MovieChat Forums > The Time of Their Lives (1946) Discussion > This is the best Abbott and Costello fil...

This is the best Abbott and Costello film


This movie holds up better than most (if not all)Abbott and Costello films. Unlike a lot of Abbott and Costello films that devolve into their vaudeville act or dated song and dance numbers (don't get me wrong all A+C films have their charms)this film has a solid plot (some spooky scenes (check out the seance scene))and some charming acting.

It's also interesting to note that while this is their best film, they have little screen time together.

It's too bad that they didn't make more films like this in their latter years together.

ps: I always thought this would be a great film to remake.

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I heartily agree with you. I started watching their films when i was seven and i always loved this one the best. It's just brilliant! =D

Sheriff of Rottingham: A chastity belt! That's going to chafe my willy!

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Any thoughts on a remake?

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I agree that this is one of their best films. I'm probably a bit older, but I first watched it when I was about 7 or 8, 35 years ago. For an 8 year old, this film had depth, and I thought Lou was fabulous as a Ghost. I wish Universal would have spent more time on the scripts for their movies.

As for a remake, most of the time, I'm not a big fan. However, this could be a good movie to remake. Today, there aren't too many comedy teams out there. I could see Reese Witherspoon as Lou's partner...Maybe that's only because she's attractive, or Zooey Deschanel. As for Lou's part, Kevin James? Probably not. Bud's part could be done by any number of actors, but I think his part should go to a commedian. I'm at a loss. Well, I've added quite a bit to your question.


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You are good, these are great choices. And James is hot right now after Blart.

I just adore this movie, I've been watching it regularly since I was a kid ang Channel 11 in NYC used to play them on Sundays at 11 AM.

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I just adore this movie, I've been watching it regularly since I was a kid ang Channel 11 in NYC used to play them on Sundays at 11 AM.

joebua - man, you just took me back. I remember being glued to the t.v. every Sunday at 11 for Abbott and Costello. That and "Million Dollar Movie" on WOR channel 9, were very fond memories indeed. I think I watched King Kong" 7 times on WOR. They'll still be laughing at Abbott and Costello 200 years from now.

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Me too.
I grew up in NYC, and I used to watch "Million Dollar Movie" on WOR-TV--even though lots of films were cut in order to fit that Procrustean 90 minutes (including commercials) time slot.

Because of the cuts, I don't think I ever got to see the scene where ghosts Mr. Prim and Ms. Allen are starting to get a bit romantic while up in the tree--until the movie got released on DVD decades later.

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Same here - this has always been one of my absolute favorite Abbott and Costello films. The only scene that ever bothered me was when they showed the corpses in the well - I don't remember if it was because I couldn't tell exactly what they were (although I really knew, I couldn't see the bodies themselves too clearly) or if it was because it was more or less grimly realistic how they were just unceremoniously dumped into the well.

I also grew up waiting for Sunday at 11:30 on WPIX-11. Ever since 4th grade when a friend had me over to his house to watch A&C meet Frankenstein, I was hooked on the team and when I discovered their weekly movie, the whole world revolved around that 90 minutes every Sunday.
Later on, after I'd seen every one of them at least twice, it was a chore to judge which movie I would watch - Abbott & Costello on Channel 11 at 11:30, or the Bowery Boys at noon on Channel 5. I nearly wore out the channel knob on our TV switching back and forth for an hour.

Thanks for the memories about the Million Dollar Movie - I can see the intro and hear the music in my head now, but I'd forgotten all about it until now. How about the 4:30 movie on Channel 7 (WABC) - a different theme every week? Ah, those were the days! What television needs now is a huge does of nostalgia and old classics like these. And not just on TCM.

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Dear Alumni72:
Isn't it remarkable that whenever one researches a beloved old film on IMDB "Million Dollar Movie" on WOR gets mentioned! I was born in 1952 and grew up in Brooklyn. T.V. became my babysitter. I remember dozens of films on "Million Dollar Movie". And of course I watched them over and over....I got to know when the COMMERCIALS were coming up! If I happened to be watching an old movie with my dad I would get out of the chair and head for the kitchen a split second before the commercial would start! Drove my dad berserk!
"Yankee Doodle Dandy" was one film that gave me some trouble, though. Due to the fact that it was missing ABOUT ONE HOUR of running time I had problems trying to follow the story. I believe that John Travolta (another Brooklynite) was watching at the same time. I know I watched "Son Of Kong" and "The Last Days Of Pompeii" and "Hold That Ghost" all 16 times they were broadcast. (My poor parents!)
What memories......

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don't do it

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It's one of my faves...and it does enjoy one of the highest ratings by an A&C film on IMDB. I appreciate it for it's change of pace to what they had done before.

That said, I favor "...meets Frankenstein" and "Who Done It" myself. Both of which avoid song and dance sequences as well.

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MEL-O-DY. MEL-O-DY. MEL-O-DY.

That seance scene always freaked me out a little when I was a kid. This is one of my favorite A&C movies too, although it would be very very difficult for me to put them in order of preference. I love so many of them.

Weakest - Little Giant or Dance With Me, Henry

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This is a family favorite, and probably for the very reasons you stated, voodoo1194.

Given the advances in technology, it would be a good film to remake, but it doesn't necessarily follow that it SHOULD be remade.

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voodoo1194 you are right on. This was not their funniest movie, but it was their best. Very different for the guys. Hey, it was unique for any movie being made then. It was funny, scary and patriotic, with a bit of history,all rolled into one film. Very good movie.

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Definitely one of their bests, and very different from their others.

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I agree...this movie is their best and my personal fav!

http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/index.jsp?cid=186977

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[deleted]

Why would you even think such a thing?

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This is my favorite A&C movie -- with "Hold that Ghost" a close second.

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[deleted]

Huh. Maybe it's me who you're talking about, as I can't watch Little Giant without falling asleep.

On the other hand, I enjoy the Coeds movie quite a bit. Maybe I have a thing for Patty.

This, though, is and has always been one of my favorites.

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I believe so, as well. It's always been my favorite of theirs. My sister bought me the 3 volumes of A&C movies, a while back. My son, liked this movie so much, that the DVD this was on is overly scratched, now. I'll just have to buy the whole set, again. I'm just glad that my son could (and still can) appreciate some old films, at an even earlier age than I did. I mean I liked some Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis movies, early, only because my hometown is Dean's birthplace, so of course I'd have been exposed to some of his films'. Then, there was the yearly airings of 'Sound of Music', 'Wizard of Oz', 'Gone With the Wind' and 'White Christmas', but other than that, until I found AMC in the 90's, I was anti-old films, or so I believed myself to be. My son was much more open to them, much earlier, probably because I'd become a full fledged classic film loyalist, by the time he was born, so he was seeing them early on.

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