HERE COME THE CO-EDS (Universal, 1945), directed by Jean Yarbrough, stars the comedy team of Abbott and Costello in their one and only college musical-comedy. Having appeared in earlier comedies focusing on military themes, westerns, murder mysteries and the Hollywood sound stages, it would be a matter of time before Abbott and Costello would join forces with other comedy teams as The Marx Brothers, The Ritz Brothers or Laurel and Hardy to appear in a college setting movie theme. With its formatted material of comedy antics and musical interludes in the mode of the Marx Brothers at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, or some violent gags in the class of The Three Stooges, HERE COME THE CO-EDS provides Abbott and Costello with their familiar routines for this above average comedy with some below average song numbers.
The story opens at the Miramar Ball Room where "Slats" McCarthy (Bud Abbott), a publicity agent for his sister, Molly (Martha O'Driscoll), and friend, Oliver Rackenbush (Lou Costello) are employed. Oliver, a dance escort, through no fault of his own, becomes responsible for the trio losing their jobs following one fiasco after another. Later, Larry Benson (Donald Cook), dean of Bixby College for Girls, who, after reading a magazine article on Molly publicized by Slats, offers her a scholarship to his college. She accepts, having Slats and Oliver accompany her with their new jobs as assistant caretakers under Strangler Johnson (Lon Chaney Jr.). During the course of the story, Oliver becomes involved with co-ed Patty Gayle (Peggy Ryan), while Benson struggles to improve the college with more up-to-date methods as opposed to the old-fashioned thinking by Jonathan Kirkland (Charles Dingle), chairman of the Board of Regents, who also holds a mortage to the college. Kirkland's daughter, Diane (June Vincent), who loves the dean, notices his attention leaning towards Molly. Because Kirkland intends on closing the college, the co-eds, along with Slats and Oliver, hope on raising money needed by holding a basketball tournament between Bixby and Carlton College. However crooked gamblers enter the scene with unfavorable methods of their own.
With music and lyrics by Jack Brooks and Edgar Fairchild, songs include: "Some Day We Will Remember," "The Magic Violin," "Let's Play House" (performed amusingly by Peggy Ryan and Lou Costello); "I Don't Care If I Never Dream Again," "Hooray for Our Side," "Jumping All Saturday Night" (sung and performed by Peggy Ryan and co-eds); and "Hooray for Our Side." With specialty numbers performed by Phil Spitalni's Moment of the Hour and His All Girl Orchestra, with Evelyn Lay Klein and her Magic Violin, these instrumental moments bring class to the film, including Evelyn Klein's talented but slow tempo violin playing bog down the film's fast pacing. Only Peggy Ryan's jive number, "Jumping All Saturday Night," which was often cut from commercial television broadcasts in order to fit in a 90 minute movie into a 90 minute time slot with commercials, lifen things up a bit, though its long stretch of unscored tap dancing would be impossible to appreciate for radio listening audiences in the story.
HERE COME THE CO-EDS gets off to a rousing start of priceless comedy during its first ten minutes. Lou's encounter at the night club with a jealous near-sited husband (Richard Lane); being its highlight. Other routines include Costello's dice swallowing; Abbott and Costello's "Jonah and the Whale" routine that was introduced in their debut film, ONE NIGHT IN THE TROPICS (1940); hiding a girl in their dormitory room from Johnson; Costello's struggle eating oyster stew; Costello's wrestling match with the Masked Marvel; the climatic basketball game between Bixby and the Amazons, and a chase scene with Abbott and Costello on a runaway sailboat on a busy street, among others. The foot in the dough scene is quite extensive in length, without any resolved conclusion. Lon Chaney Jr., taking time away from his horror film ventures, makes a good advisory for Lou Costello. It's interesting that Abbott doesn't take part of the wrestling match scene. Instead, Peggy Ryan's character steps in cheering him on with instructions instead. Because of its over length, the film appears to have been heavily edited, especially where some scenes seem to suddenly fade in the middle or near-ending sequences.
