Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops (1955)

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

This is actually one of the boys better outings. It has their regular script writer in John Grant & one of their regular directors in Charles Lamont at the helm. It is in a way, very much a salute to the early silent Mack Sennett Comedies as it's title suggests.Fred Clark does a very good turn as the heavy though evil stands little chance in getting one up on Lou Costello as he proved in taking on all the monsters & milking them for laughs. The film starts with a little history as A&C are conned into purchasing the historic Edison studios in New Jersey which by the 1950's were a run down set of slums.Then through only the kind of trip A&C can make, they decide to go to Hollywood. One way or another they ride the rails & live by their wits & stale bread reaching their destination. Here is where some fine silent slapstick sequences are put together in order to foil the heavy.The sequences are borrowed from Harold Lloyd, W C Fields, & the Keystone Kops are thrown in for good measure. Enjoy it

"Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops" is a film about the early days of cinema, and contains a lot of cinematic tricks itself: stunt doubling, back projection, fast motion, reverse motion, freeze frame, special effects, etc. Some of these tricks work (the horse jump over a cliff is a fantastic shot which I still can't figure out how they pulled off), some don't (the plane scenes look especially fake), but the real problem is that the story is episodic and A&C have only two routines worth mentioning: one at the start, with Abbott mistaken as Costello's violent father, and one involving two pairs of cops and burglars, one fake (Bud & Lou) and one real. The climactic chase, involving the title "Kops", is frenetic but unfunny. This type of slapstick will still appeal to young kids, but anyone over the age of 12 will probably be begging for some more verbal humor. (**)

Costello plays Tubby, a fan of the Nickelodeon flickers, sometime around 1914. Abbott is Slim, who convinces Tubby to buy a motion picture studio with his aunt's money. The duo are conned by Joe Gorman (Fred Clark) who follow him to California. Will the duo catch up to Gorman, or will Gorman get the best of them?"Meet the Keystone Kops" is probably the last fun film Abbott and Costello made. It is a surprise, considering that Costello just recovered from a major illness. Indeed, Costello looks thinner than in any of his previous films, so calling his character "Tubby" is somewhat off the mark. Both Abbott and Costello are at their slapstick best. This too is a surprise, considering that Costello supposedly told Abbott in an earlier time not to slap him anymore!Fred Clark is deliciously evil as Joe Gorman and is one of Abbott and Costello's finest foils. Clark's skill as an actor, coupled with his sense of comedy, are wonderful to see. 7 out of 10.

There is a real change in the role portrayed by Bud Abbott in this picture. In past films, he has had the role of Costello's straight man for dialogue scenes. He played a sharp, smart, heavy. No one was meant to take this seriously, but Abbott played the bad guy! He usually gets the best of Costello. (This is not true of their famous "Dice Routine", "The Lemon Bit" and that oh so satisfying conclusion of "Africa Screams".) When it came to physical comedy, Costello was on his own, with Abbott nowhere to be found. But starting with this film, and continuing with "A & C Meet the Mummy" and "Dance with Me, Henry", Bud Abbott has become a buffoon. He takes more pratfalls in this film and in "The Mummy" than he did in all of his other films combined. Now it is obvious that a stunt man is doing the physical bits for him, but it is nice to see Abbott become funny. Why didn't this happen sooner? Maybe it was Lou Costello's ego. Maybe it was Bud Abbott's illness. Maybe Abbott just didn't care and let Costello carry the team. With "Keystone Kops", the writers have finally made Bud Abbott funny. He tries to be gruff and mean, but it just isn't in him. He tries to show that he is braver and smarter than Costello, but no one believes him. There is finally some depth to the team. Costello is still silly and innocent, but now Abbott is a phony to the world. In the past he was able to fool everyone but Lou.Now I am not saying that I do not enjoy the previous A&C efforts. Some of them are brilliant comedies and John Grant's routines are always marvelous. However, it took so much time for the characters of Bud and Lou to grow. I only wish there were more films to see their metamorphosis.