The Naughty Nineties (1945)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Jean Yarbrough

Writers:

Edmund L. Hartmann (screenplay) &
John Grant (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

6 July 1945 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Romance

Tagline:

A Show Boat Load of Laughter!

Plot:

When their captain is swindled out of his riverboat by a trio of gamblers, stage show star Abbott and his bumbling sidekick Costello must put things right.

Plot Keywords:

Gambling House | Gambler | Actor | Showboat | Singer

Cast

Bud Abbott	...	Dexter Broadhurst
Lou Costello	...	Sebastian Dinwiddle
Alan Curtis	...	Mr. Crawford
Rita Johnson	...	Bonita Farrow
Henry Travers	...	Capt. Sam Jackson
Lois Collier	...	Miss Caroline Jackson
Joe Sawyer	...	Bailey
Joe Kirk	...	Croupier
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Rainbow Four	...	Themselves

Runtime:

76 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved | Sweden:Btl

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The character of Raymond (Dustin Hoffman) (1988) in Rain Man (1988) memorizes "Who's On First" and uses it as therapy. If Hoffman is asked he can still recite the routine from memory.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: At one point in the "Who's On First" routine, Costello forgets Abbott's character's name (Dexter Broadhurst): he says, "Stay on third base, Misterrrrr . . ." and quickly glances off-camera while someone obviously mouthed or wrote the correct name, as Costello hurriedly says "Broadhurst".

Quotes:

Dexter Broadhurst: Strange as it may seem, they give ball players nowadays very peculiar names.
Sebastian Dinwiddle: Funny names?
Dexter Broadhurst: Nicknames. Nicknames.
Sebastian Dinwiddle: Not -- not as funny as my name -- Sebastian Dinwiddie.
Dexter Broadhurst: Oh, yes, yes, yes!
Sebastian Dinwiddle: Funnier than that?
Dexter Broadhurst: Oh, absolutely. Yes. Now, on the St. Louis team we have Who's on first, What's on second, I Don't Know is on third --
Sebastian Dinwiddle: That's what I want to find out. I want you to tell me the names of the fellows on the St. Louis team.
Dexter Broadhurst: I'm telling you. Who's on first, What's on second, I don't Know is on third --
Sebastian Dinwiddle: You know the fellows' names?
[...]

Movie Connections:

References Show Boat (1936)

Soundtrack:

Nora Malone

One of Their Best

Naughty Nineties, The (1945)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Abbott and Costello working on a riverboat when a group of gamblers try and take it over. There's very little story here but instead there are countless skits including Who's On First. I'm really not sure why this gets so many negative ratings in various movie books because I think this is one of the duo's best films. There are non-stop gags and for the most part all of them are wonderful. Costello fighting the bear is a highlight as is the terrific cat scene. Nothing else needs to be said about the Who's On First gag, which I think is their best performance of this classic. The crowd I viewed this with also really seemed to love it as the film was getting the biggest laughs and most applause.