Michael_Elliott Dance with Me, Henry! (1956) ** (out of 4) Bud Abbott and Lou Costello's final picture together isn't quite as bad as its reputation but there's no question that both stars didn't appear to have their heart in it. Bud finds himself in trouble due to a gambling debt while Lou is trying to keep two orphans who he has been taking care of. Soon both sides are coming together as the boys must try and figure out a way to save themselves and the children. DANCE WITH ME, HENRY! has all sorts of problems including the boys wanting to try and do something a tad bit more serious. The problem with that here is that the serious side really isn't all that serious but instead it's more sugar-coated sentimental stuff that just comes off as fake and very forced. These scenes aren't really that funny when they try to be and they're not very dramatic when they try to be so they just really come across as flat. Another problem is that the comedy stuff really isn't up the high levels one would expect from the duo. I think Costello comes off the best as he at least gets a couple good one-liners and manages to come across decent but there's no denying that he has very little chemistry with Abbott. It really does seem like both of them weren't wanting to do this movie as their screen time together is mostly flat and just reminds you that much better times are to be found in earlier films. None of the supporting cast really jumps off the screen so this here doesn't help. If you're familiar with what was going on in both of their lives I think it's safe to say that making a movie wasn't a very high priority. Even though the relationship ends on a rather sour note, the two gave us so many great movies so this one here can be forgiven.

bkoganbing In 1955 after Abbott&Costello Meet The Mummy, Bud and Lou finished their long stint with Universal Pictures. They did one more film, an independent released by United Artists titled Dance With Me Henry.The title comes from a hit song of the time that her nibs, Miss Georgia Gibbs had a hit record of. It's heard instrumentally at some points in the film. The film has a role reversal of sorts, Bud is a shiftless gambler who owes some big money to gangster Ted DeCorsia because of some bad bets and Lou is the owner of a small amusement park, beloved by the kids especially the orphans from a home run by Father Frank Wilcox. Lou being the good hearted soul that he is takes Bud in.But the gangsters want their money from Bud and if not they want him to go to work for them on some jobs like a bank heist they pulled just recently. Lou arranges to meet the District Attorney Robert Shayne and tell him what he knows. But then at the amusement park the DA is killed by DeCorsia's chief henchman Richard Reeves and Reeves also hides the loot from the job because he's planning a double cross. It's quite a jackpot the boys have themselves in, but there's a providence that watches out over innocents in films. And in Dance With Me Henry, Lou is almost Stan Laurel like in his innocence.That's what's missing in Dance With Me Henry. The old burlesque routines that one expects from an Abbott&Costello film just aren't here for their fans to savor. Abbott who's usually a sharpie and always putting stuff over on Costello is the idiot here and it doesn't wear well on him. He's also put on a lot of pounds and he's almost as rotund as Costello. Lou's character is something new, as if he was trying to explore new vistas.The film didn't go over so good and the boys split up the following year. And Lou would do one solo feature film before his demise two years later. Dance With Me Henry is not a horrible film, but it just isn't what I and other fans came to expect from Bud and Lou. They deserved something better as a farewell.

steve5plums Dance With Me Henry was Abbott and Costello's last movie together and because of that I felt it was interesting to watch. Was it a good movie for Abbott and Costello? Not really as I would rate it as only fair. However, I don't judge it as harshly as others. I thought Lou Costello looked pretty good in the movie, but it was Bud Abbott who looked a little wore out. I don't blame Bud so much because I believe his part was poorly written. He wasn't able to get into that playful verbal banter that made the boys famous because his part of a gambler seemed kind of awkward for what was going on in the movie. Overall, I think this movie should be watched by Abbott and Costello fans just to see the boys in their final movie even though most would rank it lower than most of their other movies.

jimddddd Watching "Dance With Me Henry," I felt as if I were trapped in some kind of purgatory. There is nothing funny or entertaining about this film. It simply goes on and on, interminably, with no suspense or narrative drive. The characters are cardboard, the dialogue wooden, the pacing leaden. Because of the film's title, I kept expecting the song "Dance With Me, Henry" to be part of the story, but it was only hinted at in the incidental music and sung, very briefly, by a minor character in one throw-away scene. Otherwise, there was no point to the title. I say this because "Dance With Me Henry" by Georgia Gibbs was a #1 hit in 1955. It was a whitewashed cover of a #1 R&B song by Etta James called "Roll With Me, Henry," which in turn was an answer to Hank Ballard's "Work With Me, Annie," the biggest-selling rhythm & blues record of 1954. I have no idea why Abbott & Costello would finish out their career with a movie that took the title of a popular song and then throw that song away. In any event, I would rather sit through 100 spins of Georgia Gibbs' dreary "Dance With Me, Henry" than have to watch this horrible movie again.