Colgate Comedy Hour: Would be 5* if all complete, but 15 minutes is missing in show #2
This is a collection of THE COLGATE COMEDY HOUR shows that were hosted by Abbott & Costello. Do not confuse this with their later filmed sit-com which is also out on DVD.
I think Abbott & Costello are seen at their best in these live performances, improvising as they go along. I have read stories that Lou was like this on the Universal set & the directors always tried to keep a camera focused on Lou in case they catch something ad-libbed. Watch Bud Abbott's reaction as Lou breaks the set, changes the lines or gets carried away.
This would have been a 5-star set, but there is a major problem with the second show in the set, IT IS MISSING 15 MINUTES at the 23:00 mark! The entire sequence with Abbott & Costello meeting the Frankenstein monster is missing. I have heard theories that this may have been removed by the DVD companies so as not to get into trouble with Universal, who owns the monster costume. But if that is the case, then why is it OK to include...
Great set for A & C fans!
Most people only know Abbott & Costello from their films and their half hour filmed comedy series. Here is a chance to see them performing live on an early TV variety show. Included is their first TV appearance. You get 14 of A & C's 19 Colgate shows. The 5 shows not included are probably lost. Video quality is not bad considering that they are from Kinescopes which were filmed off a TV screen. (The only way to record live TV before video tape). And yes there are 15 minutes missing from the second show (Lon Chaney). This is due to a rights problem. The missing scene deals with a haunted house skit based on the A & C film "Hold That Ghost" and features the moving candle gag. This skit has been deleted from all DVD versions of the Colgate shows and can only be found on several VHS tapes that were released in the early 1980's. Plus you get trailers and bloopers and two A & C films that they made for studios other than Universal plus 17 of their radio shows from the 1940s. For the price...
Love the contents but...
...the presentation of the of the project comes across very badly. There are numerous typos on the DVD menus and even stranger is that the my TV chops off the edges of the DVD menu so it makes hard to see the text on the extreme right side of the menu. Overall this comes off as a very amateur effort with no real care put into it. great idea marred by poor execution.
Now the real reason to get this set if for the wealth of Abbott & Costello material contained within, A & C once again prove why they are funnier than most of the so called funny guys of today, and they do all this while being family friendly.
If you do get this set, don't get it for the blooper reel which is not really funny and barely be called a "blooper reel" most of the bloopers just seem like unused takes and nothing really funny.
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