Who Done It? (1942)

When I plug this film into my list of Abbott and Costello films I've reviewed, it comes out Number #1 using IMDb's ranking system. That surprised me a bit because it beat out a couple of my favorites, "A&C Meet Frankenstein" and "Hold That Ghost". I enjoyed the movie but I didn't think it would have been that popular.Anyway, this was Abbott and Costello's ninth film and the first with no musical numbers. They portray a pair of soda jerks, operative word being jerks in Lou's case but I mean that in a good way. Aspiring to be mystery writers for a radio station, the boys quickly switch gears when an actual murder is committed during a live broadcast, and decide to play detective to investigate the crime before the homicide squad shows up. It turns out that the murder of Colonel J.R. Andrews (Thomas Gomez) resembles the plot of the radio's 'Steel Chair Murder Case' in which the victim was electrocuted when a switch was thrown on cue.You can tell Lou is having some genuine fun here, hamming it up with fellow players Patric Knowles, Mary Wickes, and especially Walter Tetley, the elevator boy who constantly outfoxes Lou's character Mervin Milgrim. William Bendix manages to fall victim to Lou's handcuff gag, possibly the only police detective in cinema history more clueless than Costello. Throughout, Bud and Lou offer up some of their zaniest routines, with a couple references to their famous 'Who's on First' bit, but with a twist so they didn't actually have to do it.Coming out prior to the Second World War, "Who Done It?' cemented Abbott and Costello's reputation as the most popular entertainers of the era. They were always favorites of mine growing up as a kid in the Fifties, the kind of comedians whose routines have a way of staying with you through the decades. There just weren't that many 'who done it' the way these guys did.

Man, nothing was sacred to Abbott and Costello! In the wacky "Who Done It?", they play soda jerks who pitch an idea to a radio station, and then find themselves in the middle of a murder case! This of course is an excuse for a series of hilarious gags (namely Alexander 2222 and the ledge of the building).One of the things that I liked about this movie is that it's not a musical. I'm just not into musicals. When I watch a comedy, I expect to laugh, and musical numbers cut into that. Here, just get to see Bud and Lou do their stuff. And some funny stuff it is. They must have had fun making it. Really funny!

Abbott and Costello amaze me. Where are the comedians today that even resemble these two in their dictum and style? They're profound comedians in every sense of the world.Pheonmenally funny when finding the killers or chasing ghosts!Who Done It is by far one of the duo's best films. Unlike the service comedies, it doesn't date easily, but rather highlights what it was like to be around during the Forties. A strong supporting cast, led by the able characters keep the laughs coming almost non-stop. Their chemistry with Lou Costello does not go unnoticed, either, by the sharp-eyed film fan. All in all, if I am showing only one A & C comedy to a group of students who have never viewed their work, this is the one I'd show.

After viewing the recent Universal set of DVD's & looking at this one, I was surprised how much I liked it. I highly recommend the DVD sets from Univerisal because all the films on DVD appear to be pristine prints somehow found in the vaults to be put on them. This film is part of volume 1 & each volume contains 8 films from "the boys". This film is very focused on the comedy & doe not have as much music interrupting it as some of their other films. I especially like the section of self-effacing comedy by Costello when he & Bud are listening to a car radio & they hear themselves doing their "Whose on First?" routine & Costello shuts off the radio & says "I'm sick & tired of listening to those guys." For some reason, this film holds the pace & timing of the comedy better than many of the teams other films. While there are other films of theirs I like, I enjoyed this one more than I expected too.