The Time of Their Lives (1946)

Sometimes when you go against the grain or switch an ingredient or upset the status quo you develop Champagne! What a departure from the regular Abbott and Costello movies from before. This time our story takes you back to the colonial period just after the Revolutionary War. Horatio Prim (Lou Costello) is a master tinker who finally travels to Danbury estate with a letter of commendation from General George Washington. Horatio wants to show the document to Master Danbury for permission to marry his Housemaid Nora O'Leary (Ann Gillis). Horatio's rival is of course is Cuthbert Greenway played by (Bud Abbott) who is also the butler and has eyes for Nora as well. Greenway tries to intercept the letter of commendation but Nora takes the letter for safe keeping. To make matters worse, Nora over hears Danbury discussing switching sides with the British under the direction of Benedict Arnold. Danbury discovers Nora eavesdropping and abducts her and confiscates the commendation letter and puts it in his mantel clock. Danbury's fiancé Melody Allen (Majorie Reynolds) witnesses the kidnapping and changes clothes plus volunteers the clumsy, portly Prim to ride along to warn General Washington of the plot. Unfortunately the two are mistakenly shot by Washington's troops and their bodies are thrown down a well on the grounds of Danbury Manor. Branded traitors the two are cursed for eternity to be imprisoned on those grounds unless they find that commendation letter from George Washington. Melody and Horatio separate from their dead carcasses as a thirsty Horatio drinks water only to have the water spout out of him from all sides. The two also witness the destruction of Danbury Manor to fire. Time passes by, one hundred and sixty six years to be exact. Our two ghost witness the reconstruction of Danbury Manor to it's original state by Sheldon Gage (John Shelton). Gage invites some guests to his newly remodeled manor. Doctor Ralph Greenway also played by Bud Abbott, who is a descendant of Cuthbert Greenway has no knowlege of his ancestor's past. The other guests of the cast include June Prescott (Lynn Baggett) who is Gage's fiancé and Prescott's Aunt Millie played by wise aching Binnie Barnes. The house keeper Emily who has a knack for sensing the Ghostly inhabitants is played by Gale Sondergaard. Horatio and Melody reek havoc as they turn on light fixtures, play the radio and even have a fashion show down the main staircase as Dr. Greenway thinks he's losing his mind. One important fact!!! The original furniture of Danbury Manor was removed including the mantel clock where the infamous letter is stored before the fire was committed. A seance is held as Emily obtains the voice of the late Thomas Danbury who informs the group as well as our lovable Ghosts where the letter is hidden. To atone for his Ancestor's sins against Horatio, Dr. Greenway travels to the museum and steels the mantel clock in hopes of releasing the curse which bonds the two ghost to Earth. The cops follow Greenway back to Danbury Manor for the clock as comedy reigns as Horatio takes his first driving lesson with rave reviews. Weird watching Abbott and Costello work independently. Also strange is seeing Bud Abbott drive an Automobile despite issues with Epilepsy. Also an anomaly is seeing Costello doing the pranks against Abbott mainly physical kicking Abbott in the pants. Despite the drastic changes from the original formula it all worked for me. Ionly wished Bud Abbott would have gone on his own to do serious roles when Lou passed in 1959. On the other hand Lou was the partner of the two that was the risk taker in all their endeavors. Lou would depute movie contracts, larger trailers etc..Bud was mainly a pacifist due to the fact he was very sub-conscious of his affliction of epileptic fits. Lou did venture out on his own to do the TV show Wagon Train and The Thirty Foot Bride of Candy Rock. Time wasn't on Lou's side though as his weak heart gave out in his early 50's despite being in huge demand.Bud Abbott tried to capture the old magic with a different partner but somethings just don't click. Basically this movie showcased two different talents independently.

