Bud Abbott And Lou Costello In Hollywood (1945) is a sketch film that utilises the premise of Hollywood and the film industry there to assemble a bunch of incongruous gags. Some gags work better than others, while some are a tad over done, and protracted, especially for a fast moving 21st Century audience.
Within the sketches of the storyline is a murder case. This taps into the then trendy period of film noir, a genre of film style that was at its peak at that time. In this instance Abbott and Costello satirise film noir, making a mockery out of the genre. They also take a pop at Hollywood and the inside corruption and backstabbing that goes on.
The boys ( probable unintentionally) make a mockery out of education. In one scene we see Costello's character, Abercrombie struggling with basic maths, yet he and Buzz (Abbott) are intelligent in a way that isn't obvious or conventional. They are enterprising, and clever at the way they achieve their goals, albeit in an unusual, haphazard way. In the end, the boys are the ones who end up rich and successful over the rest of the characters. As such the message here is that a formal education does not make a person clever, but is more about conditioning the cognitive processes. Abbott and Costello proved this time and again.
In sum, this film is interesting for its peak at Hollywood in the mid '40s. It's also worth watching it for the cameo by the marvellous Lucile Ball.
Within the sketches of the storyline is a murder case. This taps into the then trendy period of film noir, a genre of film style that was at its peak at that time. In this instance Abbott and Costello satirise film noir, making a mockery out of the genre. They also take a pop at Hollywood and the inside corruption and backstabbing that goes on.
The boys ( probable unintentionally) make a mockery out of education. In one scene we see Costello's character, Abercrombie struggling with basic maths, yet he and Buzz (Abbott) are intelligent in a way that isn't obvious or conventional. They are enterprising, and clever at the way they achieve their goals, albeit in an unusual, haphazard way. In the end, the boys are the ones who end up rich and successful over the rest of the characters. As such the message here is that a formal education does not make a person clever, but is more about conditioning the cognitive processes. Abbott and Costello proved this time and again.
In sum, this film is interesting for its peak at Hollywood in the mid '40s. It's also worth watching it for the cameo by the marvellous Lucile Ball.