Strong and Moving!

Crappy film

I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Producer: Alex Gottlieb. Executive producer: Bud Abbott. Copyright 17 December 1952 by Woodley (i.e. Bud Abbott) Productions, Inc. Released through Warner Brothers Pictures, Inc. No recorded New York opening. U.S. release: 27 December 1952. U.K. release: 17 December 1953 (sic). Sydney opening at the Palace. 70 minutes.SYNOPSIS: Captain Kidd's treasure map is accidentally switched for a love letter entrusted to a couple of dumb waiters. NOTES: Abbott and Costello's second and final film in color (SuperCinecolor to be precise. The first was their immediately preceding movie—produced by Lou Costello's Exclusive Productions — "Jack and the Beanstalk" (1952). COMMENT: Critics were so aghast at eminent Charles Laughton allowing himself to become the butt of an A&C slapstick comedy, they tended to discount the end result, namely that Laughton's presence in "Captain Kidd" makes for jolly good entertainment. Laughton in fact is so delightfully hammy that he even inspires Bud and Lou to attempt a few comic heights themselves. And all three are aided immeasurably by the expertise of lovely Hillary Brooke, who quite outshines the film's nominal female lead, Fran Warren.Filmed on an extremely lavish budget under the expert supervision of producer Alex Gottlieb, this "Kidd" flick also boasts attractive SuperCinecolor cinematography, plus a couple of exceptionally rousing musical interludes.

An underwhelming later entry for the comedy team, this is of interest only because it's a color film which provides a chance to see Charles Laughton yucking it up as the title baddie. But there's very little meat to chew on while watching Bud and Lou act as hapless waiters sailing aboard the ship of the mean old Captain Kidd (Laughton). Of course there are many recycled older gags ... two of them include: Lou accidentally dropping a bar of soap into Kidd's soup and producing bubbles from everyone's mouthes (just how exhausted was that routine by this time?), and also Lou having a chance to rough Kidd up a bit while the pirate's hands are chained behind his back. (This latter bit was so much better performed when it was William Bendix as the recipient back in 1943's WHO DONE IT?). Hillary Brooke is on hand as a tough-acting blonde, easier on the eyes than a crew full of obnoxious men. ** out of ****

Egad, this is an awful and dull film. Considering that Abbott and Costello had a whole lot of films behind them and some clout, I always have wondered why they agreed to do some seriously bad films--particularly in the latter part of their careers. Were they THAT in need of money or narcissistic that they'd agree to be in films even if they are just plain awful? I know that after WWII, Bud and Lou had some serious tax problems and lost their fortunes, but I would have assumed by 1952 and with a lot of films behind them they still didn't need money THIS badly! What's so bad about this film? Well, the first and most obvious are the wretched songs. Not only are they totally inappropriate for a pirate film, they are even more distracting than the songs in their other movies. The other obvious problem was Charles Laughton. While an exceptional actor, he had a reputation for over-acting if the director didn't keep a firm hand. In this film, you'd assume there is no director at all, as any sane director would have told Laughton to shut up...or at least stop screaming!! It seems that Laughton's interpretation of Captain Kidd is a man who talks at the top of his voice all the time! It's actually amazing to think that Laughton was NOT in his first film but an accomplished actor--his acting was THAT bad.Speaking of the real Kidd, almost nothing about this film is like real pirates or the real Kidd. It's like one cliché after another. Pirates (with the exception of Blackbeard) were not bully-boys, as their crew would have killed them and the real life Kidd was completely dominated by his crew. Heck, he apparently only turned to piracy because his crew gave him the choice of this or death! There are also only two cases of female pirates (a common Hollywood cliché) and neither were captains--just crew members on the same small and insignificant ship. Also, if real pirates had met these jolly singing idiot pirates, they probably would have killed them--as well as marveled at how clean and well-dressed the all were! Why, oh why couldn't they just shut up and quit with the singing?! As for Bud and Lou, they seemed to have less screen time than usual in this film. They are like bystanders throughout much of the film. When they are involved, it usually consists of scenes where Laughton screams at Lou. Wow, that's funny...not! Among the team's least funny and enjoyable films. The only one that might be as bad or worse is JACK AND THE BEANSTALK--even IT AIN'T HAY, LOST IN ALASKA and Africa SCREAMS are much better than this film.You know, I had considered doing this review like Laughton emoted in the film, but I don't think IMDb allow reviews that are in all capital letters!! For information on the real Kidd, try www.thepiratesrealm.com/Captain%20Kidd.html .

Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1952) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Two waiters (Bud Abbott, Lou Costello) come across a treasure map, which belongs to the mean Captain Kidd (Charles Laughton). The waiters force the evil pirate to take them with him as he sails towards Skull Island. At one time I voted this one of my least favorite Abbott and Costello films, which is the reason I only watched it once before this viewing here. I must say that the film struck me as being a lot better than I remembered but it's still not one of the duo's best movies. I think the real key to enjoying this film is your appreciation of Laughton. I'm not sure why he did this movie but he certainly steals the film with his stern but mocking performance. Laughton's 1945 film Captain Kidd was a major bust for many people so perhaps the actor wanted a second chance at the part. He certainly adds a lot of class and charm to the role including some very funny sequences at the start when Costello is waiting on him. Both Abbott and Costello are good in their roles but these aren't among their best performances. If you've seen all of their films like I have then you're going to notice that many of the jokes are repeated from earlier films and these do come off rather lame here. They still have plenty of nice moments including a great sequence where Lou starts messing with Kidd after he thinks he has the pirate chained up. Of course he isn't really chained up and this leads to some nice laughs. I doubt people not fans of the cast are going to enjoy anything about the movie but fans should get enough charm out of its 70-minute running time to make it worth viewing.