Who Done It? (1942)

Simply A Masterpiece

One of my all time favorites.

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Who Done It? (1942) *** (out of 4) Chick Larkin (Bud Abbott) and Mervin Milgrim (Lou Costello) are two idiot soda jerks working in a building that's the home of some of the most famous radio mysteries in the world. When a man turns up dead on one of the broadcasts the two pretend to be detectives so that they can solve the case and get into the radio business.WHO DONE IT? is without question the best of the early Abbott and Costello movies at Universal. This is true for several reasons but the biggest is the fact that the studio finally had enough confidence in them that they didn't need to add musical guests and numbers to the movies. Instead of music we're instead treated to several more jokes and there's no question that it really pays off and sends the duo into a new level of filmmaking.There are many very funny gags throughout the film but one of the highlights is a sequence where Costello believes he's being shot and stabbed but he's too dumb to realize he just hit a switch to a radio broadcast. There are some other very funny moments at the expense of two real detectives and this leads to William Bendix and Costello having some nice moments together. Both Abbott and Costello are in fine form with their comic timing perfect together. They're also greeted to a nice supporting cast including Patrick Knowles, Louise Allbritton and Mary Wickes.Fans of Abbott and Costello are certainly going to be entertained by this film but even non-fans should enjoy the actual mystery of the story and the various gags paying homage to the days when radio was king.

Bud and Lou are talentless aspiring writers who want to get jobs writing murder mysteries for the radio. In the meantime, they are working as soda jerks at the counter in the same building as the network. When a real murder takes place, Bud insists that they investigate, as he assumes that if they can crack the case they can have a leg-up on getting these jobs. Naturally, this makes the boys top targets for this killer. The movie turns out to have, not surprisingly, an angle involving the Nazis and spies--common sorts of propaganda additions for wartime films.What is surprising, though, is Walter Tetley. He plays a role much like Bud did in IN THE NAVY, as some of the familiar Abbott and Costello routines (such as when they made change) are used with him as the straight man to Lou's idiot. Also, and this really surprised me, Tetley looked about 16 in the film but was a decade older. Apparently seeming younger than his real age was a natural for him in films, as he played the voice of Sherman in the "Mr. Peabody and Sherman" cartoons when he was in his mid-40s.As for highlights and lowlights of the film go, there were a few low points. The scene where Lou runs away--through the doors and wall is priceless and really made me laugh. Also funny but completely stupid was the acrobatic sequence. This was supposed to be at a radio station and I kept asking myself "how are the people listening to the radio supposed to enjoy this?!". Otherwise, a very good film and it has a lot going for it--Abbott and Costello are still young and agile, there is no singing and the distracting love interest that Universal insisted on sticking in the early films is toned down--way down. As a result, this film doesn't suffer from all the distractions that are in their early films--no sharing the limelight and no silly (and pointless) production numbers. Instead, the focus is almost exclusively on the team--as it should be in a comedy. Because of all this, it's their best early film. It's funny, as it really is an early film (as it came in their third year in Hollywood) but by this film, the team had already made eight other films--churning out four a year in 1941 and 1942!

WHO DONE IT? (Universal, 1942), directed by Erle C. Kenton, is a perfect example of how good a comedy can and should be, a fast-paced story with murder mystery combined. The result: 77 minutes of non-stop fun. Starring the comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, this is prime Abbott and Costello, and the first to actually showcase them to best advantage, having the movie all to themselves, much to the delight of their fans.Plot summary: Chick Larkin (Bud Abbott) and Marvin Q. Milgrim (Lou Costello) are a couple of soda jerks (no pun intended) at the Radio Center drug store where they hope to interest somebody in using their "Muck and Myer" script to land them jobs as mystery writers for GBS radio. Jimmy Turner (Patric Knowles), a former English college professor, is hired as a new staff writer for the "Murder at Midnight" program, thanks to Jane Little (Louise Allbritton), his former sweetheart and the show's producer. This does not fare well with its Marco Heller (Jerome Cowan), who fears of losing his job as top writer. While Chick and Marvin attend the broadcast of "Murder at Midnight," Colonel J.R. Andrews (Thomas Gomez), executive director and producer, about to make an important announcement, suddenly dies. His physician, Dr. Merek (Ludwig Stossell) diagnoses it as his failing heart but Jimmy discovers the victim was electrocuted and calls it murder. Chick and Marvin take the opportunity to act as detectives to solve the mystery themselves, even when Moran (William Gargan) and Brannigan (William Bendix), take over as investigators and wanting to place the two phoneys under arrest. Later, Marek is found murdered and a mysterious figure is seen roaming about the building. Juliet Collins (Mary Wickes), the script girl and executive secretary to the late Colonel Andrews, assists Chick and Mervin, in spite the fact that Mervin, who she has become interested, is using her to break into the radio business. Juliet even keeps the two from the clutches of the detectives. While doing a little detecting of his own, Jimmy finds a secret panel in Andrews' office consisting of coded messages, learning that a spy had been using the network to relay information over the air. Feeling he has discovered a motive, Jimmy, with the help of Jane, decides to re-enact the "Murder at Midnight" broadcast in order to trap the real killer. Easier said than done with Chick and Marvin around.With plenty of gags, inside humor and classic A&C routines expertly worked into the plot, WHO DONE IT? has everything going for it, highlighted by atmospheric scenery, a wild roof top chase resembling that of a silent Harold Lloyd comedy (with Costello hanging onto a extended flag pole way above the city streets), and a well-kept secret to the killer's identity, which is enough to categorize this as a top-notch mystery-comedy. Aside from the question of "Who done it?," memorable stunts include Lou's involvement with an obnoxious elevator boy who tricks him into giving him five drinks of lemonade for the price of one; getting duped out of tickets to a broadcast; and by getting short-changed ("give me two dimes for a nickel"). For the record, the obnoxious elevator boy is wonderfully played by Walter Tetley, not by Bud Abbott Jr.Other key A&C scenes include: "Limberger cheese" (where Lou serves the ultra smelling item to a customer while wearing a gas mask); Lou's facial expressions in fright; the Bud and Lou exchanges of "Votes and Volts," reminiscent to their classic "baseball" routine that's also worked into the plot without them enacting it. See how that's done. The big topper of them all is Lou meeting his match, tricking a dopey detective (William Bendix) into getting himself handcuffed. (This handcuff routine was reworked with Costello and Charles Laughton in ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET CAPTAIN KIDD (1952)). Let's not forget Costello's finest solo routine set in a drug store phone booth across the street from the radio station as he attempts to get through to "Alexander 2222" to claim his $10,000 prize from the "Wheel of Fortune" contest. Never able to get through becomes nerve racking, especially when everyone else is able to make their calls successfully. Character actress Gladys Blake takes part of this priceless bit as the perky operator with the nasal reply of either "The line is busy," or "Number, please?" Although musical interludes could have easily been worked into the script, being set at a radio station and all, and having the popular Andrews Sisters supplying a song or two as part of the radio hour, it wasn't for the benefit not slowing down the pace. With a fine assortment of character actors, Mary Wickes, in a Joan Davis-type performance, is an excellent foil for Costello. Sadly, their second and final collaboration, DANCE WITH ME, HENRY (1956), was far from being the best effort for both.While not as notable today as ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948), WHO DONE IT is highly recommended viewing. Aside from availability on video cassette and DVD, it's cable TV history consisted of the Comedy Channel during the late 1980s, and American Movie Classics circa 2001. (***1/2)

