Here Come the Co-eds

Here Come The Co-Eds is a film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. It's directed by Jean Yarbrough and acting support comes from Peggy Ryan, Martha O'Driscoll, June Vincent, Lon Chaney Jr. & Donald Cook. Plot finds the bumbling duo at Bixby College for young ladies, where they get involved in numerous escapades in trying to save the school from closure.

Easily one of Abbott and Costello's best film's, Here Come the Co-Eds finds the boys hitting the high laugh standards they set themselves at their peak. Even the familiar routines are given new life as they seem to respond well to Yarbrough's smooth direction. Top moments are a glue based kitchen sequence, a wrestling match, a basketball game and an excellent boat (on the road) chase finale. Film is boosted considerably by the presence of Phil Spitalny's all-girl 'Hour of Charm' orchestra and the sprightly Peggy Ryan. The latter of which helps provide a show stopper of a tap routine at the basketball match.

Tomfoolery unbound, and with a good production value to boot, this is classic A&C and prescribed to lift the blues. 8/10

The really amazing thing in this film is the progressive nature of the treatment of women's education. The film argues that women should be given equal education to men, a progressive, if not radical position in 1946.

There are a number of wonderful elements in this movie that raise it a notch above the average A and B comedy. Peggy Ryan is absolutely delightful as Costello's love interest. Lou makes the hilarious observation that he feels like Donald O'Connor. Apparently Peggy and Donald were in a series of popular movies just before this time, so the reference is to that fact. Peggy is perfectly cast as she mirrors Lou's innocent boyish quality with her own innocent girlish quality. Peggy's character's name is Patty and I would wager that Charles Schulz's Peppermint Patty character comes from the character in this movie.

The dropping of the handkerchief bit is still hilarious and Costello's trick basketball shooting while in drag is quite enjoyable.

Altogether, it is a delightful mixture which works on many levels. I would put it just below "Time of Their Lives" and "Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein" as my favorite A and B film.

With "Here Come The Co-eds," Abbott & Costello have their funniest film since 1942's "Who Done It." The duo seems more energetic in their performance, and the storyline (two ballroom dancers who find themselves as caretakers at an all-girls college) suits them well.

The "Jonah" routine shines here, and the comic timing the duo display is exquisite. Costello shows his basketball prowess during the climactic basketball game. Also a plus -- a decent supporting cast featuring Peggy Ryan ("She's cuuuuute!") and Lon Chaney Jr. as the deliciously evil head caretaker.

The movie avoids heavy and sluggish moments and is paced well, although one could still due without the music filler. All in all though, a solid effort with solid laughs. 8 out of 10.

Bud and Lou are hapless dance escorts who get fired from their jobs and wind up working as janitors at an all-girl college. Their grumpy supervisor is none other than rough and ready Lon Chaney (THE WOLF MAN). After a series of funny events, the topper comes when Costello has to save the day playing for the girl's basketball team, to win money and save the school.

HERE COME THE CO-EDS is really a pretty good comedy from the team at this mid-point in their careers. It's fun to see Lon Chaney joining in the antics with A&C (Lon would later re-join the duo to reprise his role of the Wolf Man in ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN), and pretty Martha O'Driscoll is easy on the eyes as the model who gains enrollment at the college. Some of the film's assets are a generous amount of humorous sequences that make it worth the effort: Lou eats Oyster Stew with a live oyster; the boys engage in a funny kitchen clean-up; Costello wrestles the Masked Marvel; Bud keeps interrupting Lou while he tries to tell his joke about Jonah and the Whale, and Lou swallows a pair of dice so Bud and Chaney have to toss him around in order to gamble.

It's almost sad to have to say it, but here again there are far too many musical interludes that pop up throughout the course of the good time, and these often bring the gags to a screeching halt. Some tunes are lightweight fluff, though a couple are downright excruciating (like the two violin solos). If not for these breaks, I would rate the movie a bit higher. If you're looking for an entertaining Abbott and Costello film to laugh with, give this one a try. Skip over the musical numbers if you must, but give the comedy a chance. **1/2 out of ****

"Here Come the Co-eds" is another Abbott and Costello early film that's a hodgepodge of a plot. The comics have a couple of funny scenes - the best when they have to clean the quarters they are given when they hire on at Bixby College in the maintenance department. Lou has two other funny scenes - one battling a wild oyster and the other in a wrestling ring.

But this film jumps around and includes some classical music by the girls' school orchestra; then more music and a violin solo, and a big choreographed dance number by the school's cheer team. A very goofy basketball game isn't funny, even with Lou dressed up as a girl for the team.

Some of these other early Abbott and Costello movies made during the war seem very choppy. One wonders if the audiences weren't mostly youngsters then. This film does have a couple of recognizable actors in the supporting cast. Lon Chaney Jr. plays Johnson and Charles Dingle plays Jonathan Kirkland. The rest, including the musicians and the supporting cast are little known Hollywood performers.

I first saw this film on television late night movies. By that time, moviegoers had seen the films of the 1950s with the monsters and adventures that focused on the comedy. Those are much better films, and having seen them, one can recall how these earlier films were something of a letdown in later viewing. I surmise that the relatively higher ratings on IMDb for these early Abbott and Costello films is from fans of the comedy team, and/or people who like the type of silly mixtures of subjects that make up these films.

I just doubt that many movie fans would find this and the other early mixed Bud and Lou films very funny. But, by all means, watch and enjoy the Abbott and Costello Meet series. Those have some very good and funny antics.