mike48128
Ginny Sims sings four times! Even one at the finish! That being said, the rest of the film is pretty good, Lou is very funny as the worst ice skating waiter ever. Some pretty-fancy ice dancing and a great location. Here a song seems to fit in. The ski-chase climax would have us believe that bumbling "Tubby" is a whiz on skis. Sheldon Leonard plays his usual gangster self and threatens to "take care of everybody". Most of that action is predictable, and the only thing that spices it up is that he thinks that Bud and Lou are "the shooters from Detroit" and they get mistakenly blamed for the bank robbery. There is a doctor, nurse, singer, and a band leader along for the romance (yawn.) Back to the chase: It involves everything from sled dogs to a (man in a) polar bear suit! Somehow "Tubby" gets the idea he was proposed to and shows up at the train station with flowers and formal wear. As the before-mentioned "4 lovers" pull away at the station, he loses his pants, once again, on the mailbag hook! If not for the chases, I would have only gave it a "7". Terrible songs!
www1125
Not one of Abbott and Costello's best, but it still manages to be above average. The film certainly ranks above a lot of their later films, and it captures them still in their prime, and it's the last time Costello has the same perfect quality he had in their previous films(after this film, Lou was stricken with rheumatic fever, and recovered only to have his baby boy drown two days prier to his first birthday. After these events, Lou was never quite the same. He was always hilarious and lovable, he just had a difficult time giving his all to the parts anymore.) The ice skating scene is a Lou Costello highlight, as is the ski scene. This film also features the best version of "Pack/Unpack".
JoeKarlosi
Enjoyable-enough Abbott and Costello romp where they start out as two average photographers, only to get mixed up with a group of bank robbers lead by Sheldon Leonard. The crooks mistake Bud and Lou (called Flash and Tubby here) for hired hit men when they talk of "how many people they've shot". This leads to the boys becoming nailed for a robbery, and they have to get away to the snowy Alps while trying to expose the real bad guys and prove their innocence. Nothing original, but Abbott and Costello have a few good comic routines to keep you laughing. Among the high points are: Bud constantly telling Lou to "Pack!" and then "Unpack!" when he can't make up his mind if they should get out of town or not. Also featured is the "Alright!" bit where Lou tries to impress glamor gal Ginny Simms by "playing the piano" for her while Bud hides in the background with a record player, waiting for his friend's cue. Speaking of Miss Simms, she's rather a detriment to these proceedings at times, often bursting into singing which slows things to a snail-like pace. And what's more, her songs aren't very good. **1/2 out of ****
george.schmidt
HIT THE ICE (1943) *** Bud Abbott, Lou Costello,Ginny Simms. Fast and freewheeling Abbott and Costello comedy with the boys as inept street photographers mistaken for bank robbers on the trail of the real thugs to clear their names. Pratfalls aplenty in Sun Valley.
AD
