One of the most influential comedies in television history, The Abbott and Costello Show – Season 1 makes its Blu-ray debut from ClassicFlix with all 26 stunningly sharp episodes in this 3-disc set.
When Bud Abbott and Lou Costello became part of the permanent rotating group of weekly hosts on TV's The Colgate Comedy Hour, it revitalized their careers and led to the birth of The Abbott and Costello Show, a syndicated half-hour program that premiered in 1952. The premise of the show was disarmingly simple: Bud and Lou played themselves, a pair of unemployed actors living in a rooming house run by the apoplectic Sid Fields, also playing himself.
Easing their way through life in a neighborhood where crooks and sharpies lay in wait around every corner, and women walk right up to Costello for no other reason than to slap his face ("How dare you look like someone I hate!”), Bud and Lou keep the show fresh with new routines, but also perform many of their classics, including "Who's on First?", "Dice", "7 x 13 = 28" and so many, many more.
Newly restored from original 35mm master elements by the 3-D Film Archive, in cooperation with the Library of Congress, The Abbott and Costello Show – Season 1 features Hillary Brooke (as Lou's cultured girlfriend), Gordon Jones (as stupefyingly dumb "Mike the Cop"), Joe Besser (as "Stinky"), Joe Kirk (as "Mr. Bacciagalupe"), Bingo the Chimp, as well as many other well-known TV and film entertainers.
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BONUS FEATURES
• Saving the Negatives Featurette with Bob Furmanek
• Audio Commentaries by Lou Antonicello, Paul Castiglia, Ray Faiola, Stu Fink, Shane Fleming, Gilbert Gottfried, Bob Greenberg, Jim Mulholland, Gerry Orlando, Ron Palumbo, Toby Roan, Lou Sabini, Frank Santopadre, Jack Theakston and Michael Townsend Wright
• Original Non-Audience Tracks (Two complete episodes and six partial episodes.)
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EPISODE LIST
1. Drug Store (10/7/52)
2. Dentist (10/14/52)
3. Jail (10/21/52)
4. Vacation (10/28/52)*
5. Lou's Birthday Party (11/4/52)*
6. Alaska (11/11/52)*
7. Vacuum Cleaner Salesman (11/18/52)
8. Army (11/25/53)
9. Pots and Pans (12/2/52)
10. Charity Bazaar (12/9/52)
11. The Western (12/16/52)*
12. Haunted House (12/23/52)*
13. Peace and Quiet (12/30/52)
14. Hungry (1/6/53)*
15. Music Lover (1/13/53)*
16. Politician (1/20/53)***
17. Wrestling (1/27/53)***
18. Getting a Job (2/3/53)* **
19. Chimpanzee (2/10/53)***
20. Hillary's Birthday (2/17/53)***
21. Television Show (2/24/53)* **
22. Las Vegas (3/3/53)***
23. Little Old Lady (3/10/53)
24. Actor's Home (3/17/53)*
25. Police Rookie (3/24/53)
26. Safari (3/31/53)***
* Audio Commentary available.
** With and without audience laugh track.
*** With full and partial audience laugh track.
(Syndicated, beginning October 1951. Any hard date applied to the premiere of an episode will not be accurate. Episodes aired in a different order on different dates in various markets.)
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EPISODES GUIDE
Disc 1: Episodes 1-9
1. Drug Store (10/7/52)
Mr. Fields sends the boys, who are eight weeks behind on their rent, to work in his brother's drug store with disastrous results.
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2. Dentist (10/14/52)
After a dentist fails to cure Lou’s toothache, Bud schemes to get his partner arrested so he can receive free treatment in jail.
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3. Jail (10/21/52)
Mrs. Crumbcake sues Lou for 79¢, but Bud and their attorney won’t let Lou settle with her. Costello lands in jail with a cellmate who becomes enraged at the mention of “Niagara Falls.”
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4. Vacation (10/28/52)
Bud and Lou prepare for a vacation at the Biltmore Hotel near Phoenix, but Bud worries that Fields will rent their apartment while they’re away.
Audio Commentary by Gerry Orlando.
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5. Lou's Birthday Party (11/4/52)
After nearly poisoning the guests at his birthday party, Lou consoles himself by ordering a giant cake at Baccigalup’s bakery.
Audio Commentary by Lou Sabini.
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6. Alaska (11/11/52)
The boys plan to join Lou’s uncle, who has struck gold in Alaska, but are delayed by a bank robbery and then are literally stuck when Lou makes Bud a foot bath using quick-drying cement.
Audio Commentary by Ray Faiola.
