The Abbott and Costello Show

The Abbott and Costello Show

1952
The Abbott and Costello Show
The Abbott and Costello Show

The Abbott and Costello Show

8.1 | TV-G | en | Comedy

Bud and Lou are unemployed actors living in Mr. Fields’ boarding house. Lou’s girlfriend Hillary lives across the hall. Many situations arise leading to slapstick and puns.

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Seasons & Episodes

2
1
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EP26  Barber Lou
May. 01,1954
Barber Lou

Lou tries to give Bud a rubdown following instructions from a radio show, but he's tuned into a program explaining how to paint a car at home.

EP25  Fall Guy
Apr. 24,1954
Fall Guy

Bud and Lou want to take two sisters on a date but their father convinces the boys to put an antenna on his roof instead.

EP24  Beauty Contest Story
Apr. 17,1954
Beauty Contest Story

When Bud and Lou judge a beauty contest, pressure is applied to sway their votes.

EP23  Fencing Master
Apr. 10,1954
Fencing Master

A mad scientist's experiment convinces Lou that he is indestructible.

EP22  Honeymoon House
Apr. 03,1954
Honeymoon House

When Bud and Mr. Fields help Lou put together a prefab house in order to impress his fiancée and her parents, a jealous former boyfriend sabotages their work.

EP21  The Pigeon
Mar. 27,1954
The Pigeon

Bud and Lou's beautiful next door neighbor uses Lou as a decoy to help break up with her mobster boyfriend.

EP20  Well Oiled
Mar. 20,1954
Well Oiled

Bud and Lou help Mr. Fields, who is being threatened with a lawsuit. Lou poses as a Texas millionaire to help discredit the complainant.

EP19  Bank Holdup
Mar. 13,1954
Bank Holdup

Bud and Lou unwittingly take jobs as armed bodyguards for a couple of hoodlums and assist in a bank robbery. They use their share of money to pay their rent, and later try to get it back from Mr. Fields' safe.

EP18  Public Enemies
Mar. 06,1954
Public Enemies

Lou is mistaken for a crook named Dapper Dan and is forced to take part in a robbery.

EP17  The Tax Return
Feb. 27,1954
The Tax Return

Lou receives a tax refund check for $1,000,000. He takes the check to a bank and demands cash. He is subsequently followed by home by crooks.

EP16  Private Eye
Feb. 20,1954
Private Eye

After receiving his private eye diploma from the Watchdo Correspondence School, Lou helps a friend locate some valuable bonds in a haunted house.

EP15  Uncle from New Jersey
Feb. 13,1954
Uncle from New Jersey

When Mr. Fields is just about to evict the boys, Bud convinces him that Lou's Uncle Ruppert is a millionaire and Lou is the sole heir. Complications arise, however, when Mike the Cop begins to believe that the visiting uncle (Lou in disguise) has been murdered.

EP14  Wife Wanted
Feb. 06,1954
Wife Wanted

When Lou finds out he will inherit $10,000 provided that he has a wife, he tries to marry a former girlfriend—who is dating a man named Bonebender Brodsky.

EP13  Car Trouble
Jan. 30,1954
Car Trouble

When Lou wins a car, Bud sells it to buy a cheaper one, using the profits to try to finance a vacation in Flint, Michigan.

EP12  Efficiency Experts
Jan. 23,1954
Efficiency Experts

Bud and Lou land jobs as efficiency experts, and are assigned to restrain their client’s daughters from spending money. The young women, however, get the boys to buy them expensive dresses and take them to a casino, where they end up in a brawl.

EP11  Amnesia
Jan. 16,1954
Amnesia

Lou is in love with a girl he has never met. As a gag, Bud and his friends convince him that he has already married the girl. The woman who poses as his wife then makes his existence miserable.

EP10  $1,000 TV Prize
Jan. 09,1954
$1,000 TV Prize

Lou wins a $1,000 dollar prize pretending to be Mr. Fields. He then has to get Mr. Fields out of the way so he can collect it.

