- Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd
Infobox Film
name = Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd
caption = "Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd" Theatrical Poster
director =Charles Lamont
producer =Alex Gottlieb
writer =Howard Dimsdale
John Grant
starring =Bud Abbott Lou Costello Charles Laughton Hillary Brooke Leif Erickson
music =Raoul Kraushaar
cinematography =
editing =Edward Mann
distributor =Warner Brothers
released =December 27 , 1952
runtime = 70 min.
language = English
budget = $702,000
preceded_by = "Lost in Alaska " (1952)
followed_by = "Abbott and Costello Go to Mars " (1953)
imdb_id = 0044320"Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd" is a 1952 film starring the comedy team of
Abbott and Costello , along withCharles Laughton , who reprised his role as the infamous pirate from the 1945 film "Captain Kidd".Plot
Oliver "Puddin' Head" Johnson (
Lou Costello ) and Rocky Stonebridge (Bud Abbott ) are on their way to Death's Head Tavern, where they work. They encounter Lady Jane (Fran Warren ), who asks them to bring a love note to the tavern singer, Bruce Martingale (Bill Shirley).At the tavern, the notorious Captain Kidd (
Charles Laughton ) is dining with Captain Bonney (Hillary Brooke ), a female pirate. She accuses Kidd of raiding ships in her territory and is asking for restitution. Kidd informs Bonney that he has hidden the amassed treasure on Skull Island, and that only he has the map to its exact location. He agrees to take her, with her ship in tow, to the island so that she can receive her share. During the discussion, Oliver happens to be waiting on them, and inadvertently switches the map for the love note that he was carrying. Rocky discovers the mistake and goes to Captain Kidd, demanding a share of the treasure and a place on the voyage in exchange for the map. Kidd ostensibly agrees, but intends to kill Oliver and Rocky once he gets the map.The voyage begins (with the addition of Bruce, who has been shanghaied), and Kidd unsuccessfully attempts to regain the map throughout the entire voyage. (Meanwhile, Bonney mistakenly believes the love note is for her, and that Oliver wrote it -- further complicating the whole situation). During the voyage, Kidd raids another ship, which happens to have Lady Jane on board, and she is kidnapped.
The two ships finally arrive at Skull Island; Oliver and Rocky begin to dig up the treasure, when Kidd arrogantly declares his plans to dispose of them along with Captain Bonney. They alert Bonney to Kidd's true intentions, and her crew attacks. The treasure is recovered, and Bonney's crew wins the fight, with Kidd becoming her prisoner.
Production
"Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kid" was filmed from
February 27 throughMarch 25 ,1952 . Since Universal would not spend the extra money to make an Abbott and Costello film in color, the duo opted to do it themselves. Using a contractual agreement with Universal allowing them to make one independent film per year, they made the film using Abbott's company, Woodley Productions (and their first color film, "Jack and the Beanstalk", using Costello's company, Exclusive Productions). [Furmanek, Bob and Ron Palumbo (1991). "Abbott and Costello in Hollywood". New York: Perigee Books. ISBN 0-399-51605-0]Shortly after filming was completed, on
April 6 , Abbott and Costello hosted an episode of the "Colgate Comedy Hour " and brought Laughton along as a guest. Later that year, the three of them filmed a two-minute commercial forChristmas Seals .Re-release
It was re-released in
1960 byRKO Pictures .Routines
*"Handcuff Scene", first used in "Who Done It?", is used again here. (This time, Captain Kidd demonstrates to Oliver how handcuffs should be worn by putting them on himself).
References
External links
*
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
