Africa Screams (1949)

"Africa Screams" (Nassour Studios, released through United Artists, 1949), directed by Charles Barton, is a better than average Abbott and Costello comedy which places the popular team in one of their rare independent productions outside their home base of Universal Pictures. With military themes, ghost stories, college musicals, westerns, murder mysteries and everything else imaginable behind them, it would be a matter of time before Bud and Lou attempted a jungle comedy. The original screenplay by Earl Baldwin doesn't have Bud and Lou meeting Tarzan, Jungle Jim, Bomba the Jungle Boy, King Kong or The African Queen, but do team up with notable animal trainer, Clyde Beatty, and animal hunter, Frank Buck, in guest starring roles playing themselves.The story revolves around a couple of store clerks in the book section at Klopper's Department Store. Stanley Livington (Lou Costello), is approached at the counter by Grappler McCoy (Max Baer) and Boots Wilson (Buddy Baer), a couple of tough looking thugs inquiring about an out of print book, "Dark Safari" by Cuddleford, a notable explorer. The men, who are more interested in the map enclosed in the book, find that Stanley can reproduce the map by memory. They offer him $1,000 with the reproduction at their address later that night. At the same time, Diana Emerson (Hillary Brooke) inquires about the same book to Stanley's friend and partner, Buzz Johnson (Bud Abbott). Knowing Stanley to be more familiar with the book than he, offers his services at her asking price of $2,500, arranging their meeting at her home later that evening. Upon their arrival, Buzz introduces Stanley to Diane as the world's greatest explorer who accompanied Cuddleford on an African expedition, never revealing Stanley has a phobia towards animals. Stanley also gets to meet Diane's present guest, Clyde Beatty, who's hired to lead the safari in search for an orangutan gargantuan (while in actuality seeking for uncut diamonds depicted on the map of the book) . Overhearing Diane offering Beatty $2,000 for the expedition, finding he could obtain more money than offered, convinces Diane to take he and Buzz on the expedition as well, which she does, at the price of the drawn map by Stanley. Once in the jungles of Africa, with the safari crew with Diane's henchmen; Harry (Joe Besser), her cook and butler; Gunner (Shemp Howard), an extremely near-sited sharpshooter as their protector (!); Buzz and Stanley soon realizes their lives are in greater danger with Diane and her thugs than coming face to face with lions, crocodiles, a giant gorilla, and cannibal tribe from the Ubangi territory as Stanley's map turns out not to be quite the one depicted from the book in question.Although its title "Africa Screams" is reportedly depicted from a 1930 documentary,"Africa Speaks," a product made so long ago for 1949 audiences not to even recall, is, what it appears, to be a parody to the Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dorothy Lamour "Road to" series of the 1940s, especially the jungle African ventures of ROAD TO ZANZIBAR (1941) and ROAD TO MOROCCO (1942). In fact, with Bud, Lou and Hillary Brooks doing a Crosby, Hope and Lamour take, minus the song and dance interludes and Hollywood in-jokes, who could ask for anything more when it comes to certain gags and situations that could be just as fun to see with either Hope or Costello clowning in their own individual comedic style.Overlooking the aforementioned ROAD series format, "Africa Screams" is pure 79 minute comedy in the best Abbott and Costello tradition. Aside from Costello's frightful expressions and reactions, he naturally gets the biggest laughs here, especially with his shared sequences with other famed comics as Shemp Howard and Joe Besser (individually part of the Three Stooges comedy team at one point in their careers). Interestingly, both Besser and Hillary Brooke would become semi-regulars on their two-season television series of "The Abbott and Costello Show" (1952-53). Best moments for Costello occur when trying to impress Diane by doing a Clyde Beatty by locking himself inside a cage with a real lion who turns out not to be Buzz in lion costume; unknowingly swimming with a crocodile; and frightful reaction when approached by a giant gorilla, among others.As Costello gets the last laugh, it's his partner Abbott who, in state of confusion, who responds, "I just don't understand it." The audience does. Watch for it.With well thought out gags and some unexpected surprises, it's a wonder why "Africa Screams" has become the least known of all of their comedies combined. Once shown on New York City television (1956-1961) before disappearing from view, "Africa Screams" never became part of New York's television package of Abbott and Costello comedies (1940-1956) commonly shown Sunday morning/afternoons on WPIX, Channel 11 (1971-89). Falling into public domain with some poor reproductive copies, "Africa Screams" resurfaced on television after a long hiatus on cable, public television and independent stations as well as the early stages of home video in the early 1980s. In later years, "Africa Screams" turned up on DVD, and on cable TV's Turner Classic Movies starting in 2006. With availability readily accessible in recent years, "Africa Screams" should be an interesting rediscovery and real treat for anyone familiar with every Abbott and Costello movie ever made but unaware of the existence of this one. Availability in colorized format is quite good. (***)

May be the best Abbott and Costello movie. At least in my opinion. It is so funny. The whole film is funny from beginning to end. Lou is the cowardly foil to Bud's scheme to extort money from the people who want to find diamonds in Africa. Jack Buck and Clyde Beatty, both very famous big game hunters and trappers in their time, have small roles in this movie. After trekking through the jungle for a while they come to the diamond fields. Here there are diamonds laying all over the ground, Haha. Lou is wanted by the local cannibals but manages to not get eaten. He also comes across Bud's hidden bag of diamonds and takes them. In the end Bud leaves Lou to fend for himself. They both make it back to NYC but in a switch Bud is the flunky elevator operator and Lou owns a huge sky scraper along with his partner, a gorilla.