EP9  From Bed to Worse
Jan. 02,1954
From Bed to Worse

Bud and Lou attempt to plant a backyard garden in order to win a cash prize offered by a civic group.

EP8  South of Dixie
Dec. 26,1953
South of Dixie

Lou accidentally lands himself and Bud roles in a Civil War melodrama.

EP7  Cheap Skates
Dec. 19,1953
Cheap Skates

Bud and Lou accidentally buy a crate of roller-skates, not knowing that they have stolen diamonds hidden inside.

EP6  Killer's Wife
Dec. 12,1953
Killer's Wife

When a heavyweight prize fighter named Killer thinks that Lou is having an affair with his wife, Bud attempts to get Lou trained and fit in a gym.

EP5  Pest Exterminators
Dec. 05,1953
Pest Exterminators

Bud and Lou are pest exterminators mistaken for psychiatrists when they attend to Mrs. Featherton's "aunts."

EP4  Life Insurance
Nov. 28,1953
Life Insurance

Mr. Fields takes out an insurance policy on Lou. Later, Bud takes Lou on a hunting trip, and Lou suspects Bud and Mr. Fields have plotted to kill him for the insurance money.

EP3  In Society
Nov. 21,1953
In Society

A wealthy society matron pays Bud to attend a formal reception and impersonate the Duke of Gluten. Lou comes along pretending to be his cousin, the Earl of Waldo.

EP2  Uncle Bozzo's Visit
Nov. 14,1953
Uncle Bozzo's Visit

Lou's eccentric opera singing uncle comes to stay with the boys for a couple of months.

EP1  The Paper Hangers
Nov. 07,1953
The Paper Hangers

To pay back rent, Bud and Lou attempt to wallpaper an apartment. Later, as waiters in a restaurant, they brawl with hoodlums.

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8.1 | TV-G | en | Comedy , Family | More Info
Released: 1952-12-05 | Released Producted By: Television Corporation of America , Country: United States of America Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website: https://www.metv.com/shows/abbott-and-costello-live
Synopsis

Bud and Lou are unemployed actors living in Mr. Fields’ boarding house. Lou’s girlfriend Hillary lives across the hall. Many situations arise leading to slapstick and puns.

