Jack and the Beanstalk (1952)

This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Highly Overrated But Still Good

A Masterpiece!

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Every kid knows the basic story and plot elements of "Jack and the Beanstalk". Each one of those children should be shown this classic 1952 movie (they won't find it on their own) for its utterly silly, yet hilariously funny, take on the classic children's tale.For a basic plot summary, this film follows the story of "Jack and the Beanstalk" using the comedy duo of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. Some key elements are altered in order to move along the story and make it original, but the basic kernels of the tale are very much in place throughout.Simply put, this goofy little comedic romp will enthrall the kiddies and usher a wave of nostalgia for anyone older. Abbott & Costello are their usual hilarious selves, while the music numbers will, at times, have you laughing out loud at the simple hilarity! I watched this old classic numerous times as a child, and just recently watched it with a young sister. We both thoroughly enjoyed the experience, albeit for different reasons.About the only complaint I have about this movie is the poor video and especially sound quality. To my knowledge, no definitive edition of this film yet exists that has been cleaned up or truly digitized properly. A shame, considering the potential for nostalgic sales.Overall, if you have a young child who has never seen this flick, you would be doing him/her an injustice by not somehow, someway getting it on the television in front of them. Just good old fashioned humorous, music, screwball fun!

I'm not really much of an Abbott & Costello fan (although I do enjoy "Who's On First") and, to be honest, there wasn't much in this movie that would inspire me to watch any more of their work. It wasn't really bad. It had some mildly amusing scenes, and actually a very convincing giant played by Buddy Baer, but somehow, given the fame of the duo and the esteem in which they're generally held, I have to say I was expecting more. As the story goes, the pair stumble into a babysitting job, and during the reading of Jack & The Beanstalk as a bedtime story (with the kid reading it to Costello), Costello's Jack falls asleep and dreams himself into the story. There's a "Wizard Of Oz" kind of feel to the story, in that the characters in the dream are all the equivalents of real-life acquaintances of Jack, and the movie opens in black & white and shifts to colour during the dream sequence. The fight scenes between Jack and the giant and the dance scene between Jack and Polly (Dorothy Ford) are among the amusing parts of the movie. Polly, of course, also leads to one of the questions of the movie - what happened to her? Jack and gang apparently left her behind in the giant's castle! I know - it was just a dream, so who cares. Still - I wondered. There were also a couple of cute song and dance routines. My 4 year old giggled a bit during this, so she was able to appreciate some of the humour. I found it to be an acceptable timewaster, but certainly not anything that would convince you of Abbott and Costello as comic geniuses. 4/10

Absolutely inane film starring Abbott and Costello. Even our young children would become increasingly annoyed with this complete mess of a film.Abbott as Dinklepuss. What a look he had on his face. Sure, he had to be part of this dreadful film.Did anyone notice that Costello's mother in the film sounded and looked like Fay Bainter? Luckily, for Ms. Bainter, that she wasn't in the film.There is really no excitement hear for children. The jokes, if any, are quite stale. Some of the singing is nicely done but the lyrics are ridiculous.

For us, an Abbott and Costello movie is something you have to be in the mood for. I'm very happy I recorded this -- my wife remembered it from when she was young, but I had never seen it. The family wanted to watch something not too serious before bed and this was selected.Our daughter has watched many of the old movies with us -- always complaining in the beginning, but most often coming around. She mostly ignored this in the beginning, preferring to check her email, but she started enjoying herself -- many times laughing out loud to the zaniness.It's wonderful to think you can have a fun evening with a 55yr old. The mono-colour introduction that blends into the full-colour fairy tale. It's a fun twist of a story that everyone is familiar with, that includes a little song and a little dance, along with everything you expect Lou and Bud to delivery.Watch it with your children and have a very fun evening!