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7. Vacuum Cleaner Salesman (11/18/52)
Bud and Lou visit the employment agency run by Mr. Fields’ brother, and Lou lands a job selling vacuum cleaners door-to-door.
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8. Army (11/25/52)
The boys join the National Guard and undergo physicals, shoot dice in the barracks, and go through drill practice.
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9. Pots and Pans (12/2/52)
To demonstrate the quality of the cookware he sells door-to-door, Lou attempts to make a duck dinner for the gang. What could go wrong?
Disc 2: Episodes 10-18
10. Charity Bazaar (12/9/52)
The boys help out at Hillary’s charity bazaar, where Costello spends his cash at the kissing booth and Abbott raises money with the old shell game.
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11. The Western (12/16/52)
Bud and Lou trek to Arizona to visit Hillary at her uncle’s ranch and tangle with cattle rustler Black Bart.
Audio Commentary by Toby Roan.
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12. Haunted House (12/23/52)
Abbott and Costello accompany Hillary to her deceased uncle’s haunted castle, which she will inherit if she spends the night there.
Audio Commentary by Paul Castiglia.
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13. Peace and Quiet (12/30/52)
Suffering from insomnia, Lou sees a psychiatrist who prescribes a sleep-inducing record. When that fails, Bud checks him into a sanitarium.
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14. Hungry (1/6/53)
Baccigalup’s meatballs, twin waitresses, and an exceptionally fresh oyster stew frustrate Costello’s quest for hearty meal.
Audio Commentary by Ron Palumbo.
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15. Music Lover (1/13/53)
Hillary’s father wants her to marry a man with musical talent, so Lou takes singing lessons with Professor Melonhead and Bud concocts a way to make Costello look like a piano virtuoso.
Audio Commentary by Stu Fink.
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16. Politician (1/20/53)
Abbott schemes to photograph Fields assaulting Costello so the boys can sue the landlord. When the plan fails, Bud decides that Lou should run for public office.
With full and partial audience laugh track.
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17. Wrestling (1/27/53)
Mike the Cop arranges for Lou and Stinky to settle their differences in a wrestling match, but when Stinky falls ill, Lou is forced to wrestle his kid brother, Ivan the Terrible.
With full and partial audience laugh track.
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18. Getting a Job (2/3/53)
Bud has a new job loafing in a bakery and insists that Lou get a job, too. After Costello runs into trouble delivering hats to the Susquehanna Hat Company, the boys use an unorthodox strategy at Fields’ Employment Agency.
Audio Commentary by Gilbert Gottfried and Frank Santopadre. With and without audience laugh track.
Disc 3: Episodes 19-26
19. Chimpanzee (2/10/53)
Working in a pet shop, the boys bring home a chimp, Bingo, but learn that the animal must have a license and that Mr. Fields prohibits pets.
With full and partial audience laugh track.
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20. Hillary's Birthday (2/17/53)
Mr. Fields posts new house rules, but Lou, at Bud’s insistence, infuriates the landlord by playing loud music during Hillary’s birthday party.
With full and partial audience laugh track.
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21. Television Show (2/24/53)
Bud and Lou appear on the TV game show “Hold That Cuckoo” and Costello wins a pack a bubblegum. A drunken neighbor slips on the gum outside the rooming house and takes Mr. Fields to court for negligence.
Audio Commentary by Jim Mulholland. With and without audience laugh track.
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22. Las Vegas (3/3/53)
The boys win a trip to Las Vegas and invite Hillary to come along. After they buy a used car to get there, Lou loses all his money without placing a bet.
With full and partial audience laugh track.
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23. Little Old Lady (3/10/53)
The boys play games at an amusement park to win enough money to help a little old lady who has been dispossessed. (Mel Blanc voiced the parrot.)
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24. Actor's Home (3/17/53)
A philanthropist gives the boys two $500 bills, but Bud assumes they are fake and tears them up. When he learns the money was real, Bud loses his mind and is taken to the Retired Actor’s Home.
Audio Commentary by Lou Antonicello, Shane Fleming, Bob Greenberg, Jack Theakston and Michael Townsend Wright.
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25. Police Rookie (3/24/53)
The boys enroll in the police academy, where Professor Melonhead tries to whip them into shape and Lou terrorizes everyone at the firing range. (Martial arts expert John Halloran makes a cameo appearance.)
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26. Safari (3/31/53)
When Bingo becomes ill, Lou figures that the chimp misses his family, so the entire gang heads to the Belgian Congo to find Bingo’s father.
With full and partial audience laugh track. |
Overview
