugh it is because they just crashed their car into his at the studio gate. Kavanaugh bans them from the lot, but they manage to sneak back in with a group of extras. Once inside they find themselves at the wardrobe department and Buzz gets dressed as a cop and Abercrombie as a tramp. They use their new found disguises to roam the lot.

Later, Buzz and Abercrombie try to help Parker get the role by getting rid of LeMaise by trying to start a fight with him. Their plan is to photograph him hitting Abercrombie and then having him arrested. The plan goes off without a hitch until Abercombie falls overboard after being hit and is feared drowned. LeMaise decides to hide, and Parker is giving the role in his place. LeMaise eventually discovers that Abercrombie is still alive and chases him around the backlot. LeMaise eventually is caught, and Claire and Parker become famous when the film is successful. And Buzz and Abercrombie become bigtime agents in Hollywood.

Trivia

• This film's full onscreen title is "Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood."
• It was filmed from April 10 through June 1, 1945, with some reshoots in July.
• This is the last of three films that Abbott and Costello made on loan to MGM Pictures while under contract to Universal, the other two being Rio Rita and Lost in a Harem.
• During production on this film, Abbott and Costello returned to the Universal studio on May 13 for reshoots for their film, The Naughty Nineties.
• Many stars appear as themselves in this film, such as Lucille Ball, Rags Ragland, Preston Foster, and a young Dean Stockwell.

April 10 is the 100th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (101st in leap years). ... June 1 is the 152nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (153rd in leap years), with 213 days remaining. ... For alternate meanings of MGM, see MGM (disambiguation). ... Look up universal in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Rio Rita is a 1942 film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. ... Lost in a Harem is a 1944 Abbott and Costello movie. ... May 13 is the 133rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (134th in leap years). ... The Naughty Nineties (1945) is the fifteenth feature film made by Abbott and Costello, and is significant for containing what is considered to be the best recorded rendition of the teams classic Whos On First? routine. ... Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an iconic American actress, comedian and star of the landmark sitcom I Love Lucy, a four time Emmy Award winner (awarded 1953, 1956, 1967, 1968) and charter member of the Television Hall of Fame. ... John Lee Morgan Beauregard Ragland (known as Rags Ragland) (born August 23, 1905 in Louisville, Kentucky - died August 20, 1946 in Los Angeles, California) was an American character actor. ... Preston Foster (August 24, 1901-July 14, 1970) was an American stage and film actor. ... Dean Stockwell Dean Stockwell (born March 5, 1936 in North Hollywood, California) is an American actor who is best-known for his role as Admiral Albert Al Calavicci in the American TV series Quantum Leap. ...

Routines

• Insomnia is one of the routines that Abbott and Costello perform. Costello is unable to fall asleep, so Abbott gives him a record that is guaranteed to put anyone to sleep. However, no on is around to turn it off and when the needle reaches the end, it starts skipping, which wakes him. Abbott agrees to stay awake to turn it off when it is over, but falls under the spell of the record and goes to sleep himself. They try again, this time with cotton in Abbott's ears (a sequence that was used in the MGM compilation film, That's Entertainment, Part 2). When this also fails, Costello ties string from his foot to the record player. The thought is that when he falls asleep his foot will drop shutting off the machine, but instead it turns on the radio, which blasts a loud march!

DVD Release

Although filmed for MGM Pictures, Warner Brothers currently owns the rights to this film and it is through them that this film has been released on DVD. Warner Bros. ...

November 21, 2006

External link

• Abbott and Costello in Hollywood at the Internet Movie Database