The obvious annoying dumbness becomes visible during the time Abbott and Costello were still working at the soda counter. Then continues on throughout the movie. Lou Costello's comedy makes it look like he has some kind of mental disorder. Bud Abbott is like a mental health nurse that Lou Costello made friends with during his time he was still living in the psychiatric ward and Bud helped him escape. Now they found a job at a soda counter for a local radio station and wanted to be writers for a radio program.

Thank the Comedy Gods. This is Proof positive that those Intrusive Musical Numbers were and will Always be, well Intrusive. This is Abbott and Costello at Their Best. The Duo takes Advantage of the Freedom and unleash a Hyper-Kinetic barrage of Slapstick, One Liners, and All-Out Anarchy that Endears the Audience and makes for a Near Masterpiece of priceless Low-Brow Humor, perhaps only Eclipsed by the "The Three Stooges" in Their many Short Subjects.The 77 Minute Movie is Filled with Laughs and the Set Design is sharply Noirish. There is even a Surreal, Expressionistic, Hallucinatory Dream Sequence, but it is too Short and goes virtually Unnoticed and is a Missed Opportunity within a Movie with very Little Missed Opportunities.Backed by a Good and supportive Cast, A&C never let a Minute go by without Milking it for all its Worth. Their Timing is Impeccable, the Jokes Work and will most likely will Ignite Spontaneous Laughter even from the most Jaded. This puts a lot of Their Output in the Shadows and is Top-Notch, Top-Tier, and Today it is a Showcase and a Touching Point to Point Out just what Made Abbott and Costello the Box-Office Kings of the 1940's. If You plan on Watching a Couple of the Couple's Movies to see what all the Fuss was about, this is a pure Representation of Their Talent and Appeal. Arguably Their Best. A Fan Favorite for Good Reason. No, for Great Reason, because this is the Team at Their Greatest.

Frenetic A&C, where the gags fly faster than speeding bullets, some of which hit their mark. The boys impersonate detectives so they can investigate murder in a radio studio. For me, that's the best part, seeing an old studio in operation. The action itself seldom leaves the indoors, making this an easier production for Universal to mount.Maybe the money they saved on sets went into a better than usual supporting cast, including the lovely Allbritton and the delicious Mary Wickes. Also, catch the Costello-like Bill Bendix as a cop who may even be dumber than Mervin (Costello). I wish he and Mervin had more scenes together—that would be a real departure for Costello's usual brand of humor. However, that might also look like a dumb-guy rivalry—never a worry with straight man Abbott.Then too, catch the great noirish lighting used to heighten the mystery aspects that slip in now and again. However, the comedy uses more throw-away gags than extended routines, except for the patented A&C play on double meanings. Here, the play is on "watt" which Mervin insists means "what" leading to the usual humorous confusion. And what about that dizzying city lights finale. It's almost nightmarish and very well done by the special effects departmentAnyway, to me, the results are not top-notch A&C since too many gags are not that funny. Still, the boys are energetic, the supporting cast excellent, and the pacing never dull. And, oh yes, there're still a number of laughs along the way.

This Abbott and Costello spoof of whodunits contains some laugh-out-loud moments ("I was holding the gun backwards!"), but IMO would have been even funnier if it had focused more on the "A & C posing as detectives" idea: the scene where they "interrogate" the suspects ("what kind of murder is this without a butler?") is possibly the highlight of the film and predates by decades similar scenes in the "Pink Panther" sequels. But the rest of the movie has the boys mostly trying to evade the real policemen rather than investigating the crime(s). Luckily, "Who Done It?" is not just a succession of comic routines - it also has a functional mystery plot and a well-done climactic set piece with Bud and Lou trapped alone with the killer on the roof of a skyscraper. (**1/2)