Fireman Save My Child

I've spent years looking for a copy of this film(16mm,dvd,vhs), so I could show it to my kids. The movie is funny, and Spike and the members of his band show why they were the best musicians in the business. They had to be that good to play that demented. I like it and recommend it for movie lovers of all ages.

The movie is about a turn of the century firehouse, with a crew of misfits that are firemen and the department band (when not fighting the fires). There's the usual running gags, plus the mayhem of Spike Jones and his Orchestra. Also, comedy relief provided by comedian Buddy Hackett and straight-man Hugh O'Brien.

Very much a Spike Jones show, although Buddy Hackett was fun to watch, also. The only comparison I can think of (without Spike's music) is Steve Martin's "Roxanne", which was also a comedy about a volunteer Fire Department. Mostly, I very much miss seeing this film on the late-night movie circuit and hope for its return.

Here's another of those 'lost' films that somehow fell through the cracks and don't even show up on Turner Classic Movies at three in the morning, when they tend to play obscure so-so pictures for a cult audience that either sets the tape machine or sits up all night long, staring at the tube. Wish they would revive it, though, for it this is anything but subtle, it does contain several well mounted slapstick situations of the type that flourished in the early days of film, before sound came in. Originally, the film was to have starred Bud Abott and Lou Costello. When they dropped out, the studio inserted Hugh O'Brian, who shortly would incarnate the ultra-serous marshal Wyatt Earp on TV, and Buddy Hackett, just then emerging as a world-class funnyman. The decisive move was to rethink this as a (the?) vehicle for Spike Jones and His City Slickers, a madman band that offered more comedy than music. And, as earlier said about this film itself, they weren't subtle but they sure were funny. Another forgotten film waiting to be found.

I have never seen this film but have heard a lot about it. Just recently, I was reading an Abbott and Costello biography where it quoted Buddy Hackett as saying that he "replaced" Lou in the film when Lou got ill. (Was it another rheumatic fever attack?) I would like to know the origins of the casting and would like to see this film.

It is easy to see that Hugh O'Brian was essaying the Abbott role. But was he funny at one point?

Spike Jones in a movie that was tailored around him? Just zany enough to be a great idea! When Turner Classic Movies does show it at 3 in the morning I'll have the VCR set

I have to start saying it has been a long time since I have seen it, but have seen it 5 or more times; a wonderful little romp that was clearly inspired by the musical/comedy pairings of new or fading stars with musical groups of prominence. Kay Kyser's mysteries would be a good example.

Having Spike Jones unleashed is the best part of the show, as he and his band play many tunes and are a part of the action, doing a fine job of support. Hugh O'Brien plays the face, Buddy Hackett the part rumor has it that was offered to Lou Costello and thus, Abbott and Costello replacing the leads. Don't know if that was true.

all in all, a pleasant movie, but important to have that much Spike Jones and his band on film for history. Wish that it was released, as I haven't seen or heard of it now in two decades. Hope it is not lost