I liked it. If you never saw another A&C film, I'll bet you would like it's craziness. This was the first film the boys did after Lou's relapse of relapsing fever and gall bladder surgery.
The story begins in a Brooklyn wrestling rehearsal between the giant Abdullah(Wee Willie Davis) and another. Abbott decides they should also wrestle a bit with Lou, who gets slammed around and pounced upon for an extending period. The repeated pounding of his head into the canvas was particularly brutal. Apparently, it was really Lou taking this punishment, not his brother, who was often a stunt double for him. Lou must have had a thick skull with all the head hits over the years.
Abdullah is unhappy that he is scripted to lose this fight, as he has never lost a professional fight. Thus, he's going back to his tribe in Algeria, leaving the boys holding the bag for his $5000. long term contract.(Why didn't they just change the script for him to win??) A&C board a ship for Algiers, and ask around if anyone knows an Abdullah. This disturbs some of the residents, who are members of his tribe.
Axmann(Walter Slezak), a traitorous Legionnaire sergeant is talking to bad man Sheik Hamud(Douglass Dumbrille) and others about a plan to kill construction workers building a railroad.
Next, some menacing-looking Arabs with knives are intimidating Lou. A&C try to evade them by entering a room full of slave girls. Later, they encounter a slave girl market, where Lou unknowingly buys 6 girls for an exorbitant price. The boys skedaddle to the end of a line of marching Legionnaires, who take them to headquarters, where Sgt. Axmann tricks them into signing up for a 5 year tour of duty in the Legion. As in "Buck Privates", Lou is extremely inept in basic training, yet is not dismissed, even when he accidentally turns a non-stop machine gun on the compound, with no idea how to stop it. Some bullets knock a bunch of coconuts down which knock out a bunch of Legionaries. This whole segment is hilarious.
At a desert camp, Lou's camel gets loose and runs away ,at night. Incidentally, as usual, Hollywood used 2 hump Camels, instead of the proper one hump variety appropriate for North Africa and the Middle East. Meanwhile, Sheik Hamud's Arabs attack and kill all the legionnaires, save for the absent A&C, who are starving and in serious need of water. They see several enticing mirages before finding an actual oasis, where they refresh and take a nap. Soon, a party of Arabs come along, but does not see them. One loses his false teeth when he takes a drink. They leave, and the boys decide to fish to satisfy their hunger. Abbott catches a few small ones, but when Costello washes them off, a big fish with the Arab's false teeth snaps them up, then squirts him in the face. Hilarious! This would seem an adaptation of the squirting oyster in Lou's oyster soup, in "Abbott and Costello Meet the Co-eds".
The Arabs return, capture the boys and take them to the encampment of Sheik Hamud, where it's pronounced they must die. How? By being beat to death by Abdallah and another bruiser. Abdallah whispers that he won't harm them, as he needs them to get back to Brooklyn to escape having to marry the Sheik's obese daughter. During their fight, a general free-for-all erupts and the boys run out of the tent. They return in Arab garb, while 2 Arabs are wearing their clothes. Axmann has arrived in a jeep with Nicole Dupre(Patricia Medina), whom the boys have met several times as an Arab woman. Axmann says she is actually a French intelligence spy(and thus must die?). They plus Abdullah drive away in Axmann's jeep, with Arabs on horses pursuing them. They come upon a deserted Legion compound, and open the gate. The Legion arrives and fires at them, thinking they are Arabs. Then, the Arabs arrive and gallop into the compound. The boys close the gate, so they are trapped inside. I will stop here and let you see the conclusion for yourselves.
The story begins in a Brooklyn wrestling rehearsal between the giant Abdullah(Wee Willie Davis) and another. Abbott decides they should also wrestle a bit with Lou, who gets slammed around and pounced upon for an extending period. The repeated pounding of his head into the canvas was particularly brutal. Apparently, it was really Lou taking this punishment, not his brother, who was often a stunt double for him. Lou must have had a thick skull with all the head hits over the years.
Abdullah is unhappy that he is scripted to lose this fight, as he has never lost a professional fight. Thus, he's going back to his tribe in Algeria, leaving the boys holding the bag for his $5000. long term contract.(Why didn't they just change the script for him to win??) A&C board a ship for Algiers, and ask around if anyone knows an Abdullah. This disturbs some of the residents, who are members of his tribe.
Axmann(Walter Slezak), a traitorous Legionnaire sergeant is talking to bad man Sheik Hamud(Douglass Dumbrille) and others about a plan to kill construction workers building a railroad.
Next, some menacing-looking Arabs with knives are intimidating Lou. A&C try to evade them by entering a room full of slave girls. Later, they encounter a slave girl market, where Lou unknowingly buys 6 girls for an exorbitant price. The boys skedaddle to the end of a line of marching Legionnaires, who take them to headquarters, where Sgt. Axmann tricks them into signing up for a 5 year tour of duty in the Legion. As in "Buck Privates", Lou is extremely inept in basic training, yet is not dismissed, even when he accidentally turns a non-stop machine gun on the compound, with no idea how to stop it. Some bullets knock a bunch of coconuts down which knock out a bunch of Legionaries. This whole segment is hilarious.
At a desert camp, Lou's camel gets loose and runs away ,at night. Incidentally, as usual, Hollywood used 2 hump Camels, instead of the proper one hump variety appropriate for North Africa and the Middle East. Meanwhile, Sheik Hamud's Arabs attack and kill all the legionnaires, save for the absent A&C, who are starving and in serious need of water. They see several enticing mirages before finding an actual oasis, where they refresh and take a nap. Soon, a party of Arabs come along, but does not see them. One loses his false teeth when he takes a drink. They leave, and the boys decide to fish to satisfy their hunger. Abbott catches a few small ones, but when Costello washes them off, a big fish with the Arab's false teeth snaps them up, then squirts him in the face. Hilarious! This would seem an adaptation of the squirting oyster in Lou's oyster soup, in "Abbott and Costello Meet the Co-eds".
The Arabs return, capture the boys and take them to the encampment of Sheik Hamud, where it's pronounced they must die. How? By being beat to death by Abdallah and another bruiser. Abdallah whispers that he won't harm them, as he needs them to get back to Brooklyn to escape having to marry the Sheik's obese daughter. During their fight, a general free-for-all erupts and the boys run out of the tent. They return in Arab garb, while 2 Arabs are wearing their clothes. Axmann has arrived in a jeep with Nicole Dupre(Patricia Medina), whom the boys have met several times as an Arab woman. Axmann says she is actually a French intelligence spy(and thus must die?). They plus Abdullah drive away in Axmann's jeep, with Arabs on horses pursuing them. They come upon a deserted Legion compound, and open the gate. The Legion arrives and fires at them, thinking they are Arabs. Then, the Arabs arrive and gallop into the compound. The boys close the gate, so they are trapped inside. I will stop here and let you see the conclusion for yourselves.