The Time of Their Lives

I won't argue over this Abbott and Costello comedy being called the very best of the duo's pictures simply because it's really the only one with a complete, polished feel--it leaves you entertained and satisfied at the end. Most of the A&C movies are filled with brawling slapstick and loud braying--back and forth with the quips--but this one is sharp and funny, and Bud and Lou play characters instead of constantly resorting to shtick. Costello is mistaken for a traitor and killed, later turning up as a ghost to haunt Abbott, who is a relative of Lou's murderer. Surprisingly good story and terrific supporting cast, amusing script and nimble direction makes this one a pleasure. ***1/2 from ****

1780, during the revolutionary war, there is a ball on. The master of the estate, Tom Danbery, is a rebel who plots against Washington. Bud plays a tipsy servant who attempts to woo a maid who is in love with Costello, a poor tinker called Horatio Prim. Prim has a letter of recomendation from Washington himself and he and the maid, Nora, plan to elope but Abbott tricks him into getting trapped in a large trunk. Some of Danberry's men show up and discuss their plan, only to discover Nora overlistening. They do away with her. Danberry's fiance, Melody Allen, is wise to the plan and after helping Tinker escape from the trunk asks him to take her to the nearest soldiers standpoint. As they race off on their horses, Washington's men arrive on the scene looking for Danberry. Thinking they are rebels, Prim and Melody race off in the oposite direction. Mistaking them for traitors too, the man shoot them dead on the spot. The Leader curses their souls and bounds them to the grounds for all time till they can proove their innocence. The house is destroyed and the furniture taken away. Danberry has hidden the letter which prooves their innocence in the library clock.

Cut to 1946. The ghosts are still their but the mansion has been restored. A man recovering froma nervous breakdown, his girl and her outspoken Aunt move in with the original butler's descendant (again, played by an outstading Bud). They also have a physic housekeeper, the wonderful Gale Sondergaard.

After haunting them, they try and find the letter which prooves their innocence...

This is a more interesting A+C film than a funny one. Great performances by all though Lou tries a little to hard at times. I think it's an interesting perforamce by him as I can see shades of his characters from his early films and also his later films. He fumbles with his hat for the 1st time in this film. Bud is superb. I didn't rate his acting in their last couple of films for universal (especially ...meet the keystone Kops) but here, he shines. All of the supporting are great too.

Both Bud and Lou have memorable opening scenes with Bud, the tipsy waitor and Lou asleep on his horse. Good music, great effects and good fun. It has been labelled as an Abbott and Costello film for those who don't like Abbott and Costello. Fun for all the family!

Following the disappointing returns of "Little Giant," Universal decided to continue the experiment of using Abbott and Costello as separate characters in a film -- but with a few changes. The pathos of "Little Giant" was dropped, and the focus returned to comedy. A stronger plot was created, and the movie was set in part in the 18th century. The end result was "The Time of Their Lives," which must rank high among the best of A&C's films.

Perhaps one reason A&C's characters were not a team again in this film was a feud between Abbott and Costello, but no one is quite sure. The reason was probably due to wanting to try something different. With "Little Giant," this effort failed; with "TOTL," they succeeded because Abbott fits so naturally into both his characters and because the storyline is fresh and different.

The tried-and-true A&C routines are missing, but no one notices because much of the humor derives from situations, which are often funny. The reactions to Costello's hauntings are hilarious, and Bud gets some very genuine laughs. I agree with everyone that if A&C had broken up at this time, Abbott would have made a fine character actor in comedies, in a Eugene Pallette sort of way (though without Pallette's girth.)

Despite the reputation this film enjoys today, 1946 audiences seemed rather tepid towards another A&C situational comedy with the boys not appearing as a team. As a result, this type of film was never again tried by A&C. However, it is a film worthy of viewing and deserves the reputation it enjoys today as one of their finest. 8 out of 10.

Their cinematic effort preceding "TTOTL" is an little unknown comedy called "Little Giant," in which Bud and Lou--showing, perhaps the strain in their personal relationship at the time--act apart as opposed to as a team. "TTOTL" continues that experiment, but produces much better results.

The tail--of a pair of Revolutionary War ghosts (Costello and the beautiful Marjorie Reynolds) trying to clear their names in 1946--has heart. Again, there's comedy here, but also pathos, something Lou Costello was brilliant at playing and for which he received precious little credit. And the *story* is engaging, not just a platform for free-form A&C routines.

The SPFX are top-notch for the day. Watch Costello and Reynolds run at each other and swap clothing. And the performances matter, too. Gail Sondergaard is very creepy during a seance sequence, and even Bud flexes his dramatic-comedic muscles as a fluttery psychologist.

Things are mucked up a bit at the end, when Bud's car goes awry with Lou at the wheel (I guess by then producers felt it couldn't be an A&C picture without at least *one* chase). But with that one transgression forgiven, "TTOTL" is a terrific film (my second-fav of Bud & Lou's, after "Who Done It?").

THE TIME OF THEIR LIVES (1946) ***1/2 Abbott and Costello original with the team "separated": Lou's a Revolutionary War-era ghost with comely spirit Marjorie Reynolds who both were murdered and branded traitors to America, and due to a curse set upon their souls are forced to remain on Earth until they are proven patriots thanks to a letter in an antique clock authored by George Washington. Bud is very good as an ancestor of Costello's arch nemesis providing Lou a good reason to scare him. Pretty funny and some solid acting from the duo.