This 1945 Abbott and Costello musical comedy has them doing a 'period' plot, supposedly in the 1890s. Also often labeled the 'gay' nineties, there are a fair number of brief 'show' segments, which work right into the story. A&C begin as actor and roustabout, respectively, for the River Queen: a Mississippi River showboat, later turned into a floating casino by its new majority owners. Incidentally, the historic River Queen of this era never plied the Mississippi, but was used for coastal and river transport on the East Coast. Rita Johnson, as Bonita, plays the 'bad' girl, who has her henchmen, Joe Sawyer, as Baily, and Alan Curtis, as Crawford, help her engage in crooked, when ever possible, gambling activities. By winning 3/4 interest in the River Queen from an inebriated Captain Sam(Henry Travers), the 'gang of 3' turns the River Queen from a showboat into a casino, with most games fixed in favor of the house. Her ambition is to build a lavish show place and casino in New Orleans, using profits from the River Queen to finance such. Toward this end, she offers the Captain $5000. for the remaining 1/4 share in the boat, but the Captain refuses. He suggests they play one open game of poker, winner take all. Amazingly, Bonita agrees, although, with even odds, she stands to lose much more than the Captain. Lois Collier, as Caroline: daughter of Captain Sam, is the 'good' girl. She's the main songbird for the Captain's shows, sing(dubbed) the classic "On a Sunday Afternoon", and the newly composed "I Can't Get You Out of my Mind". Toward the end of the film, surprisingly, she begins to get friendly with Crawford( Alan Curtis): one of Bonita's henchmen, who claims he only teamed up with Bonita because he owed her gambling debts. I noticed that he wasn't involved in chasing A&C after Captain Sam won his boat back, and it was only Baily and Bonita who left town in a buggy. However, there were no further positive indications of a Crawford & Caroline romance.A&C are up to their usual antics. They do a longer version of 'Who's on first' than the version they did in their 1940 film "One Night in the Tropics". Actually, I thought is was too long, with too much repetition. Hence, I continue to prefer their 1940 version....Lou also repeats his 'poisoned wine' sketch he did in "Pardon my Sarong", with bad girl Bonita putting some questionable pill in his wine, thinking he didn't see. He switches the glasses after distracting her attention, but she sees it. This goes back and both several times. The sketch ends differently than the first time....In the finale "Uncle Tom's Cabin", Lou plays an angel. When he is raised, the too thin rope breaks and he goes through the too flimsy floor. This is reminiscent of a similar fall through the floor in "Who Done It?" A&C try gambling to win back some money for Captain Sam. However, the ball keeps coming out of their slot, careening crazily, with the wheel stopped. They then try shooting dice, with Lou under the table with a huge magnet that causes the 'loaded' dice to turn over until they add to 7.Lou engages in the 'fake mirror' sketch, where he's on the opposite side of s window his victim thinks is a mirror, and mimics their actions. Actually, this is clearly the poorest example of this trick I've seen. For much more convincing examples, see "The Princess and the Pirate" or "Duck Soup".A&C are in a back room, next to the kitchen, when they hear the cooks talking about 'cooking the cat', meaning catfish. But there are several kitty cats around, and Lou thinks they mean one of them. Every time he reluctantly pokes his meat with his fork, he hears a cat scream. Also, when he pours his milk onto his dish, it's immediately absorbed by the meat, with the slurping sound. When he strokes the meat it purrs. Abbott experiences no such spooky reactions. Then, Lou is on stage, practicing his singing of "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean", reading from sheet music. Meanwhile, Abbott is behind him, directing the placement of a backdrop. He keeps saying "higher, higher", and Lou sings in higher and higher keys. When Abbott says farther to the front, Lou falls off the stage.There are further sketches and other comedy. Many of these routines are pasted onto the plot, but that's OK. With the reservations I mentioned, I recommend this film for those who like A&C shtick.

Abbott & Costello play Dexter Broadhurst & Sebastian Dinwiddle, two actors on the River Queen, a boat on the Mississippi river during the 1890's under the command of Captain Sam Jackson(played by Henry Travers) that he loses ownership of to a trio of conniving cardsharps who proceed to turn it into a crooked gambling house. The boys then become determined to thwart their plan, and restore ownership to Captain Jackson. Oddly flat period costume comedy is only remembered for putting their hilarious and immortal "Who's On First?" routine on screen complete to live forever. Aside from that admirable distinction, this film is pretty forgettable.

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.