Bud Abbott and Lou Costello are in the 1890's on the showboat River Queen,which is run by Captain Jackson. For twenty years he's been putting on good,clean fun entertainment for people of all ages, and now a trio of cardsharps want to take it over, and big surprise, it's up to Bud and Lou to step in and save the day.The truth is it's a very thin plot, but who cares, it's meant to be. Not many are watching the duo for plot. Abbott and Costello started out with their Vaudevlle acts on stage and this is basically an excuse just to put their style of comedy routines together into some kind of structure, and throw in whatever plot they can to try and link them together.The film is full of laughs. Lou is in a marching band, and can't even see where he's going as he bangs the huge drum in front of him. He demolishes the set around Bud as he tries to perform, and tries his best to stop a baby from crying during his act. He tussles with a grizzly bear thinking it's Bud in disguise. He tries to sing higher and lower as he misinterprets Bud's orders directed at the set designers. He inadvertently bakes feathers into a cake, which causes the guests to cough them up. He keeps throwing a big fish into the river, in hopes of catching an even bigger one. He dreads tucking into the chef's catfish, believing that he's cooked the cats, and all these sight gags build up to the duo's chaotic, and zany defeating of the bad guys.Throw in their famous routines of the switching the poisonous drink, the exchanging money, and the fantastic Who's On First? routine, which I would happily watch on a loop, and you have one of Abbott and Costello's most frenetic-paced, gag packed films. An absolute must for fans of the perfect straight man and buffoon, and maybe newcomers to their work too.

Considering that the previous film, HERE COME THE CO-EDS was such a bad film, THE NAUGHTY NINETIES couldn't help but look good. Overall, NAUGHTY is a mixed bag--with some good Abbott and Costello routines and some bad. In addition, Universal still insists on following a formula they've used in all but one of their previous films--a bunch of sons and a romantic subplot that has nothing to do with Abbott and Costello. Oddly, when the studio dropped both these conventions in WHO DONE IT, the film was a huge success--more than previous films. Why they went back to this material that distracts from the comedy is beyond me.The film finds Bud and Lou on a riverboat (similar to the one in SHOWBOAT) circa 1890. Bud is an actor (and does a decent job when his routines aren't being ruined by Lou) and Lou is, well, Lou--bumbling about on the ship. A group of crooked gamblers get the ship's captain (Henry Travers) drunk and cheat him out of control of his showboat. As a result, they bring crooked gambling and violence to what had been a family-friendly ship. So, naturally, Bud and Lou try to help out--with very mixed results until the end of the film.Along the way are a bunch of vaudeville-style routines. On the plus side, you get to see the best filmed version of their classic "Who's on First" routine (an abbreviated one was in their first film, ONE NIGHT IN THE TROPICS). Also, some of Lou's antics that ruin Bud's acting are kind of funny. On the negative side, Universal Pictures really didn't care if any of the routines looked crappy--using very, very fake-looking props and putting little care into the execution of several routines. In the fishing scene, these are the least realistic fish in the history of film. It serves to make the routine look amazingly dumb. In the catfish scene (where Lou thinks he's being served cat), which could have been very funny, there was absolutely no subtlety in its execution...none. In many ways, this stuff looked like Three Stooges routines--but perhaps done with even less subtlety.Overall, a very mixed bag. For fans of the team, they'll enjoy it. For non-fans, I can't see why this film alone would convert you an Abbott and Costello fan.

Setting the stage for this 1945 comedy, Dexter Broadhurst (Bud) and Sebastian Dimwiddie (Lou) team up to save the "River Queen" from a trio of card sharks, who have gained a three quarter interest from Captain Sam Jackson (Henry Travers) in a rigged card game. The Captain's daughter Carolyn (Lois Collier) never gives up hope, and plays on the sympathies of villain Crawford (Alan Curtis) as the boys whiz through a host of their comedic sketches. They include "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean", feathers in the cake, the catfish dinner, the fishing routine, and Lou's shaving routine opposite baddie Joe Sawyer. But they all take a back seat to the famous "Who's on First?" routine, which remains one of my all time favorite bits. The comedic timing is flawless, though in this case, the audience reaction is non existent at the request of the film's director - probably a bad decision as one's reaction is that these guys should play off the audience as much as each other.The movie's finale revs up to a high energy frenzy after the gamblers are dealt a losing hand with a cold deck by a remorseful Crawford in a one hand, winner take all bluff.Henry Travers is probably best remembered for his role as the angel Clarence, earning his wings in the memorable "It's a Wonderful Life". Though taken advantage of, he maintains his integrity through thick and thin. But with Abbott and Costello on board, you know that the bad guys don't stand a chance. And with all the mayhem, it's easy to forget that the film also stands up as a musical, with an assortment of tunes to lend counterpoint to the sketches along the way.

Although not critically acclaimed as one of the team's best, Abbott and Costello use some of their best loved and remember skits in this film. The movie is worth watching for the "Who's On First?" skit alone. Good, clean, fun for the entire family.