Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops (1955) Reviews

• A rare review

  medrjel2002-01-25

  Well, this is far from classic A&C. Basicly, it's a silly romp with a lot of dumb skits. That being said, I absolutely love this movie. It is a personal sentimental favorite. The use of modern Universal stuntmen to act as the Keystone Cops, and the appearance of Mack Sennett himself make this a movie to treasure. Don't worry about plot. Don't think about how out of place Bud and Lou seem in this. Just sit back and have fun with it. This is strictly a "ride" movie. Take the gags as they come. All through my years growing up, I always looked forward to my local station cycling around the A&C films to when they would be showing this movie on Sunday morning.

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• A&C Meet the Keystone Kops? Not quite...

  Space_Mafune2003-12-08

  Abbott & Costello as Harry Pierce and Willie Piper are scammed into buying the Thomas Edison studio lot by a gentleman named Gorman (Fred Clark), who takes them for $5000. Together they decide to follow Gorman's trail to Hollywood where Gorman has taken up the identity of a foreign film director named Sergei Toumanoff. Predictably Pierce & Piper wind up involved in the shooting of one of Toumanoff's film and end up becoming stunt doubles for his films, while Toumanoff, who's really Gorman, tries to have the bungling Piper & Pierce done away with permanently before they realize who he really is. Those looking for The Keystone Kops here might be somewhat disappointed as the antics of the Kops aren't exactly here in full force although there's an entertaining Kops style chase towards the end. Also this is a lesser effort from Abbott & Costello, whose routines had started to become predictable by this point in time. Still there's good fun to be found here especially if one is more capable of suspending disbelief and just having fun with what's on the screen. My favorite moments here include: the opening silent movie sequence with Costello's Piper being emotionally affected by the dramatic story of a woman on the run from some nasty villains and the following scene outside the theater where Abbott's Pierce is the one who for once winds up in trouble. the mistaken identity police-robber sequence throughout Gorman's house. Clark is quite funny in this scene which is a classic Abbott & Costello "who's who" routine all the way.

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• A Nice Cartoon

  frankebe2008-09-05

  I've seen 28 A&C movies, and I have to say that this comedy team is consistently enjoyable. The only movie that's no good is their last ("Dance w/Me, Henry"); all the others range from fall-over hilarious to innocently droll. In a couple of films Costello seems distracted and campy, but in most he manages to be sympathetic, as he is in this one. I have especially enjoyed sorting through their later "lesser" movies, like "…Go to Mars" and "…Go to Alaska", which I found quite entertaining, and I am entertained by this movie for most of the same reasons: Costello's cherubic character seems more warm and ingratiating as the movies go along. To me, the more relaxed timing in their acting and partnership makes them more engaging. Instead of so much verbal patter, the later movies emphasize character, and may actually be funnier and more appealing to anyone speaking English as a foreign language (Cantinflas movies, with their long stretches of static action, are miserably boring to watch if you don't know Spanish). In "…Keystone Cops", I found myself once again watching a cartoon-like feature-length movie that just happened to have, miraculously, Abbott and Costello as main characters. How do you go wrong with that, especially if you have an 8-year-old mind in a 56-year-old body? Nope, there are none of the classic verbal routines here, but how many of those can you watch over and over again? A&C are plenty amusing as protagonists—a classic duo like Laurel and Hardy, and although they did not make me roll with laughter, the movie certainly kept me smiling with its convivial mood and enjoyable cast. The movie has good production values, with lots of real out-of-doors shots, steam engines, single prop airplanes, and lots and lots of stunts. It is more of an "action film" than some of their other films; in fact, it's worth watching just to see the stunt men, who are really fabulous. Generally I am offended when one of these films stops being an A&C movie and becomes a stunt-man movie (as Buster Keaton famously said, "Stunt men aren't funny", meaning they don't convey character). But here, the director sets up the stunts so clearly (sometimes frightening, like the train-in-the-tunnel), that they come across as very funny events. The actors playing the Keystone Cops are stupendous. I had to stop-motion parts of the final chase because I couldn't believe what they were doing. The film has an excellent final joke. By the way, has anyone else noticed that in some movies, like this one, the lip sync is way off during some of the long shots?

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• Abbott and Costello's Homage to Silent Films

  cyran10312005-07-13

  Let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of Abbott and Costello and don't dislike any of their movies. This is not one of their very best but is enjoyable nonetheless. The coolest part of the film is the fact that it's centered around the movie business and pays homage to the silent comedies of years before. There is a cameo by Mack Sennett and of course, the 50's remakes of the Keystone Kops! Bud and Lou are two pals turned hobos after they are tricked into "buying" Edison theater. After they are tricked, they pursue the crook and end up working in the Hollywood movie scene. In their later movies, Bud Abbottt's persona changed a lot and it is seen here. He becomes a lot nastier, more gruff, and starts to take more of a part in the physical aspect of the comedy. Although I enjoy his earlier years a bit more, it's all good. Lou is unchanging and as amusing as ever. Also, I think Fred Clark deserves credit as the villain (especially in his "cover" of the flamboyant Sergei Toumanoff!). Without him, the whole burglar gag wouldn't have worked at all. Finally, the ending chase sequence is great! The use of the zany Keystone Kops is wonderful and the 50's versions of the icons do a great job. Look for the part where Bud and Lou ride through the stack of hay. Hilarious!! Well worth a look for A&C fan as well as fans of classic comedy.

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• "23 - Skidoo"

  xyzkozak2014-08-26

  Released in 1955 - With its inferior and hokey-looking visual effects, along with its very silly story-line, I could never say that this Abbott & Costello vehicle amounted to being anything but that of a second-rate (and very unremarkable) bit of slapstick comedy. Set in the year 1912, Bud & Lou play characters Harry Pierce and Willie Piper (respectively) who are presently residents of NYC. Before he realizes what's happened, Willie is promptly swindled, by fast-talking shyster, Joe Gorman, out of the $5,000 that he's holding onto for his aunt. The slimy Gorman, and his seductive accomplice, Leota Van Cleef, cleverly persuade Willie that he'll make millions being the proud owner of the Phenomenal Motion Pictures studio, situated on the outskirts of the city. It doesn't take long for his buddy, Harry, to convince the naive Willie that he's been royally scammed. And, with that, our 2 buddies head out to L.A. where they believe Gorman has high-tailed it with the $5,000. Upon arriving in L.A., Willie inadvertently becomes Amalgamated Pictures' star stuntman and before long swindler Joe Gorman is discovered working for the same production company under an assumed name and flimsy disguise. Needless to say, a high-speed chase involving 8 Keystone cops gets underway where justice is finally served over the return of Willie's $5,000. Filmed in b&w, this picture has a running time of only 80 minutes and it also features a cameo appearance by pioneering, silent-era, comedy director, Mack Sennett.

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