classicsoncall As a kid, there were two kinds of movies I always watched - all the ones with Abbott and Costello in them, and anything having to do with wild jungle animals. Catching this one back in the day then was obviously a bonus, how many times could lightning strike like this for a young movie fan! Of course back then, I wouldn't have known too much about all of the supporting players who appear here, so watching it today was a real trip down memory lane. Hillary Brooke of course was a regular on the comedy pair's TV show, usually going by her real name, while Joey Besser also had a fair share of appearances there as a character named 'Stinky' Davis. Besser's former 'Three Stooges' team member also shows up here as a sight challenged safari member named Gunner who gets to do a couple of gimmicks with Lou.Then of course you have the most famous pair of wild animal experts of the era in Clyde Beatty and that 'Bring 'em Back Alive' guy Frank Buck. All but unknown today, they were like household names for me as I did my wild animal research back in the Fifties. On top of all that though, you've got a couple of pro boxing brothers here in the way of Max and Buddy Baer, and even though their connection to the sport isn't specifically mentioned in the story, I got a kick out of Buddy's remark as his character Boots Wilson got into a scrap with Grappler McCoy - "I'll hit you harder than Louis ever did" - a cool reference to Ring Magazine's 1924 Fight of the Year in which Joe Louis beat Max in the fourth round of their heavyweight bout.With all that, the story here is almost superfluous, but filled with plenty of Abbott and Costello's traditional gags, and plenty of wild animals to boot! Interestingly, as straight man Buzz Johnson, Abbott faints dead away at the sight of crocodiles, lions and gorillas, leaving his partner to handle all the double takes and feigned fear of becoming part of the lunch menu. Watching as a kid, that scene of Lou seeing the 'Orangatan Gargantua' just blew me away, something I had forgotten about until that scene played out this time around.

Bill Slocum Lou Costello's considerable charisma and Bud Abbott's twisting the bonds of friendship even more perversely than usual aren't quite enough to make this worthwhile, but fans may find pleasant reminders of their overall greatness.Mild-mannered bookstore employee Stanley Livington (Lou) is drafted by co-worker Buzz Johnson (Bud) when a beautiful woman (Hillary Brooke) offers $2,500 for a copy of a map made of a location in Africa only Stanley has seen. The woman plans to swipe the map and roll the pair, but that changes when Buzz gets wind of how much wealth could be involved. Buzz and Stanley end up joining the safari, Stanley most unwillingly. He's afraid enough of kittens, never mind lions and gorillas.Asked mid-expedition why he wants to go home, Stanley says it's because he forgot something: "I forgot to stay there."Watching Bud & Lou in their post-"Meet Frankenstein" period is always dicey. Both the laughs and the sets were getting cheaper as the pair fell from their plateau of being prime moneymakers. As a rare independent-studio venture, "Africa Screams" is cheaper still, with a slapdash script and a supporting cast that consisted largely of non-actor cameos outside of Brooke, rotund girly-man Joe Besser, and Shemp Howard as a squinty, bespectacled hunter whose function in the story is as clouded as his vision.There's also lion tamer Clyde Beatty and renowned hunter Frank Buck playing themselves, along with brothers Max and Buddy Baer, well-known fighters of the period, playing the Brooke character's muscle. Several black actors assay thankless lackey roles, being called "boy" every now and again, though Stanley is as well. Then again, when you are treated with as much respect as Lou Costello in an Abbott & Costello movie, you have a case for unfair denigration.Bud's depraved indifference to Lou's welfare achieves new lows. In other A&C vehicles Bud turned Lou over to the Redcoats and even tried to guilt him into committing suicide, but here the greed of Bud's character drives him to a kind of madness. Buzz shops Stanley's welfare out to everyone, caught up in visions of yachts and polo ponies. At one point he grudgingly throws Stanley a nickel."I give you an opportunity to make me $2,500, and this is the thanks I get," Buzz huffs.Buzz does have one of those "I-can't-believe-I-killed-my-buddy" scenes when his dead buddy comes over and joins him for a good cry, but otherwise he's a heel, and a pretty demented one as well. If the writers did a little more with that, it could have represented Bud's most dynamic showcase, but they seem content trotting out old jokes about alligators and monkeys. At least they don't attempt an African version of "Who's On First.""Africa Screams" does amuse, with seasoned Abbott & Costello director Charles Barton getting the most from his two game stars, but it also runs out of steam well before the picture is halfway over. It does rally a bit in the end, and provides a final couple of minutes that's up there with "Frankenstein" and "The Time Of Their Lives" for best A&C capper. Still, if you aren't a hardcore A&C fan you may have tuned out well before then.

dougdoepke Wow! The usually frumpy Costello looks positively dapper in his snazzy salesman's suit at movie's start. Superior A&C comedy with good routines, productive premise, and unusual cast. The boys get to chase around the wilds of a Hollywood sound stage pretending (not very hard) to be adventuring in darkest Africa. Of course, Lou gets to do his slow-to-catch- on routine as crocodiles, gorillas, and other assorted man-eating critters nuzzle up in humorously menacing fashion. I love it, though, when that savage-looking kitten scares the be-Jesus out of him in a downtown department store, no less.And whose great idea was it to load up the cast with some real characters. Take the giant Baer brothers, Max and Buddy, for example. Together they look like they could tear down the Empire State building without a wreaking ball. Not exactly, your usual movie types, and when they start scuffling, you can almost feel the ground shake. Then too, what an inspiration to stick coke-bottle glasses on Shemp Howard of Three Stooges fame and turn him into a nearly blind big-game hunter! So, better hide the house pets. But I really am curious how little, fat comedian Joe Besser snuck on set when the movie already had a little, fat comedian who's a lot funnier. Add real life adventurers Clyde Beatty and Frank Buck, along with the always regal Hillary Brooke who glitters, as usual, but never gets in on the fun, and it all adds up to a lively and entertaining bunch of characters. Perhaps best of all, A&C are still looking fresh in their roles, and if some of the routines wheeze a bit, the boys are still able to give them the needed lift, something they did not do in the last few years before the final 1956 break-up. Sure, this kind of nonsense is not everyone's cup of tea. But I defy even the sourest sour-puss not to surrender a few chuckles as the boys bumble along Africa-style.

Michael O'Keefe One of the last features from the enduring comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. Fun here for the entire family. You get everything you expect to see. Abbott conniving straight man to Costello's bumbling dunce. This time Abbott plays Buzz Johnson, a bookstore clerk while Costello is an addled assistant Stanley Livington. This fast-paced, oddball comedy has Livington pretending to be a big game hunter and his buddy Buzz leading a safari through Africa. Hillary Brooke hires the two to find a huge gorilla, while she and some gangster types are really searching for diamonds. The typical situational and slapstick comedy. Rounding out the cast: Clyde Beatty, Frank Buck, Max Baer, Buddy Baer and Joe Besser. You will immediately recognize Shemp Howard of Three Stooges fame. Enjoyable.