As much as HERE COME THE CO-EDS is overall satisfactory entertainment, only the Spitalni interludes slow down the pacing. HERE COME THE CO-EDS, which was formerly available on video cassette and broadcast American Movie Classics in 2001, can be found on DVD for fans of the comedy team to sit back and enjoy. (***)
The story opens at the Miramar Ball Room where "Slats" McCarthy (Bud Abbott), a publicity agent for his sister, Molly (Martha O'Driscoll), and friend, Oliver Rackenbush (Lou Costello) are employed. Oliver, a dance escort, through no fault of his own, becomes responsible for the trio losing their jobs following one fiasco after another. Later, Larry Benson (Donald Cook), dean of Bixby College for Girls, who, after reading a magazine article on Molly publicized by Slats, offers her a scholarship to his college. She accepts, having Slats and Oliver accompany her with their new jobs as assistant caretakers under Strangler Johnson (Lon Chaney Jr.). During the course of the story, Oliver becomes involved with co-ed Patty Gayle (Peggy Ryan), while Benson struggles to improve the college with more up-to-date methods as opposed to the old-fashioned thinking by Jonathan Kirkland (Charles Dingle), chairman of the Board of Regents, who also holds a mortage to the college. Kirkland's daughter, Diane (June Vincent), who loves the dean, notices his attention leaning towards Molly. Because Kirkland intends on closing the college, the co-eds, along with Slats and Oliver, hope on raising money needed by holding a basketball tournament between Bixby and Carlton College. However crooked gamblers enter the scene with unfavorable methods of their own.
With music and lyrics by Jack Brooks and Edgar Fairchild, songs include: "Some Day We Will Remember," "The Magic Violin," "Let's Play House" (performed amusingly by Peggy Ryan and Lou Costello); "I Don't Care If I Never Dream Again," "Hooray for Our Side," "Jumping All Saturday Night" (sung and performed by Peggy Ryan and co-eds); and "Hooray for Our Side." With specialty numbers performed by Phil Spitalni's Moment of the Hour and His All Girl Orchestra, with Evelyn Lay Klein and her Magic Violin, these instrumental moments bring class to the film, including Evelyn Klein's talented but slow tempo violin playing bog down the film's fast pacing. Only Peggy Ryan's jive number, "Jumping All Saturday Night," which was often cut from commercial television broadcasts in order to fit in a 90 minute movie into a 90 minute time slot with commercials, lifen things up a bit, though its long stretch of unscored tap dancing would be impossible to appreciate for radio listening audiences in the story.
HERE COME THE CO-EDS gets off to a rousing start of priceless comedy during its first ten minutes. Lou's encounter at the night club with a jealous near-sited husband (Richard Lane); being its highlight. Other routines include Costello's dice swallowing; Abbott and Costello's "Jonah and the Whale" routine that was introduced in their debut film, ONE NIGHT IN THE TROPICS (1940); hiding a girl in their dormitory room from Johnson; Costello's struggle eating oyster stew; Costello's wrestling match with the Masked Marvel; the climatic basketball game between Bixby and the Amazons, and a chase scene with Abbott and Costello on a runaway sailboat on a busy street, among others. The foot in the dough scene is quite extensive in length, without any resolved conclusion. Lon Chaney Jr., taking time away from his horror film ventures, makes a good advisory for Lou Costello. It's interesting that Abbott doesn't take part of the wrestling match scene. Instead, Peggy Ryan's character steps in cheering him on with instructions instead. Because of its over length, the film appears to have been heavily edited, especially where some scenes seem to suddenly fade in the middle or near-ending sequences.
As much as HERE COME THE CO-EDS is overall satisfactory entertainment, only the Spitalni interludes slow down the pacing. HERE COME THE CO-EDS, which was formerly available on video cassette and broadcast American Movie Classics in 2001, can be found on DVD for fans of the comedy team to sit back and enjoy. (***)
