The idea of "Little Giant" seemed a natural for great comedy; Costello plays a country fellow, well-intentioned but naive, who dreams of success in the big city. Having completed a record correspondence course, he becomes a vacuum cleaner salesmen, with Abbott as his boss. Success and failure for Costello follow, with plot twists aplenty.
"Little Giant" is considered a weak entry in the A&C series, and for good reason. While one can appreciate the chances A&C took in making a film with much pathos, along with making a film where Bud and Lou don't play a team, the end result doesn't measure up to the promise of something different. After all, this is Abbott and Costello, and one expects some great routines and laughs. While their "7 x 13 = 28" sketch is reprised here (it originally appeared in "In The Navy"), it is weakened by the boss/worker relationship of Abbott and Costello (and the noticeable shift in Abbott's toupee from scene to scene). There are a few other chuckles here and there, and this film marks the attempt to have Costello emerge as a tragi-comedian, in the mold of his idol, Chaplin. The end result just is not very funny. 3 out of 10.
"Little Giant" is considered a weak entry in the A&C series, and for good reason. While one can appreciate the chances A&C took in making a film with much pathos, along with making a film where Bud and Lou don't play a team, the end result doesn't measure up to the promise of something different. After all, this is Abbott and Costello, and one expects some great routines and laughs. While their "7 x 13 = 28" sketch is reprised here (it originally appeared in "In The Navy"), it is weakened by the boss/worker relationship of Abbott and Costello (and the noticeable shift in Abbott's toupee from scene to scene). There are a few other chuckles here and there, and this film marks the attempt to have Costello emerge as a tragi-comedian, in the mold of his idol, Chaplin. The end result just is not very funny. 3 out of 10.