The below article was published on Thoughts from The Music(al) Man by Neil “The Musical Man” Powell on July 19 as his fourth entry in #CleanMovieMonth2020. See the original post here.
Ok, let’s get it out of the way. This movie is mainly known for having the complete “Who’s On First?” comedy routine done by Bud and Lou (as compared to the partial routine used in One Night In The Tropics). Reportedly, the director had trouble filming it, as the boys caused the crew to burst into laughter every time they tried to film it, and so that laughter ended up being left in. Now, personally, I can’t claim to have heard it, but for good reason: I’m just as prone to cracking up every time I watch them do it myself, so it’s hard for me to hear anything in the background over my own laughter! “Who’s On First?” was later inducted into the National Baseball Hall Of Fame, and it is this version from The Naughty Nineties that has been playing there on monitors continuously ever since.
But “Who’s On First?” is hardly the only reason to watch this movie. The boys also have a few other routines, including “Higher/Lower” (a.k.a. “My Bonnie Lies Over The Ocean”) and “Feathers In The Cake.” And I certainly get a kick out of watching them deal with a sleepwalking Bailey (as played by Joe Sawyer), when he constantly attacks Lou and then pauses to say “I Must Tell This To The General” (sure, it’s not exactly politically correct, since he believes he is fighting Indians, but it’s still a fun scene, just the same). And then there’s Lou with the “catfish burgers” (or maybe I should say “cat”)! Just many wonderful moments!
I can’t deny that this movie reminds me of the 1936 Show Boat. And well it should, considering they re-used the river boat from that film as the River Queen in this one. Admittedly, The Naughty Nineties doesn’t compare to that movie. While my ratings are the same between the two, my opinion of Show Boat is reflective of what I think of that movie as a whole, while my rating of The Naughty Nineties is based on the goodwill garnered from watching Bud and Lou, ESPECIALLY with their “Who’s On First?” routine, as the music and romance of this movie are not its strengths.
Still, it’s a good Code movie. All the violence is very comical in nature, whether it be in some of Bud and Lou’s routines, or their fight with the bad guys to end the movie. Obviously, there’s no swearing, with Lou’s line “I don’t give a darn” from “Who’s On First? being as close as it gets. And while we do see the gamblers in charge for a while, it’s obvious that they will be caught by the end of the movie. But I do enjoy this movie a lot! To see Bud and Lou do one of their best-known routines is well worth it, and it’s very easy to recommend this one!
This movie is available on Blu-ray from Shout! Factory as part of the 28-film The Complete Abbott & Costello Universal Pictures Collection, and is one hour, sixteen minutes in length.
My Rating: 10/10
Audience Rating:
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