Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd

Moviecut—Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd

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Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd

Of Interest only to Die-Hard A & C Fans, this is a Bawdy, Bad Rendering of the Duos Comedic Talents with Lame Slapstick and Their Worst Verbal Puns. Charles Laughton and Hillary Brooke Add a bit of Interest but the Movie just Seems like Old Recycled Stuff and the Result is a Good Try but Ultimately Unfunny and Repetitive. Managing to String a Bunch of Forgettable Songs with a Slew of Forgettable Comedy Skits, the Film is most of the time Borderline Awful and Embarrassing. Far from Their Prime and holding on for Dear Life (they shortly went to a TV Series), Abbott and Costello are still Remembered Fondly, but Certainly Not for this Abysmal Adventure. Worth a Watch for A & C Completest Only.

Capt. William Kidd (Charles Laughton) and his rancorous crew have descended on the port city where Oliver "Puddin' Head" Johnson (Lou Costello) and Rocky Stonebridge (Bud Abbott) work as tavern waiters. Lady Jane asks the two idiots to deliver a love note to the Bruce Martingale. Capt. Kidd takes Capt. Anne Bonney (Hillary Brooke) to find his treasure on Skull Island. Puddin' Head mistakenly switches the treasure map with the love letter. Capt. Kidd shanghais the two idiots for the map but the bumbling continues. This is a pretty broad old comedy. It's not a classic by any means but it has its cute moments. The duo is fun although not terribly funny. Laughton is great as Kidd. I don't think I laughed but I smiled at a lot of it.

In the 17th century, "Death's Head Tavern" waiters Bud Abbott (as Rocky Stonebridge) and Lou Costello (as Oliver "Puddin' head" Feathergill) meet blustery Charles Laughton (as Captain Kidd) and his tall blonde rival Hillary Brooke (as Captain Bonney). Abbott and Lou Costello accidentally obtain a treasure map and use it to join Mr. Laughton and the pirates on a trip to "Skull Island" with young lovers Bill Shirley (as Bruce Martingale) and Fran Warren (as Lady Jane) also venturing forward. This noisy, cluttered musical comedy captures the box office stars and their big name guest at low tide. *** Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (12/27/52) Charles Lamont ~ Lou Costello, Charles Laughton, Bud Abbott, Hillary Brooke

While Abbott & Costello don't make much swash buckling in this story, the color in this color feature is horrible, & the musical numbers even worse, they did one thing right. Charles Laughton as Captain Kidd is easily the films greatest asset. The way he plays off Costello is great. Too bad there is not enough of it to save the film. There is way too little of the boys, & way too much horrible music in a short 70 minute film. Sad thing is the idea could have been so much more. This is one film where the tickets were sold on the title, but the viewers were disappointed. While it is not their worst because of Laughton, it is no where near the teams best film. At least it is the boys in color. Besides Jack & The Beanstalk which also has terrible music & color, this is the only other color film they did. Color me blue that a great idea gets wasted.

One of the worst Abbott and Costello films. It's a boring drag of a movie to sit through. I didn't laugh once but the movie seems less interested in comedy than adventure and romance, both of which are weak at best. Dreadful songs as well. Beautiful Hillary Brooke's career was on a downward slope here and it shows. Charles Laughton appears to be having some fun as Captain Kidd. Unfortunately, I didn't really have fun along with him. I wish I could point to one thing and say "remove that and you have a good picture" but unfortunately I can't. It's just a poorly made unfunny comedy with bad songs and way too much focus on everybody who isn't Abbott and Costello. For A&C completists only.

Considering that Abbott and Costello had done "Meet The Invisible Man" the previous year, this film was a big comedown for them. But then again, considering that around the same period they also did "Comin' Round The Mountain" and "Lost In Alaska", maybe "Meet Captain Kidd" was par for the course. The saddest part here (apart maybe from all the singing that at times makes you feel as if you're watching a second-rate musical) is to observe how few verbal elements have remained in A&C's comedy; instead, their humor has been reduced to the lowbrow, unsophisticated slapstick of mugging, dumb misunderstandings, and people falling down or getting hit with shovels. But sometimes A&C's talent still comes through and the film can make you laugh in spite of yourself. Charles Laughton is loud, bombastic and takes a lot of bumps, to generally unfunny effect; Hillary Brooke is downright sexy as a female captain, and is without a doubt the brightest spot of this movie. (**)

An underwhelming later entry for the comedy team, this is of interest only because it's a color film which provides a chance to see Charles Laughton yucking it up as the title baddie. But there's very little meat to chew on while watching Bud and Lou act as hapless waiters sailing aboard the ship of the mean old Captain Kidd (Laughton). Of course there are many recycled older gags ... two of them include: Lou accidentally dropping a bar of soap into Kidd's soup and producing bubbles from everyone's mouthes (just how exhausted was that routine by this time?), and also Lou having a chance to rough Kidd up a bit while the pirate's hands are chained behind his back. (This latter bit was so much better performed when it was William Bendix as the recipient back in 1943's WHO DONE IT?). Hillary Brooke is on hand as a tough-acting blonde, easier on the eyes than a crew full of obnoxious men. ** out of ****