Annotated Abbott and Costello

Matthew Coniam has authored or contributed to numerous books, magazines, journals and websites in Britain and America. He lives in Bath, England. Nick Santa Maria has appeared in every form of show business except ballet. A native New Yorker, he now lives on Hutchinson Island, Florida, where he teaches film history, and is proudly one half of the faux 1930's comedy team, Biffle and Shooster.

“Abbott and Costello are often considered afterthoughts of comedy history, but Coniam and Santa Maria believe the duo possessed an authenticity of character that their peers lacked. To that point, they’ve crafted a film-by-film guide to a career that can be divided into two periods: the 1940s war era of Buck Privates, and the monster era, encapsulated by Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein....Coniam is clearly a fan...excellent writing, perceptive commentary...cover[s] every film, and there’s much to recommend”—Library Journal

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgments viForeword by John Landis 1Introduction One: The Case for Abbott and Costello 3Introduction Two: The Art of Abbott and Costello 171. One Night in the Tropics (1940) 252. Buck Privates (1941) 333. In the Navy (1941) 544. Hold That Ghost (1941) 625. Keep ’Em Flying (1941) 806. Ride ’Em Cowboy (1942) 907. Rio Rita (1942) 978. Pardon My Sarong (1942) 1069. Who Done It? (1942) 11410. It Ain’t Hay (1943) 12911. Hit the Ice (1943) 13912. In Society and A Wave, a WAC and a Marine (1944) 14913. Lost in a Harem (1944) and Mail Call (1944) 16814. Here Come the Co-Eds (1945) 17815. The Naughty Nineties (1945) 19016. Abbott and Costello in Hollywood (1945) 20117. Little Giant (1946) 21218. The Time of Their Lives (1946) 22219. Buck Privates Come Home (1947) 23420. The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap (1947) 24621. The Noose Hangs High (1948) 25622. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) 26523. Mexican Hayride (1948) 27524. Africa Screams (1949) and 1,000 Kids and a Cop (1948) 28325. Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer (1949) 29626. Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion (1950) 30527. Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951) 31628. Comin’ Round the Mountain (1951) 32729. Jack and the Beanstalk (1952) 33630. Lost in Alaska (1952) 34531. Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1952) 35432. Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953) 36133. Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953) and Fireman Save My Child (1954) 36934. Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops (1955) 38335. Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955) 38936. Dance with Me, Henry (1956) 40237. The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock (1959) 41038. The World of Abbott and Costello (1965) 417Appendix I: Lou and Me 425Appendix II: The Trials and Tribulations of Tinybud 431Appendix III: The Ultimate Abbott and Costello Top Ten 436Chapter Notes 457Bibliography 473Index 475