It was on this day in 1948 that the film Mexican Hayride, an adaptation of a 1944 Cole Porter Broadway Musical, was released. Mexican Hayride takes Abbott and Costello to Mexico City, where they get caught up in a silver mine scam. Of course, this produces the classic routine “Silver Ore”:
Here’s some interesting Mexican Hayride trivia: Lou’s brother, Pat Costello, plays detective Ted Williams. Because of the brothers’ similar appearance and physique, Pat often stepped in as Lou’s stunt double. Not only that, Lou would also often send his brother for his own costume/wardrobe fittings.
If you’ve seen Mexican Hayride, then you know that Lou breaks into a dance whenever he hears the Samba. This running gag was not part of the original script, but was added during production by Lou.
Blackie (Abbott) and Heathcliff (Costello), having been unsuccessful at entering through the gates of the Army Air Corps Cal-Aero flight training academy, enter the U.S.O. club and approach the lunch counter with only one quarter between the two of them and take their seats. Gloria (Martha Raye, playing the parts of twin sisters Gloria and [...]
It was on this day, 71 years ago in 1941, that Abbott and Costello’s Keep ‘Em Flying was released. This was their third service comedy and fifth film overall. Keep ‘Em Flying was also in theaters when Pearl Harbor was attacked. The film also stars Martha Raye in the dual role of twin sisters as [...]
It was on this day, 71 years ago in 1940, that Abbott and Costello’s One Night in the Tropics was released. This is the film that launched the comedy duo into the top tier of Hollywood stars. It’s interesting to note that, while this film is best known for being the first of 36 movies [...]
It was on this day, 69 years ago in 1942, that Abbott and Costello’s Who Done It? was released. Although relatively early in the comedy duo’s film career, they were the #1 box office attraction of 1942. They were even more popular than Clark Gable and Gary Cooper. Who Done It? is the eighth film [...]
I was doing some digging the other day and came up with some more interesting Abbott and Costello trivia. For example, did you know… Abbott and Costello stored 16mm prints of every film and television show they made.,, Ever the avid gun collector, Abbott actually owned one of Adolf Hitler’s shotguns… Abbott and Costello were [...]
For those of you who don’t know who Harry Shearer is, he is an American actor, comedian, writer, voice artist, musician, author and radio host. He is known for his long-running role on The Simpsons, his work on Saturday Night Live, the comedy band Spinal Tap and his radio program Le Show. But what you [...]
It was on this day, 68 years ago, that Abbott and Costello’s Rio Rita was released. This comedy film is a remake of the Ziegfeld Broadway operetta and the 1929 RKO movie starring Wheeler & Woolsey, both of the same name. Rio Rita, along with Lost in a Harem (1944) and Abbott and Costello in Hollywood (1945), [...]
It was on this day, 64 years ago, that the Abbott and Costello film, Little Giant, was released. Originally titled, On the Carpet, Little Giant was filmed from November 1 through December 17, 1945. Regardless, it’s questionable whether any other title would have helped this particular Abbott and Costello movie. Indeed, Little Giant is not [...]