“Heyyyyy, Aaaabbooooott!” was the legendary call of Lou Costello to his comedy team partner Bud Abbott. Together, they were one of the most successful comedy pairings to dominate burlesque, vaudeville, radio, movies and eventually TV. Their routines, such as the classic “Who’s on First,” still bring on gales of laughter. And now, virtually all of their routines are preserved on the 9-DVD collector’s set of “The Abbott & Costello Show.” It aired for 52 episodes between 1951 and 1953. It was one of the first nationally syndicated comedy shows of the newly minted television era. So new was the medium of television, many people in the entertainment industry still hadn’t quite figured out what to do with it. Abbott and Costello decided to revive their best material from their burlesque years.

As burlesque was already considered a dead art form in 1951, by reviving their old numbers, Abbott and Costello inadvertently preserved many skits and routines that would have disappeared for ever.

To take a deeper look at this hidden gem of a DVD collection, Movie ‘Tudes recently caught up with Lou Costello’s youngest daughter Chris. She and her oldest sister Paddy were instrumental in getting this special collection put together, although she credits their memory of their late father and his love of the show as being their inspiration.

“I think that he would be just so tickled to see an audience today for his TV shows,” she said.

Seeing a future in television where many others failed to see its potential, Lou was eager to get involved, Chris explained: “He thought of the concept of it [‘The Abbott & Costello Show']. Television was a brand new media, and a lot of people didn’t have faith in it, sorta like when talkies first started coming out. People were saying, ‘Eh, it’s not gonna last.’ Bud was a little hesitant in wanting to invest in anything with television because he did not think it would last. So Dad decided, ‘Okay, I’m going to form a company: Television Corporation of America, which is still our company, and ‘I’m gonna do the shows.’ ”

Bud opted to go on salary, Chris said, but he was still very involved with the shows. Both enjoyed having an audience again.

“What Dad liked…he and Bud…their roots were in burlesque,” Chris said. “They loved doing live stage. I think this was a time for them, when they did the TV show, to really get a live audience back in and perform.”

Unlike many burlesque routines, Lou and Bud kept theirs clean, which made them uniquely well suited for radio, movies and TV. Their performances were a lively mix of wit and slapstick that are still funny and family-friendly. Chris thinks this is a big reason Abbott and Costello’s popularity is resurgent.

“Today especially, more than ever before, people, because of world conditions because of the economy-foreclosures, I think people want to revisit a happier time,” she said. “I think they want to go back to that comfort zone, and I think that is what Abbott and Costello are providing in this DVD set. It is returning to a belly laugh. It’s not dirty. You can put your entire family around the TV set, and you can watch it. Nobody has to be ushered out of the room because of off-color comedy.”

She also points out that this set is much more than a collection of their shows.

“They’re getting family home movies,” she said. “They get to see what Dad was like beyond being Abbott and Costello. They’re getting ‘10,000 Kids and a Cop,’ which was my Dad’s documentary to promote the Lou Costello Jr. Youth Center for my brother who passed away in ’43. This has been locked in the vault for years, and [was recently restored]. Plus “Hey, Abbott” that Milton Berle narrated in the ’70s. We’ve got a beautiful brochure about the history of the TV show. We’ve got some post cards. It’s really a big package.”

Click a star to rate this post:
(10 votes, average: 2.70 out of 5)

 Loading ...

What is it about Alaska that moviemakers find so horrifying? Sarah Palin, the oil and timber industries, hungry polar bears? Nope. This time it’s aliens! (No “Wyverns,” sorry.)

I know. Aliens are so 1990s, right? That didn’t stop the creators of “The Fourth Kind.”

Cue the 5-note synth track. Yep. That’s “The Fourth Kind” as in close encounters of the fourth kind.

Milla Jovovich stars in this horror docudrama as a psychologist who notices a trend of alien abductions among her patients…only to discover that she herself is not immune from the aliens’ attention.

It could be horrifyingly cheesy, but they play up some serious suspense a la Hitchcock by never showing the monsters. They also play up the documentary side with “real” video and audio recordings that tantalize by only playing and showing so much, kinda like “The Blair Witch Project” or last summer’s “Paranormal Activity.”

As a junior parascientist, I’m all over this flick like white on rice. I’m pretty sure some of the original source material started with the nonfiction book “Close Encounters of the Fourth Kind” by C.D.B. Bryan. It came out in 1995 and reported on a conference at M.I.T. about aliens and abductions. Doctors, scientists, abductees and a bunch of other people got together to share their knowledge and theories exploring the subject. For as many people there supporting the reality of alien abductions there were others debunking. Fascinating book, really.

