Africa Screams

Africa Screams
One of Abbott & Costello's funniest comedies. The bumbling pair are hired as guides by gangsters who are in search of a secret treasure. They embark on a journey that leads them on a wild safari of outlandish fun. Abbott & Costello will keep you laughing as they encounter hungry cannibals, growing lions and brooding apes.
Customer Review: Foreign Adventure
The film starts with a comic scene in a bookstore. Two men offer $1,000 for a map in the book "Dark Safari". A woman offers $2,500 for the same map. Stanley Livington remembers that detail very well (too good to be true?). [The story and its subject are certainly dated.] Clyde Beatty plays himself. Shemp Howard plays another near-sighted character (like his role in a "Blondie" movie). There are plenty of gags to amuse the viewers. Buzz overhears Diana talking about the real purpose of the expedition - its not for a giant orangutan. Frank Buck plays himself. There are comic situations, most are still funny. There is a very comic scene with a lion skin and a real lion. Clyde Beatty does his lion taming act. After this the boys find diamonds just laying on the ground. They follow the trail to where it leads. The natives have them over for dinner. A secret friend unties them. There is more intrigue and comic chases. More fun results from a failure to communicate. The natives are appalled by a giant gorilla, and flee. Buzz takes off down the river on a raft. What will happen to poor Stanley now? Back in Manhattan Stanley is living large in a big building with his name on it. Then we see his partner and the cause of his wealth. [Is there a moral here?] This film is not as funny as earlier films.
Customer Review: The Image Entertainment/Hal Roach DVD is the BEST version of this title!
Many cheapie companies offer this title at a lower price. Pass up those horrible copies and buy this excellent IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT / HAL ROACH STUDIOS DVD mastered from the original 35mm NITRATE NEGATIVE! This is the same excellent master film used by Image for their Laserdisc release. The only thing missing here is the Bloopers & Out-takes that were on the Laserdisc. This movie is the best of the five independent films that Abbott & Costello made in my opinion. And it stands up better than most of their 1950's Universal films. Where else will you see Bud & Lou teamed up with some of the THREE STOOGES? Shemp Howerd and Joe Besser join Abbott & Costello's safari to add to the laughs! Besser would later join Bud & Lou for their 1950's TV show as "Stinky" before becoming a Stooge!