weezeralfalfa Clearly this adaptation of the classic fairytale has a number of basic similarities to the prior 1939 "The Wizard of Oz" The dream portion takes place high up in the sky, where there is a scary person or 2 that rules the land. Sepia or B&W film is used for the non-dream portions at the beginning and end.(I much prefer the B&W choice over sepia for the present film. Both are available at YouTube). A number of musical numbers are included, some with dance, some individual, others group sings. Certainly, those from "The Wizard" are more memorable.In this version, a number of people besides jack either climb the beanstalk, or are captured by the giant. This includes Abbott, as Mr. Dinklepuss, who climbs the beanstalk with Lou, as Jack. Princess Eloise (Shaye Cogan) and Prince Arthur(James Alexander)who were captured. Also, Polly(Dorothy Ford), who serves as the giant's maid, and presumably was captured as well. As in "The Wizard of Oz", all these characters are based on people Jack(or Dorothy) knew.In this version (there have been many versions in the details), the nameless giant(played by Buddy Baer) stole Jack's chicken who lays golden eggs, as well as the cow Jack exchanged for 5 magic beans from Dinkel. Just how the giant managed to descend to earth without a magic beanstalk and transport the cow plus the people up to his sky kingdom is not considered. Later, he needed the beanstalk to descend. Abbott and Costello begin as supposed babysitters for a Denice-the-Menace-type boy(Donald) and his infant sister. Lou is supposed to read "Jack and the Beanstalk" to Donald, but he stumbles in his reading, so they decide to reverse roles. Lou falls asleep and has this dream. At the end of the film, when Lou is awakening, he says "crown me", meaning the king put a crown on his head. Well, Donald 'crowns' him with a porcelain pitcher! A funny sequence is when Jack mixes some gunpowder in with the chicken feed. When he cooks their eggs, they explode like firecrackers. A&C are standing next to each other, and Lou notices that his shadow is notable longer than Abbott's, despite Abbott's greater height. Turns out the giant is standing behind Lou.After Prince Arthur sings the romantic ballad "Darlene" to Darlene(also known as Princess Eloise), he later sings another romantic ballad to her: "Dreamer's Cloth", and she responds in kind. Costello and Polly also dance to this tune. At 6'2" in bare feet, Polly looked ridiculous dancing with 5'5" Lou. In one segment, she kept bopping his head with her rotating elbows and otherwise jarring his head. Funny. Remember, she was serving as the giant's maid. Thus, before the others showed up, the household consisted of 2 giants, as ex-boxer Buddy Baer, who played the giant, was 6'7".The giant gives Abbott the job of putting his magic hen and jewels away. Bad idea. Abbott and Prince Arthur conspire to steal these, which they eventually succeed at. But Abbott loses them on the way down the beanstalk, the villagers below gathering them. The title song: "Jack and the Beanstalk" is sung during the credits, when Jack and Dinkelpuss begin climbing the magic stalk, and in the finale, when the people arrive from the beanstalk. In the finale, the villagers also sing "He Never Looked Better in his Life", in reference to the now deceased giant.On the whole, this is one of the more interesting A&C films I've seen, especially suitable for children. The musical scenes fit in well with the rest of the screenplay, and there is a good amount of A&C-style humor. Lou's brother,Pat, wrote the screenplay and served as executive producer of this independently produced film.

utgard14 Abbott and Costello tackle a classic fairy tale in this enjoyable comedy. Aimed more at kids, it still has appeal for adult viewers I think. There are a lot of nice bits of comedy and some pleasant songs. Like the Wizard of Oz, the parts in the real world are filmed in sepia tone and the fantasy part (the bulk of the movie) is in color. Bud and Lou are both having a good time playing outside their usual type of movie and it shows. Lou especially seems into it. The Giant is played by Buddy Baer, younger brother of former heavyweight champ Max Baer. Shaye Cogan and Dorothy Ford are very pretty and likable. Mel Blanc provides the voices for the harp and animals. He's always fun. This was the first Abbott & Costello movie I ever saw. I was a kid then and over the years I've seen many more plus episodes of the TV show. It's a charming movie for kids and adults who don't take themselves too seriously.

Dave from Ottawa Bud Abbott has only a smallish role in this mostly-for-kids musical comedy which stars Lou Costello as the dim-witted Jack who is swindled into buying 'magic beans'. The classic bedtime story is given a somewhat soundstage-bound treatment but still has a nice fantasy look and good production values with the Giant's castle being a particular treat, especially when viewed from the perspective of Lou's frequent fright-takes. Fans of the comedy team should beware that, without his partner Abbott setting him up for much of the picture, Lou sometimes strains overmuch to get laughs and his performance is a bit uneven in a title role that vacillates uneasily between child- like disingenuousness and farce.

Randy Cliff For us, an Abbott and Costello movie is something you have to be in the mood for. I'm very happy I recorded this -- my wife remembered it from when she was young, but I had never seen it. The family wanted to watch something not too serious before bed and this was selected.Our daughter has watched many of the old movies with us -- always complaining in the beginning, but most often coming around. She mostly ignored this in the beginning, preferring to check her email, but she started enjoying herself -- many times laughing out loud to the zaniness.It's wonderful to think you can have a fun evening with a 55yr old. The mono-colour introduction that blends into the full-colour fairy tale. It's a fun twist of a story that everyone is familiar with, that includes a little song and a little dance, along with everything you expect Lou and Bud to delivery.Watch it with your children and have a very fun evening!