There are better films featuring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, but "Who Done It" is as good a way as any to discover why the comedy pair was one of the 1940s' most consistent box office draws. It's a marvelously elongated piece of slapstick comedy that showcases Bud and Lou in peak form.Chick (Bud) and Mervin (Lou) are soda jerks at the Radio Center Drug Store, located in the same building where GBS broadcasts radio shows across the country. The pair want to write a mystery, so when the network director is mysteriously murdered on the air, they jump at the chance to solve the case and prove their smarts. Needless to say, this impromptu sleuthing annoys the real police, and Chick and Mervin are soon on the run.Just about a year into their 16-year run, "Who Done It" finds Abbott and Costello bursting with energy, utilizing the confines of a radio station as background for their trademark pratfalls and patter. Even when the dialogue is less than stellar, it works at sustaining the energy and proving there was nothing too illogical for Abbott and Costello."Why wasn't this murder reported yesterday," Mervin demands as he shows up seconds after the murder, playing a cop.Because it didn't happen yet, is the answer."Why wait until the last minute...You're going to get the electric chair, and two years besides!"Before you can register enough to groan about that one, Chick is educating Mervin on watts and volts. "What's volts?" "Exactly, watts are volts." "That's what I'm trying to find out...Next thing you'll tell me watts is on second!"Then you get one of the best bits Abbott and Costello ever did on film, the Alexander 2222 routine, where Mervin tries to call the radio station from a drug store across the street and can't get through, even as a bevy of bizarre characters step into the same phone booth to call places like Nome, Alaska and Moscow. "Long distance, get me Brazil. Hello, Brazil. Is this Joe? Hi Joe! How's the coffee business?" There's lots of great silliness here, my favorite being when Lou for no reason bursts into opera.As theowinthrop notes in his review, this is an interesting Abbott & Costello film for its focus on radio, which broke them as a national phenomenon and where they continued to work throughout their film career. There's a nice bit where Chick and Mervin, behind the counter of their drug store, act out their radio script with ice-cream scoopers ("'The Midget Gets The Chair,' or 'Small Fry'") and clever use of the tools of radio, like recordings that are activated at the wrong moment, and a prop door Mervin mistakes for the real thing. Walk through one door, and you are in a dark office where a murderer lurks, walk through another and you are in the middle of an acrobatic act.Why is there an acrobatic act being performed at a radio station? Why are Chick and Mervin entrusted with the one piece of evidence by someone who knows they aren't cops? How does Mervin manage to climb up the side of a building after taking a flagpole in the crotch? Watching an Abbott and Costello movie, you have to ignore stuff like that.But what you get in "Who Done It" is worth the sacrifice. You get a first-rate supporting cast including the memorable Mary Wilkes, Patric Knowles from "The Adventures of Robin Hood," Edmund MacDonald from "Flying Tigers," and most effectively, William Bendix as a dopey detective who actually manages to get himself tricked by Lou. There's also a great finale on the roof of a building that combines laughs and suspense as effectively as anything in the more-heralded "Meets Frankenstein."Later on, the films got weaker as Lou pushed Bud to the side and showcased himself more as cuddly man-child. But here the pair was still hungry for laughs and experienced enough to understand what worked. They gave the public what they wanted with "Who Done It," and its a tribute to their lasting genius such a light endeavor still holds up today.