(uncredited: Nestor Paiva)
The original screenplay opened with Chuck and Ferdie working at their gas station and featured many scenes of Mattson's gang planning or attempting to scare the boys out of the tavern. [3] At the climax, another faction of Mattson's gang who had escaped from prison arrives and the rival groups fight over the loot, which turns out to be counterfeit. The state police, who had picked up the wildcat bus driver, arrive and arrest the gang members. Chuck and Ferdie are still able to open a resort based on the therapeutic properties of the well water. [4] Lubin said the film "had more of a plot" than Buck Privates. "It was more or less straight comedy. " [5] As the film was nearing completion, Buck Privates became one of Universal 's all-time biggest hits. Oh, Charlie ' s release was delayed so that the studio could hastily make and release a second Abbott and Costello service comedy, In the Navy. [6] Universal then put Oh, Charlie back into production in mid-May to append the opening and closing of the film with musical numbers by the Andrews Sisters (who appeared in both service comedies) and bandleader Ted Lewis.
At one point, about half the audience was saying 'Sh' to the other half. " [4] Motion Picture Daily called it "by far the corniest comedy the Abbott and Costello duo has committed, but don't get me wrong—for 'corniest' is, in this case, a synonym for best. [4] Variety called the picture "a slam-bang and knockabout comedy, silly and ridiculous, but a laugh-creator and audience-pleaser. " [4] Critics did complain about the superfluous musical numbers. The Philadelphia Inquirer was typical: "Universal dusted off Ted Lewis and the Andrews Sisters, inserting them in nightclub sequences fore and aft to add a bit of 'name' value. For our money…they only pad out the picture. " [4] The New York Times considered the film "immensely funny" but also criticized its musical numbers and, as a result, its length. Rotten Tomatoes reports that 100% of critics gave the film positive write-ups based on six reviews, and 90% of 780 users liked it, with an average rating of 4. 2/5. [7] Film critic Leonard Maltin gave the film three out of four stars and noted it as "Prime A&C. "
See more » Quotes Ferdie: Look, from now on, keep one eye on that candle, another eye on that one, and with the other eye watch me! Crazy Credits Although the Andrews Sisters are credited onscreen only as a group, Ted Lewis (I) identifies each of them orally. See more » Soundtracks Me and My Shadow (1927) (uncredited) Written by Al Jolson, Billy Rose and Dave Dreyer Played by Ted Lewis and His Orchestra (as Ted Lewis' Orchestra) and sung by Ted Lewis at the nightclub See more » Details Release Date: 8 August 1941 (USA) Also Known As: Don't Look Now Box Office Budget: $190, 000 (estimated) See more on IMDbPro » Company Credits Technical Specs Sound Mix: Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording) See full technical specs » Prime Video has you covered this holiday season with movies for the family. Here are some of our picks to get you in the spirit. Get some picks
In this fine UNIVERSAL comedy, gas station owners Chuck and Ferdie are willed a gangster's mansion simply because they were with him when he died. The electricity-less house was once a speakeasy and it now seems to be haunted. When left stranded by a crooked jitney driver, the boys and three others must spend the night there. Here, Bud and Lou do the moving candle bit and Costello has a hilarious dance sequence with the physically durable Miss Davis. Parenthetical number preceding title is a 1 to 10 IMDb viewer poll rating. (7. 3) Hold That Ghost (1941) - Bud Abbott/Lou Costello/Joan Davis/Richard Carlson/Mischa Auer/Evelyn Ankers/Marc Lawrence/Shemp Howard/Russell Hicks/Andrews Sisters/Ted Lewis & orch. (uncredited: Nestor Paiva) Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2011 IN THE NAVY. Here, Bud and Lou do the moving candle bit and Costello has a hilarious dance sequence with the physically durable Miss Davis.. 6) Hold That Ghost (1941) - Bud Abbott/Lou Costello/Joan Davis/Richard Carlson/Mischa Auer/Evelyn Ankers/Marc Lawrence/Shemp Howard/Russell Hicks/Andrews Sisters/Ted Lewis & orch.
7 / 10 Two ghosts who were mistakenly branded as traitors during the Revolutionary War return to 20th century New England to retrieve a letter from George Washington which would prove their... See full summary » Marjorie Reynolds Adventure Music A pair of bus drivers accidentally steal their own bus. With the company issuing a warrant for their arrest, they tag along with a playboy on a boat trip that finds them on a tropical island, where a jewel thief has sinister plans for them. Virginia Bruce Two newspaper photographers get mixed up with gangsters at a ski resort. Directors: Charles Lamont, Ginny Simms Action 6. 7 / 10 When a barnstorming stunt pilot joins the Air Corps, his two goofball assistants decide to go with him. Arthur Lubin, Ralph Ceder Martha Raye Western Two peanut vendors at a rodeo show get in trouble with their boss and hide out on a railroad train heading west. They get jobs as cowboys on a dude ranch, despite the fact that neither of... See full summary » Dick Foran 6.
A disgruntled member of Moose's gang appears and demands the money at gunpoint. The boys manage to knock him out, but other gang members appear. Chuck and the doctor fight off two of them, while others chase Ferdie, who has the loot, through the tavern. Ferdie scares off all the gangsters off by imitating the sound of a police siren. The doctor announces that the tavern's unsavory water has valuable therapeutic properties, and Ferdie and Chuck transform the place into a posh health resort. The boys hire Ted Lewis and The Andrews Sisters to headline, and the maitre d' who fired them from Chez Glamour turns up as a temp waiter.
Mattson's attorney introduces the boys to an associate, Charlie Smith. Chuck and Ferdie are unaware that Smith ( Marc Lawrence) is a member of Moose's gang and seeks the money. Smith has arranged for a wildcat bus to take them to their rural property. But the unscrupulous bus driver abandons them and three unrelated passengers--a doctor ( Richard Carlson), a radio actress ( Joan Davis) and a waitress ( Evelyn Ankers)--at the Forrester's Club during a heavy rainstorm. As the night progresses, strange things happen. Smith disappears while searching the basement, and his corpse turns up unexpectedly several times. The water in the tavern is undrinkable. Ferdie's bedroom is rigged to transform into a casino with hidden gambling equipment. The girls are scared by what appears to be a ghost. Two detectives show up but vanish soon after starting their investigation. While Ferdie examines a map to find the quickest route back to town, candles on the table move mysteriously and scare him. Ferdie inadvertently discovers Moose's treasure hidden inside the stuffed moose head above the fireplace.
5 / 10 Two Brooklyn wrestling promoters go to French Algeria in search of a famous Algerian wrestler but accidentally end-up in the French Foreign Legion. Charles Lamont Patricia Medina A. Edward Sutherland Allan Jones, Nancy Kelly, Robert Cummings Sci-Fi Sport Two bumbling private eyes help a man wrongly accused of murder who has become invisible to help clear his name. Nancy Guild Edit Storyline Two bumbling service station attendants are left as the sole beneficiaries in a gangster's will. Their trip to claim their fortune is sidetracked when they are stranded in a haunted house along with several other strangers. Written by Daniel Bubbeo <> Plot Summary Plot Synopsis Taglines: 9 ALL-TIME SONG HITS (re-release print ad - all caps) See more » Did You Know? Trivia Universal Pictures production #1118. See more » Goofs When Moose Matson pulls up to the gas station that Chuck and Ferdie work at, his front license plate is of a white color. But when the police are chasing him in the same car, the license plate is clearly black.