The Naughty Nineties

This movie is too often considered great just because of the "Who's on First" routine. Now don't get me wrong, that is the best part of it, but there are other wonderful parts of it as well. This is the first costume piece that Abbott and Costello ever did. I don't know that it had to be set on a Riverboat, but it did give them the opportunity to do a lot of great gags. This movie also includes the classic "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" routine where Costello thinks he is getting stage directions from Abbott and the "feathers in the cake" routine.

A couple of comments on "Who's on First": this is one of the funniest comedy routines ever, and you can be easily amused just by reading it. What makes it so great in the hands of Abbott and Costello is their ability to stay in character while doing it. Throughout the routine Abbott cannot understand why Costello doesn't get what he is saying, and Abbott tries many times, in vain, to figure out the names of the players. The routine seems to be shot in one take, and we are the better for it. Watch it many times and pay attention to only Abbott or Costello and you'll get what I mean about them always staying in character. They rarely look at the audience, the continue their thoughts (as their characters) and the fact that neither of them understands why the other is not making sense is what makes this work.

What can I say about this movie? I introduced it to my cousin when we were both a bit younger and we were on vacation together. We were both in an Abbott and Costello craze at the time and, over the course of the trip, we probably watched that movie upwards of thirty times. It was great! Easily my favorite of their many films. The film consists of hilarious routine after hilarious routine which occur around a central plot. Three crooked gamblers cheat an honest Riverboat Captain out of 3/4 of his ship. It's up to Bud and Lou (a ham actor and his dimwitted assistant) to get it back. The routines keep on coming with the mirror routine, the catfish, Lou as the "little Indian", My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean (Hilarious!!), 33 at the roulette table, bird shooting Lou, the out of control ending chase, and of course the full length "Who's On First?" just to name a few. The crew couldn't even contain their laughter during this routine. Listen for them chuckling! The many gags throughout don't hinder the plot of the movie, only enhance it. The music and classic atmosphere of "Nineties" also adds a great deal to the film and gives it that "feel good" vibe which makes it so special and easy to enjoy time and time again. This is the perfect film to introduce anyone to this great comedy team. The boys are in top form here, and I recommend this to A&C fans, classic comedy fans, comedy fans, movie fans, music fans, and to people who just want to enjoy an evening of fun and laughs. Sit back and enjoy!

Although not critically acclaimed as one of the team's best, Abbott and Costello use some of their best loved and remember skits in this film. The movie is worth watching for the "Who's On First?" skit alone. Good, clean, fun for the entire family.

It's not surprising that Abbott and Costello eventually got to do a movie on a showboat. Remember it was only 8 years earlier that Universal Studios did their classic version of Showboat and I'm sure that Carl Laemmle, Jr. wanted to take advantage of the set that was still there.

The Naughty Nineties in fact take whole characters from the Showboat plot. Henry Travers's character of Captain Sam is a total ripoff of Captain Andy and Alan Curtis and Lois Collier make a passable nonsinging Gaylord Ravenal and Magnolia Hawkes. Collier sings, but there are no classic duets like in Showboat. And Curtis's character is a riverboat gambler like Ravenal.

That being said the plot such as it is involves Rita Johnson and her two associates, Curtis and Joe Sawyer, gaining possession of Henry Travers's showboat with which they then set up some crooked gambling to make a quick profitable kill.

Abbott and Costello are part of the Showboat crew. Abbott is an actor in the Victorian tradition and Costello is as usual a lovable all around klutz that Travers must be keeping around for laughs.

If it's laughs Travers wants, he's made a sound investment because the boys do provide the public with plenty of that. The Naughty Nineties is famous as the film they did their classic Who's on First baseball routine. It had been done previously in their debut film, One Night in the Tropics, but in an abbreviated form.

Actually there is one routine involving poor Lou as he thinks he's eating a cat, I mean the feline type cat.

Joe Sawyer joins a list of otherwise serious actors like Douglass Dumbrille, Lionel Atwill, and Lon Chaney, Jr., who got in on the comedy with the boys. Sawyer does his own version of the famous Niagara Falls routine involving him sleepwalking and he looks like he's having a ball doing it. Sawyer makes a perfect foil for Bud and Lou's monkeyshines.

And I think the audience will enjoy it as much as Joe Sawyer.

Abbott and Costello are at their comedic best in their underrated gem, "The Naughty Nineties." It's interesting to note that this could be considered their first film where their characters aren't a team. Abbott plays a ham actor on a show boat, with Costello as a drummer and handyman. It's rumored that A&C began to have a falling out at the time this film was made in early 1945, which may (or may not) have led to playing separate characters. ("Little Giant" and "The Time of Their Lives" are two more examples.)

The film is best known for the classic "Who's on First" routine. While the boys have the routine down pat and perform it almost flawlessly (except when Costello almost forgets the name of Abbott's character), it falls a little flat without audience reaction. Evidently, the director instructed the audience in the show boat not to laugh, which robs A&C of natural audience reactions. The funniest bit in the film is the part where Costello attempts to sing "My Bonnie"; thinking he is being coached by Abbott, he raises and lowers his voice with comedic hilarity -- one of the funniest segments in the entire A&C series of films.

Ably supported by a decent cast, "The Naughty Nineties" comes in at a snappy 76 minutes of fun and laughter. One of their best from their mid-40s period. 8 out of 10.