Review of The Naughty Nineties

Having just watched Laurel & Hardy in One Good Turn in which they try to save a woman they think is being cast aside because she couldn't pay her bill (it's actually a rehearsal for a play), I then felt the need to once again see Abbott & Costello in The Naughty Nineties in which they try to save their boss, Captain Sam (Henry Travers), from losing his riverboat. As with many of the A & C films of this period, the duo's comedy is mixed with some drama concerning the more serious characters which in this case made this film a little uneven. Still, Bud & Lou are aces when they are on screen together especially when they perform their most famous and popular routine, "Who's on First?", with Costello being as confused as ever. As long as they're on screen, which is most of the time, it's very entertainingly funny. Among the supporting players is Joe Sawyer who gets many great comic scenes with Costello whether in a mirror bit or when Sawyer is sleepwalking with Lou nearby. Also appearing is Alan Curtis-previously in Buck Privates with the boys-as initially one of the bad guys, Joe Kirk-Lou's brother-in-law-as a croupier, and Sid Fields, later to play the landlord in Bud & Lou's TV show, though I admit I didn't recognize him here. Other supporting players I feel like noting are Ed Gargan, brother of William Gargan who was in Keep 'Em Flying and Who Done It? With the boys, who had also appeared with Bud & Lou in Hit the Ice and would also appear with Laurel & Hardy in The Bullfighters in the same year as this one, and Jack Norton doing one of his patented drunk roles. He also appeared with Stan & Ollie in The Big Noise. And Mr. Travers is another player from my favorite movie, It's a Wonderful Life, that I like to cite when he/she is in another movie I'm reviewing like now. So on that note, The Naughty Nineties is highly recommended. With that, I'll just now say that my next review will be Laurel & Hardy's The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case.