Vol.1 Funniest Routines - DVD

Abbot & Costello: Funniest Routines Vol 1 is a great collection of classic routines from my favorite comedy team. There is close to an hour and a half of comedy on the disc, and they're the type of bits the whole family can enjoy.

There's a wide variety of stuff here, and it all looks great. Two of the bonus features have been colorized, the rest are presented from a great B&W print, that is probably the best one I've seen. The bonus features that are presented in color are the Trailer for "Abbot & Costello Meet Frankenstein" and a Campbell's Soup commercial. Here's hoping for an all out colorized version of A&C Meet Frankenstein!

For the curious among you, here's a list of the included routines:

-Hole in the Wall
-Mustard
-The Magic Act Bit
-Aspirin
-Army Drill
-Niagara Falls
-Jonah and the Whale
-7 X 13 is 28
-The Piano Bit
-The Lemon Bit
-The Dice Game
-Who's on First?

DVD has truly been a blessing to us fans of old time TV. This, and Volume 2, are a great way to have some classic Abbott & Costello routines available to enjoy whenever you want.

Legend Films presents "ABBOTT & COSTELLO: FUNNIEST ROUTINES VOL. One" (1951-1954) (78 mins) (Fully Restored/Dolby Digitally Remastered) --- now in COLOR and Glorious Black and White --- William (Bud) Abbott and Lou Costello (born Louis Francis Cristillo) performed together as Abbott and Costello, an American comedy duo whose work in radio, film and television made them the most popular comedy team during the 1940s --- Thanks to the endurance of their most popular and influential routine, "Who's on First?"-- whose rapid-fire word play and comprehension confusion set the preponderant framework for most of their best-known routines--the team is, as a result, featured in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Universal signed them to a long-term contract, and their second film, Buck Privates, (1941) made them box-office stars --- In most of their films, the plot was a framework for the two comics to reintroduce comedy routines they first performed on stage --- Universal also added glitzy, gratuitous production numbers (a formula borrowed from the Marx Brothers comedies) featuring The Andrews Sisters, Ted Lewis and his Orchestra, and other musical acts --- They made 36 films together between 1940 and 1956 --- Abbott and Costello were among the most popular and highest-paid entertainers in the world during World War II --- Other film successes included Hold That Ghost, Who Done It?, Pardon My Sarong, The Time of Their Lives, Buck Privates Come Home, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, and Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man.

In 1942, Abbott and Costello were the top box office draw with a reported take of $10 million --- They would remain a top ten box office attraction until 1952 --- In 1951, they moved to television as rotating hosts of The Colgate Comedy Hour (Eddie Cantor and Martin and Lewis were among the others.) --- Each show was a live hour of vaudeville in front of a theater audience, revitalizing the comedians' performances and giving their old routines a new sparkle --- Contrary to popular belief, however, the duo was not inducted into the Hall -- (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

BIOS:
1. Bud Abbott
Date of Birth: 2 October 1895 - Asbury Park, New Jersey
Date of Death: 24 April 1974 - Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California

2. Lou Costello
Date of Birth: 6 March 1906 - Paterson, New Jersey
Date of Death: 3 March 1959 - East Los Angeles, California

With open arms here is the classic lineup of routines:
1. Hole in the Wall
2. Mustard
3. The Magic Act Bit
4. The Mother Bit
5. Aspirin
6. Army Drill
7. Niagara Falls
8. Jonah and the Whale
9. 7 X 13 is 28
10. The Piano Bit
11.The Lemon Bit
12.The Dice Game
13.Who's on First?

SPECIAL FEATURES:
1. Legend Films Trailers
2. Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein Trailer - In Color!
3. Campbell's Soup Commercial - In Color!

The complete print was restored and colorized by Legend Films, using the latest technology --- Although the Legend Films release was advertised under its reissue title, both the color and black and white prints featured the original title and opening credits --- Legend Films can restore, colorize and release many of the classic earliest black and white films --- a patented coloring and remastering process makes each film picture perfect plus more vivd than ever --- no one can resist collecting every title that Legend Films releases.

Hats off and thanks to Barry B. Sandrew Ph.D. (Founder, COO & CTO) and his Legend Films Staff --- looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage era of the '20s, '30s & '40s --- order your copy now from Amazon where there are plenty of copies available on DVD --- if you enjoyed this title, why not check out Legend Films where they are experts in releasing long forgotten films and treasures to the collector.

Total Time: 78 mins on DVD ~ Legend Films. ~ (11/06/2007)

Bought it for the who's on first routine. That is a "10". The rest of the routines, on a scale of 1-10, is a 7.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 11 reviews  4.7 out of 5 stars