Very different Abbott and Costello movie is one of their best. It's different because the story is much better than most A&C vehicles and because Bud & Lou barely appear together. Instead, Lou spends most of his time paired up with beautiful Marjorie Reynolds. It works though as the two have great chemistry. It's also different because it spends as much time, if not more, on the dramatic plot than it does on trying to be funny. The story is about two people (Lou Costello, Marjorie Reynolds) during the Revolutionary War who are mistakenly believed to be traitors and killed. Their bodies are dumped into a well and they are cursed to remain bound to the estate until they can prove they aren't traitors. Fast-forward to 1946 and the two ghosts hope the new owner of the estate may be the key to them finding peace at last.Abbott has a lesser part in dual roles. In 1780, he plays a villainous character who is in love with Lou's girlfriend. In 1946, he plays a descendant of that man who tries to atone for his ancestor's actions by helping the ghosts. He does get to be the brunt of physical comedy for once, which was amusing to see. As I said before, Lou spends most of his time with Reynolds. But it works well due to Reynolds' underrated comedic talents. She wasn't just a pretty face. Also features the great Gale Sondergaard as a housekeeper who believes in ghosts. Any movie with Sondergaard can't be bad. A fun movie that should please anybody who watches it, even if they aren't fans of other Abbott & Costello movies.

Costello as an inept ghost from revolutionary times and Abbott as a psychiatrist, of all things. This is likely the most unusual of the A&C comedies. Actually, the results are more like a Reynolds and Costello comedy than the usual A&C pairing. Instead, Abbott's more like one of the cast rather than a headliner, while the two have few scenes together. I gather the pair were feuding at the time, which may have something to do with the departure from the usual.Still, the movie's both funny and inventive. Reynolds and Costello are two wandering spirits from George Washington's time condemned to haunt an estate until they can clear themselves of bogus charges of treason. Needless to say, Costello makes a laughably inept ghost—he just can't seem to get that disappearance wiggle down right. Nonetheless, he and Reynolds play off one another nicely with her getting the "straight man" role in fetching fashion.There's a number of inside jokes with references to Rebecca (1940) and Bogart & Bacall (just whistle if you want me). And in a casting master stroke, there's the icy Gale Sondergaard (Emily) on hand to give everyone the shivers. I really like the last sequence with its touch of humorous irony that's fitting for the supernatural hijinks that've gone before.This is definitely not formula A&C, but may be their most inventive and among their loony best.

Most fans of Abbott & Costello, if they don't consider THE TIME OF THEIR LIVES the best film they made consider it among the best films they made. It is an unusual film - their is some interplay between the two in the 18th Century sequences, where Abbott's Cuthbert plays his normal bossy and unscrupulous acquaintance to Costello's patriotic Horatio. To add to their normal problems with each other, they both like the same servant girl. Horatio has one prized possession - a letter from George Washington praising his patriotism. Unfortunately, the servant girl's employer is a large landowner who is a traitor (and a member of Benedict Arnold's conspiracy). The landowner has a girlfriend named Melonie, played by Marjorie Reynolds (probably her best remembered role after Bing Crosby's girlfriend in HOLIDAY INN). Melonie is momentarily in control of the letter, but her boyfriend takes it and hides it inside an expensive clock. Then the patriots arrive - Major Andre has been captured and the conspiracy revealed. Everyone flees, but Costello and Reynolds are shot and killed before they get away. A curse is put over their remains in their grave on the estate that (mistakenly considered) traitors they are doomed to be forever at unrest there.The ghosts of the two find they literally are stuck their (the special affects are good - they accidentally run through each other and find they are wearing each other's clothing). They see a sign that reveals the curse that was unfairly put on them. Both know if the letter is found they would be released. But time passes. They don't know where the note is, or how to get to it.Comes the 20th Century and Binnie Barnes, Abbott, and John Shelton show up - Abbott a descendant of the 18th Century scoundrel. They are planning to turn the old estate into an inn. Costello, with two centuries of bile and anger building up in him, torments Abbott (in this film Costello maintains the whip hand for a change). Gradually, with the aid of medium Gale Sondergaard, they learn what happened. And Abbott decides to redeem his family name by freeing the ghosts.It is surprising that the Arnold Conspiracy is the only incident of the American Revolution that seems to have been properly handled in the movies, both here and in the later THE SCARLET COAT. But that was a more in depth look at the tragedy and heroism of Major John Andre. Here the Arnold conspiracy, while the motor for the plot, is only shown in the first twenty minutes of the film (then it goes modern), and the film (for all the tragedy for Costello and Reynolds in their rightful lifetimes) is mostly comic. The antics of the pair, in particular Costello's campaign against the hapless modern Abbott, is funny - living up to the first part of the pun of the title. For all their anguish at being cursed unfairly, the two ghosts get to enjoy themselves - they do have the time of their lives. The other half of the pun, of course, deals with the key to their salvation: that all important letter - hidden inside an 18th Century timepiece.