Moviecut—Abbott and Costello Go to Mars

source: Abbott and Costello Go to Mars

Nicely cast comedy infringing on Science Fiction. It would have been better had a bit more money were spent, upgrading the production. Still, the comedy is classic Abbott & Costello, and the beauty queens are lovely to look at, a preposition! I used to be a professional photographer, so beauty is good to behold. I gave this a good 6, wish it could be higher.

ABBOTT AND COSTELLO GO TO MARS is another suitably ridiculous adventure for our favorite, loveable lunkheads. In spite of the title, Bud and Lou never quite make it to the red planet. However, they do go to Venus... eventually. First, they must become involved in a zany plot that will get them there, involving their being trapped aboard an experimental rocket. Hilarity ensues. As usual, nothing is serious, with absolutely no reason to expect any real story line. The boys wind up mistaking New Orleans for Mars, just in time for Mardi Gras! There, they get entangled with a pair of daffy crooks, one of whom is sci-fi / Martian movie veteran, Jack Kruschen (WAR OF THE WORLDS, ANGRY RED PLANET). Soon, these astro-nuts are off to Venus, which is blessedly inhabited by bodacious females, played by a gaggle of Miss Universe contestants! Among them is a young Anita Ekberg! Pure, harmless, goofy fun...

A mediocre entry in the A&C series, enlivened with a few crazy special effects and lots of enticing women. Costello is predictably fearful of both. Admittedly, the script has some good ideas, but most of them fail to come to fruition in the clumsy hands of director Charles Lamont. In any event, the gags are too widely spaced, and Lamont has obviously failed to inspire either Abbott or Costello. They both seem tired and out of sorts. This is particularly true of Abbott, who not only looks both aged and overweight, but plays his role with an almost total lack of enthusiasm. This is a shame because his role is not as stereotyped as usual, and a more dedicated actor could certainly have made something of it. Fortunately, Mari Blanchard has a grand time as Allura. Martha Hyer has a colorless role, but she lends it a bit of spark, and it's always nice to see Anita Ekberg, even hidden here as she is in a crowd of Miss Universe pulchritude.

This was one of the first movies I ever saw, well before television came to Australia. As a child I simply loved it, and I've not changed my views on the movie in the intervening four or more decades. It seems usual for fans of A & C to deride the movie, but I rate it as the best they made after the end of the 1940s. Of course the SF aspects left me in awe at the time as I'd seen nothing like it. I even appreciated the Miss Universe entrants :) Even now the special effects seem pretty good for the period. The scenes aboard the space ship seem pretty silly, and did way back then, but that's the only glaring fault. One either loves or hates A&C. Put me in the former group.