The best part of the movie for me is how it includes the quasi-legitimate theory that the Sumerians believed in aliens. Well, not just believed aliens, but supposedly thought that we are descended from them as a hybrid race of monkeys and aliens. (Hey, you try traveling through space for 20,000 years without some occasional nookie, and see how you hold up on a new planet. Actually, the theory rests far more on lab-based genetic engineering than intergalactic bestiality.) It is a very real theory supported by ancient pictograms featuring test tubes, rockets and space men.

A lot of experts also say the linguist who came up with that analysis is a nut. His name is Zecharia Sitchin and his book “The 12th Planet” develops his theory from his research of dead languages. I think he’s a very interesting nut–if you’re in the mood for some alternative reading.

As for “The Fourth Kind,” it can be very interesting for horror fans weary of gory camping mishaps.

Oh, and just incase you were wondering:

Close encounters of the 1st kind are sightings of unidentified flying objects.
Close encounters of the 2nd kind are evidence of UFOs landing on earth–scorch marks, crop circles (a proven hoax) and other odd occurrences.
Close encounters of the 3rd kind are ones where we make contact with the aliens.
Close encounters of the 4th kind are where we get abducted by the aliens. (My favorite. Oh, daddy.)

Click a star to rate this post:
(6 votes, average: 2.83 out of 5)

 Loading ...

“The Princess and the Frog” is a mountain of firsts for Disney. Everyone raves about the studio finally featuring a black princess…and they should. But there is another monumental first, as best I can remember. Mom lives and Dad dies.

Let’s face it, mothers don’t fare well in Disney movies, especially if it involves princesses. (Yeah, yeah. “Dumbo” and “The Lion King” might be exceptions, BUT… no princesses. And, c’mon, mom’s not even a player in “Peter Pan.”) Generations of voice actresses must have looked on their calls from Disney with dread. “Good news! You got the part! Bad news, you’re the mother and are going to die.”

I know what you’re thinking, “Gwendolyn, what are you doing reviewing a Disney flick?”

Well, despite my slick cult and horror movie exterior is a soft underbelly of squishy happy memories from when I was really, really little and watched nearly every Disney movie ever made. I’m a little embarrassed about it now, but, hey, I was really, really young.

Back to the movie.

Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) is a hard-working waitress in jazz age New Orleans. She has dreams of opening the hottest club in town. It was her late father’s dream, too, and she’s workin’ her fingers to the bone to achieve it.

Fresh off the boat is Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos). He’s cut off and trying to find a rich wife…and a good time. He meets a voodoo shadowman who turns him into a frog in hopes of holding him for ransom. And we’re off and running.

Traditional fairy tales go bust when Tiana kisses the talking frog prince and becomes a frog herself.

Sho’ ‘nuf they’s havin’ theyselves a bijou adventure to find theyselves and git turned back into humans.

Well kiss my grits if this ain’t a fun Disney flick. Yes, sah. They tap just about every classic film Disney ever made with little homage moments. I suspect these are more for us grown up fans. There’s a snake drawn to look like Sir Hiss in “Robin Hood.” Louis Gator is very Baloo-like from “The Jungle Book.” Can’t forget the “Aristocats“-like butler. Do you get the picture? “The Little Mermaid,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Dumbo,” “Cinderella,” “Peter Pan“…they all get a hidden moment to shine, if you watch closely.

This also is really Disney’s first hand-drawn feature in some time. The principle animation is very old-fashioned Disney, but it dazzles with modern flourishes with scenes like the one where glitter thrown in the air sparkles in an almost 3-D shimmer.

Dr. Facilie–the voodoo shadowman–is an acceptably evil villain. He can’t top my favorite villain, Cruella De Vil of “101 Dalmatians,” but he is black-hearted enough. He’s got Prince’s face (you know, the artist formerly known as a squiggle) and Bo Jangles’ legs–and shadow act. I really like the bad doctor’s evil detachable shadow. Nice artwork FX.

The animal friends are fun, even if story dwells a bit much on a dim-witted firefly. The overall pacing is good. The plot twists wreak havoc on traditional fairy tales. It keeps the story fresh.

It does lack my usual requirements of blood and gore, but I’ll give it a pass because it is a kids’ cartoon.

To its credit, voodoo is a big part of the story. Cut loose with your twisted inner child and have some fun with “The Princess and the Frog.”

Click a star to rate this post:
(3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5)

 Loading ...