Abbott and Costello Go to Mars

Abbott and Costello Go To Mars sees the popular duo tackle a sci-fi theme that was to be so prevalent in the 50s. It's directed by Charles Lamont and the co-star line up features Robert Paige, Horace McMahon, Mari Blanchard, Martha Hyer & Jack Kruschen. The plot sees Bud & Lou as Lester and Orville respectively, who accidentally find themselves on a rocket-ship bound for Mars. However, they actually land in New Orleans during the Mardi Gras and confusion reigns. Then an encounter with a couple of escaped convicts leads to another blast off, to Venus. A planet populated by a bevy of beauties.

They were three years away from making what would be their last film together, but history dictates that the best of the film outings for Bud & Lou were long since past. However, "Go To Mars" and "Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (also 1953) are worthy pieces showcasing the comic talent and irrepressible charm of two fine entertainers. Sure the plot is as thin as some of the sets are for "Go To Mars," but there's enough chaos and comedy schtick to keep the smile on ones face. We get Costello doing an Italian accent-badly, which in turn leads to a slapathon. Then there's stunts with magnetic moon-boots, a triple bed fall down, gravitational larks and Mardi Gras strangeness. There's even a cheeky aside in favour of the ladies (the Venusian female race being contestants of Miss Universe) as the new male arrivals on Venus are compared to beefcake Adonis types on Venusian TV.

Far from their best work but certainly enough good here to shoot down those "worst of the series" tags. 6/10

Nicely cast comedy infringing on Science Fiction. It would have been better had a bit more money were spent, upgrading the production. Still, the comedy is classic Abbott & Costello, and the beauty queens are lovely to look at, a preposition! I used to be a professional photographer, so beauty is good to behold. I gave this a good 6, wish it could be higher.

Bud and Lou play maintenance men who accidentally blast off in an experimental rocket. Despite the movie's title, they don't actually go to Mars, they go to Venus -- and only during the last twenty-five minutes of the film. Before they get there they waste thirty minutes of the story by landing in New Orleans -- which they think is Mars because of all the weird Mardi Gras costumes (a painfully unfunny gag).

Two escaped criminals stowaway aboard the ship and try to hi-jack the rocket after a second accidental lift-off, but the boys outwit them and the finally lands on Venus.

Admittedly Venus is worth the wait; all the Venusians are gorgeous contestants from the Miss Universe Pageant, and their queen is Maria Blanchard (`She Devil'). The men were defeated long ago in a war with the females, but some of the girls miss them so badly that even Bud and Lou look go to them. Queen Maria wants Bud to be her king!

Anita Ekberg (Miss Sweden) is one of the gals, but you'll have to look quick to spot her. Sets, props, and special effects are excellent. Watch for several props which were also used in other Universal sci-fi films (the death ray device in `It Came from Outer Space' and the bullet car from `This Island Earth'). Not the funniest A & C comedy, but decidedly enjoyable for 1950s sci-fi fans. The prerecorded tape looks good.

One of the better later entries of the A&C series. The boys appear motivated which was not always the case as their careers wound down, (they separated in 1957). They've got two productive shticks here—the Mardi Gras and the planet Venus. Those costumed Mardi Gras characters are a real hoot and a good chance for Costello to react in his inimitable way. The clownish figures also show how close at times the comedic can be to the grotesque. And catch that parade of pulchritude inhabiting Venus. I'm getting my outer space reservations right away. Looks like Universal hired every tall, shapely starlet in Hollywood for this sequence, including notables Ekberg and Hyer. Then too, the special effects may be cheesy, as expected, but they are elaborate. But what's with the fat Jack Khruschen character, Harry. He comes across as a dopey counterpart to Costello, as though one dim-witted funnyman is not enough. I wonder what the story is there. As in most slapstick, plot doesn't mean much here, just a rack to hang the sketches on. All in all, it's an entertaining 80-minutes of A&C nonsense, with the boys in pretty good form.

Often cited as the team's worst film (which it's not!), this will likely fall in the `guilty pleasure' category for most fans. Vigorous juvenile slapstick merges with Freudian sci-fi in this late entry for the comedy duo (only a handful of movies remained on their Universal contract). Sci-fi elements are of the Saturday matinee variety, totally implausible and full of hokum (eg. CAT WOMEN OF THE MOON). Yet somehow, this provides the appropriate blend for A&C's `dumb and dumber' charades, in which camp elements become a part of the parody and the results are unbridled fantasy nonsense (populating the planet with Miss Universe contestants only adds to the fun). Universal would soon become a heavyweight contributer to the pulp sci-fi cycle of the 50's, yet surprisingly, this surreal spoof pre-dates them all! Thus far, this film has only been issued on VHS, the quality being overall quite good, in keeping with MCA's generally high standards for this format ... however a DVD would be most welcome.