Though it ran for only two seasons, from 1952 to 1954, The Abbott and Costello Show is frequently cited as one of the best and most influential comedy series in history. Jerry Seinfeld credits the show, which emphasized laughs over emotions, as a primary influence on his own legendary sitcom. And now, thanks to ClassicFlix, the 3-D Archive, and the Library of Congress, The Abbott and Costello Show - Season 1 has received an extraordinary restoration, available to own on Blu-ray.
I’m a lifelong Abbott and Costello nut. From childhood onward, I watched and rewatched all of their iconic films like Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein, Hold That Ghost, Hit the Ice, and Buck Privates. I was much less aware of their television series, which never reran on TV (in my little world, at least). I eventually tracked a few DVDs that compiled only select episodes. But this new Blu-ray restoration makes all previous releases look like cave drawings.
After seven decades of misuse and improper care, The Abbott and Costello Show’s original film materials were nearing a point of damage beyond saving. Archivist Bob Furmanek and his team at 3-D Archives took the original 35 mm film negatives and scanned them into 4K resolution. They digitally cleaned away dirt and damage on every single frame of the 120,000 feet of film, creating a crystal clear final product. This painstaking process was much more than a labor of love; this was a rescue mission. Furmanek and his team’s meticulous and laborious work have saved Bud & Lou’s TV series for future generations to enjoy in the best possible quality. The boys haven’t looked and sounded (thanks to the remastered audio) so good in 70 years.
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello had hugely successful careers in burlesque and radio before becoming the highest-paid entertainers during World War II. Between 1940 and 1956, Bud & Lou made 36 films, mostly for Universal Pictures. Following successful stints as hosts of The Colgate Comedy Hour, the boys began work on their own syndicate half-hour television series. It was an opportunity to both control their own content and preserve for posterity their versions of classic bits. As a result, The Abbott and Costello Show is a mind-blowing and superlatively vital record of classic burlesque routines. Along with “Who’s on First”, other renowned bits like “Mustard”, “Packing/Unpacking”, “The Moving Candle”, and “Niagara Falls” are all immortalized thanks to this series.
While their movies had to balance musical numbers, young romantic couples, and plot, the series eschews all of that in favor of straightforward, unadulterated comedy. There are no story arcs, no character development or even continuity from one episode to the next. If a scenario, premise, or gag is funny, it was included with no thought to logic or reality. Because of this, The Abbott and Costello Show remains one of the most bizarre and surreal live action television series in American history.
The show ostensibly follows the peculiar misadventures of two unemployed actors named Bud Abbott and Lou Costello (played, of course, by Abbott and Costello). Each episode begins with Bud & Lou telling the audience at home what the episode is going to be about. Premises can be anything from throwing a birthday party for Lou’s overly cultured girlfriend (played by Hillary Brooke), to raising a chimpanzee named Bingo as their son. In one episode, Lou mistakes “ant paste” for “antipasto” and nearly poisons all his party guests. In another, the word “meatball” sends Lou into violent paroxysms. I like the one where Bud has Lou committed to a psych ward because Costello can’t sleep.
Joining Bud & Lou are a loose cadre of characters, whose roles and relationships to the title stars vary depending on the plot. In addition to Hillary and Bingo the Chimp, there’s Mr. Fields, their short-tempered, chrome-domed landlord (played by the real Sidney Fields, who also scripted 21 episodes of the series); Lou’s nemesis, bratty man-child Stinky (played by Joe Besser); the boys’ brainless comedic foil, Mike the Cop (played by Gordon Jones); and Mr. Bacciagalupe (played by Joe Kirk), an Italian immigrant caricature that is as far from politically correct as Patterson, New Jersey is from the Andromeda galaxy. In addition to the aforementioned, a bevy of nameless neighborhood oddballs harass, assault, and dupe Bud & Lou.
The show’s carefree approach to continuity becomes manifest with Mr. Bacciagapule, whose profession ranges from fruit peddler to restauranteur to salesman, all depending on what the scenario dictates. Likewise, the real Sidney Fields often dons flimsy mustaches, toupees, and glasses in order to play relatives of the fictional Mr. Fields. But no character in heaven nor hell epitomizes the surreal like Stinky. Then 45 year old Joe Besser played the loud-mouthed 6 six-year-old, decked out in a Little Lord Fauntleroy outfit, short pants, and wide brim hat. In 1952, it was hilarious; today, it’s unsettling to watch an overweight, bald man lick on lollipops and cry for mommy when Bud & Lou don’t want to play with him.
Modern audiences might assume Besser was taking a jab at individuals on the autistic spectrum. But no, that was his character, his persona, and his schtick. He played Stinky-like characters on radio and television before. After Shemp Howard suddenly died of a massive heart attack, Columbia Pictures slotted Besser to take Shemp’s place in the Three Stooges. If you haven’t seen the “Joe” Stooges shorts, let me assure you that Shemp was the lucky one.
As for the Blu-ray, the series has never looked or sounded better. The picture quality is flawless and eerily clear; the sound is pristine and crisp. Among the exciting bonus features is the option to listen to original “laugh-free” audio tracks on select episodes. The Abbott and Costello Show was not filmed in front of a live studio audience. Instead, completed episodes were screened for small studio audiences and their recorded reactions became the laugh track. This is the first time fans can listen to these tracks.
Rounding out the bonus features are an all-too brief featurette about the search for the original negatives, a smattering of trailers, and my favorite feature on any DVD/Blu-ray, audio commentaries. Several Abbott and Costello experts/aficionados provide highly informative (though slightly repetitive) commentaries on 10 episodes. While I was grateful to learn some new information about the series and Bud & Lou, casual viewers might find these commentaries a tad dry (though definitely check out Gilbert Gottfried’s, where he tells of his childhood fear of Stinky).
This amazing Blu-ray release is an essential addition to any Abbott and Costello fan’s home video library, as well as any fan of comedy. To those who have never seen Bud & Lou, there is no better place to start. Join Hillary Brooke, Mr. Fields (and his many cousins and relations), Mike the Cop, Bingo, Mr. Bacciagalupe , and even Stinky, and fall in love with the comedy of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in its purest, clearest and most undiluted form.
-T.Z.
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