I'm on a little Abbott and Costello renaissance at the moment, relieving my childhood a bit via the films that I used to watch. Unfortunately, I'm finding these particular movies to be a bit patchy and I'm afraid that "In the Foreign Legion" is another one I wasn't overly fond of.
Wrestling promoter Bud Jones (Bud Abbott) and his trainer Lou Hotchkiss (Lou Costello) head to Algeria to try and convince star performer Abdullah (Wee Willie Davis) to return to the states and compete for them. They accidentally become embroiled in a scheme involving the local Sheik Hamud El Khalid (Douglass Dumbrille) and the direction of a railroad, so turn to the Foreign Legion for help. However, they are tricked into joining up and, attempting to recapture an escaped camel, wander into the desert.
Being a wrestling fan, I quite enjoyed some of this film, particularly the opening wrestling scene. I did wonder if they might have had any issues in so blatantly confirming that Wrestling is fixed at a time when Kayfabe was still so strictly adhered too, particularly as Davis and Tor Johnson were both sometime in ring performers.
Unfortunately, once they hit Algeria the film went downhill a bit. Some of the old familiar routines are there and the mirage and basic training scenes are quite good. There's a dull and, frankly, contrived scene with a fish though, that goes on well beyond any period it might have been funny. The slapstick isn't up to much this time either.
I wasn't expecting a particularly accurate depiction of Algeria, from a Hollywood film made in the 1950 but it's almost amusing to see the range of faces that count as "Foreign looking" enough to have made the cut.
Again, I didn't hate it, but it's a definite downgrade from the Universal monster features.
Wrestling promoter Bud Jones (Bud Abbott) and his trainer Lou Hotchkiss (Lou Costello) head to Algeria to try and convince star performer Abdullah (Wee Willie Davis) to return to the states and compete for them. They accidentally become embroiled in a scheme involving the local Sheik Hamud El Khalid (Douglass Dumbrille) and the direction of a railroad, so turn to the Foreign Legion for help. However, they are tricked into joining up and, attempting to recapture an escaped camel, wander into the desert.
Being a wrestling fan, I quite enjoyed some of this film, particularly the opening wrestling scene. I did wonder if they might have had any issues in so blatantly confirming that Wrestling is fixed at a time when Kayfabe was still so strictly adhered too, particularly as Davis and Tor Johnson were both sometime in ring performers.
Unfortunately, once they hit Algeria the film went downhill a bit. Some of the old familiar routines are there and the mirage and basic training scenes are quite good. There's a dull and, frankly, contrived scene with a fish though, that goes on well beyond any period it might have been funny. The slapstick isn't up to much this time either.
I wasn't expecting a particularly accurate depiction of Algeria, from a Hollywood film made in the 1950 but it's almost amusing to see the range of faces that count as "Foreign looking" enough to have made the cut.
Again, I didn't hate it, but it's a definite downgrade from the Universal monster features.