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Africa Screams (1949) In this Abbott & Costello comedy romp, the boys find themselves in hot water again in DARKEST LAFF-RICA! (from an actual tag-line, not kidding.) It was debuted in theaters on it's initial venture. At some point the copyright holder failed to renew the copyright so it tumbled into Public Domain in 1977... as a result there were dozens of VHS and DVD releases (there are a few links below, if you have the notion to buy one)
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WHAT DID YOU THINK OF "africa screams"?
Nod Review
Africa Screams was supposed to be a Jungle-Themed vehicle for the then-hot comedy duo, Abbott & Costello, and it was. However, this 1949 movie also featured an impressive cast including a famous animal trainer, an actual big game hunter and two lost stooges.
Africa Screams was supposed to be a Jungle-Themed vehicle for the then-hot comedy duo, Abbott & Costello, and it was. However, this 1949 movie also featured an impressive cast including a famous animal trainer, an actual big game hunter and two lost stooges.
The Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Clyde Beatty, Frank Buck, Max Baer, Buddy Baer, Hillary Brooke, Shemp Howard and Joe Besser. Written by Earl Baldwin. Directed by Charles Barton.
Abbott & Costello were still riding high on the Box Office success of Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein (which I believe was a forerunner of the modern Horror-Comedy Genre.)
The title is spoof on Africa Speaks, another more serious Jungle Movie that is also in Public Domain. I’m giving Africa Screams 4 out of 5 Nods. Here’s a few reasons why:
Abbott & Costello were still riding high on the Box Office success of Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein (which I believe was a forerunner of the modern Horror-Comedy Genre.)
The title is spoof on Africa Speaks, another more serious Jungle Movie that is also in Public Domain. I’m giving Africa Screams 4 out of 5 Nods. Here’s a few reasons why:
- Costello’s antics could seem annoying to today’s audience. Once you get used to him, he was actually quite funny and had a certain amount of charm.
- The film starts out in a bookstore where our heroes work as clerks. They are embroiled into a scheme to go to Africa by following a map that Stanley Livingston (Costello) has memorized.
- I watched several versions of this movie, while they all seem to be the same content-wise there are several Black and White Versions, at least one Color one and an effort underway to preserve a remastered 3-D version. The project appears to be fully funded: Save Abbott and Costello’s AFRICA SCREAMS! I must say, I prefer the original black and white version. Probably because I'm an old school film guy and grew watching movies like this on TV endlessly.
- Seeing Shemp Howard and Joe Besser in the supporting cast was fantastic, they bring a little Three Stooges type shenanigans to the mix.