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Cast

Bud Abbott , Lou Costello , Hillary Brooke

Director

Producted By

Television Corporation of America ,

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Reviews

John T. Ryan When our household became truly aware of this ABBOTT & COSTELLO SHOW it was already in reruns. As kids, we didn't like or perhaps we really didn't understand a lot of what was being presented.What I mean is in one episode that would feature Sid Fields(a cast regular as A & C's Landlord)in another role. It would be explained away as being "Mr. Fields brother". When cast regular,Gordon Jones (Mike the Cop) showed up as another, different antagonist to the Boys, no explanation was offered.At the early age of about 5 to teen years, we enjoyed the Abbott & Costello gags and interplay, but resented such previously mentioned explanations. One should never underestimate the sensibilities of a kiddie audience. It was truly years later that we understood and appreciated the series for what it was.What we really had was a thin set of circumstances that existed if for no other reason, so that we have a reason for Buid & Lou to get into a situation and hence having an opportunity to do some of their routines. And the routines that the did were mostly standards, done by not only A&C, but also by a large number of others in Vaudaville or Burlesque. Bud & Lou committed them to a film record and hence to virtual immortality.In addition, Abbott & Costello had been top Radio Stars with their own , very popular series in the 1940's. A lot of what we know as commonplace A&C lore came from the Radio programs. For one thing Lou learned to try to kept his voice a little higher, so as to be more distinguishable from straight man Bud's. He also invented a kid character, Sebastian(named for Costello's own Father). It was for this "baby" character that Lou developed the now famous tag line, "I'M A BAD BOY!"There is another contribution of this short little B & W filmed series. In addition to tapping such old stage Comedians' talent and material, like as Joe Besser (neighbor "Stinky" a man-child in Buster Brown type clothes)and the master, Sid Fields' writing and performing. That is that the show employed comedy veterans from the silent days. Writing and Direction was in the hands of Felix Adler,. Clyde Bruckman(Buster Keaton long time Collaborator)and Jack Townley. They even had former Laurel & Hardy foil, Charlie Hall appear as a worker on a roof.Bud & Lou were well known to the public from their Films and Radio Show; but also from frequent TV appearances as rotating guest hosts on NBC's COLGATE COMEDY HOUR. But in the final analysis, this little, corny filmed series, aimed at the juvenile trade, may well have revealed much that wasn't apparent in these other venues of performance.It's hard to believe that anyone could get through a review without mention of Miss Hillary Brooke, a lovely long-haired, glamorous and even sexy Actress of the B Film category. Miss Brooke was in evidence in so many Films of the '40's, but never seemed to crack the big time.In spite of such feminine pulchritude, the air of "class" in speech and lovely mannerisms, the Actress is probably best remembered for her roles like femme fatal in the A&C feature, Africa SCREAMS, the A&C SHOW and as 'Roberta', a co-star on MY LITTLE MARGIE TV Series, along with Gale Storm and Charles Farrell.
Dave I must rebuff the previous comments made in the Feb 04 and Feb 06 reviews. First off, the individual who thought this was poorly written and predictable is entitled to his opinion, regardless of how unfounded it may be. But to call this classic comedy duo boring is grossly unfair. A comedic legend that inspired Jerry Seinfeld? What credentials are you going by? That person writes--"How about a joke"...the joke is on you!! This is sketch comedy at its finest!! I can't see how anyone cannot find humor and at least one good laugh in Costello's birthday skit between Lou and Mr. Fields. How Fields turns Costello's every word against him is just grand farce!! Or when Lou walks the old lady across the street. To see that old lady bonk Lou over the head, breaking her cane not once but twice is priceless. Throw in Mike the Cop several times in the same routine and you have a surefire recipe for laughter. And how one can overlook the banter between Lou and Stinky is beyond me, those two provide the show with many of its finest moments.And for the reviewer who thought Joe Besser's "Stinky" character brought the series down, come on!!! Stinky's interactions with Costello are hilarious. To see the two of them beat upon each other, interjecting witty comments along the way-"I'll harm you" (from the Susquehanna Hat Company routine) is riotous.It seems that no matter how wonderful a performer is, how universally recognized, a forum such as this is always bound to bring out the few dodos who have to go against the grain... Give these two comedy giants their complete due and give them a break!!!
frankfob Sitcoms had been around for a few years when this show premiered, but none of them were anywhere near as funny (Jerry Seinfeld is on record as saying this show was the inspiration for his creating "Seinfeld") as this one. The premise of the show lent itself to Bud & Lou's reprising many of their most famous routines, and it was good to see them back in action. The two of them--especially Costello--seemed to have regained the spark they once had before a string of movie failures and the team's personal and physical problems (Lou's infant son had fallen into their backyard pool and drowned several years previously, a tragedy Lou never got over; Bud--unknown to many at the time--had epilepsy and his seizures were becoming more serious) combined to send their career into a tailspin, and this show was their chance to revive it. Even though Costello was no longer a young man (he was in his mid-50s when the series debuted) he could still take the pratfalls he was famous for, and the team's exquisite sense of timing seemed to have resurfaced (in one episode they did their famous "Lemon" gag that was simply amazing to watch). A first-rate supporting cast and a somewhat more adult atmosphere (Costello had a major--and completely understandable--case of the hots for beautiful Hillary Brooke, and he and Joe Besser's wonderful Stinky had some quite nasty fights) elevated this show beyond just kid's fare.Although it lasted only two seasons, this is a very fondly remembered show. It holds up well and is just as funny today as it was back when it was first shown.
Joevegany I remember watching these shows at a very young age, and laughing until I felt my side would split. These are certainly the best programs ever to ride the airwaves! Collect the tapes and let your childern enjoy this trully," Good, clean, fun."