This Abbott and Costello film has fallen into the public domain and I can see why. It's not just because it was made by a tiny studio, but I just can't see why anyone would worry about renewing the copyright on this thing! It's a cheesy and silly mess...although I was surprised that in spite of many shortcomings, it still managed to be entertaining...especially if you just turn off your brain and enjoy it for what it is and nothing more.As far as what is to like, the most interesting thing about this film is the casting. I love odd and obscure film facts and this one sure offers some unusual casting. First, it's the only pairing of Joe Besser (who, I hate) and Shemp Howard--both of which were the 3rd Stooge. Following Curly Howard's stroke, his oldest brother, Shemp rejoined the Stooges (he'd been with them on stage in their pre-Hollywood days). After Shemp's death, the Stooges had Besser take his role--not realizing that he unfortunately is about as funny as cancer. How Besser and his very loud and effeminate shtick ever became a Stooge or regular on "The Abbott and Costello Show" has always amazed me. Second, Max and Buddy Baer both were cast as thugs working for the evil woman, Hillary Brooke. Max had been heavyweight boxing champion of the world and his son played Jethro on "Green Acres". Buddy, the larger of the two, was a pro wrestler. Third, the film features Frank Buck and Clyde Beatty as themselves. Both men were marketing geniuses. Buck was an adventurer and hunter who traveled the jungles making documentaries and fighting lions and the like before opening up his own zoo. Beatty was a big game hunter, lion tamer and circus owner. This certainly is an unusual group of fellas! Another thing I liked is the evolution of Bud Abbott. In almost all the films, he was a bit of a selfish jerk who used Lou whenever he could. However, here he is way off the deep end with greed--so much so that, for once, he got a lot of the laughs himself. His greedy disregard for others was very much like Daffy Duck's in ALI BABA BUNNY. In fact, he is the best thing about this otherwise dreary film.The final plus is that the film ended well. The ending was very unusual and offered a nice change of pace for the team.What was not to like? Well, where can I start? However, instead of focusing on everything I'll just mention a few of the major problems. The biggest one is the use of a guy in a gorilla costume--a very common (and stupid) convention of the 1940s and 50s. None of these looked the least bit convincing and this cliché really sucks, as it NEVER was funny...not even once. Even most 5 year-olds would immediately recognize the ruse, so you can't be afraid or laugh when it appears--just annoyed. I noticed that one reviewer gave this film a 9 or 10--how can you do that when some guy in a moth-eaten gorilla costume plays a prominent place in this film?! The other main problem was that at times the film was well done but others it was annoyingly unfunny because the writing was, at best, inconsistent and the production looked like it was made for $582.34. One example of bad were having Besser say or do anything--plus his part was ill-defined and unnecessary. This is somewhat the same with Brooke, as she could have been interesting but her part was both ill-defined and she just disappeared from the film. Another was how the plot seemed to morph into a remake of ROAD TO ZANZIBAR--copying so much of this film yet giving it no credit whatsoever.Overall, a very mixed bag that is mostly of value to film historians and film nuts like me, though others might be entertained by the film despite its high amount of cheese. Still, you can do better with almost any other Abbott and Costello film, so I recommend you see them first.

Abbott and Costello head off to the jungles of Africa on a search for diamonds in this OK but unspectacular comedy. As the story begins, Costello is drafted by Abbott to impersonate a big-game hunter in order to lead a somewhat shady expedition to Africa. The movie lost a bit of credibility right off the start when Costello's secret obviously came crashing down in his exchange with Clyde Beatty, who was apparently a real big game hunter playing himself. The exchange was funny, but why Beatty wouldn't have simply outed him right then was beyond me. As the movie progresses, there are a series of adventures with various wild animals and with a tribe of cannibals, and the movie finally progresses to its end, as Costello (who seemed beaten) emerges from the adventures apparently fabulously wealthy, while Abbott works as his elevator operator.There were scattered chuckles throughout, and some good physical comedy in places, but for the most part the story was relatively weak and lacking in any sense of flow. This also features a somewhat nonsensical (but what else would you expect) appearance from Shemp Howard, of "Three Stooges" fame. If you need to waste a bit of time, it will do that - and not unpleasantly - but it really is nothing more than a time-waster. 5/10