Here's some nice DVD news. Next February, some company is coming out with Volume 1 of The Best of Abbott and Costello, which consists of eight discs featuring their first eight films for Universal Studios. The films in question are One Night in the Tropics, Buck Privates, In the Navy, Hold That Ghost, Keep 'em Flying, Ride 'em Cowboy, Pardon My Sarong and Who Done It? (They made Rio Rita after Ride 'em Cowboy but that was for M.G.M.) The first of these is a pretty dreary film in which they have supporting roles but after that, they turn into the Abbott and Costello who became extraordinarily popular and if you ever liked them, you'll probably like them in these films. Hold That Ghost is probably the best of the lot but they're all easy to watch and manage a few comedy highlights…usually an old burlesque bit that is shoehorned into the plot. If you're familiar with the burley-q sketch known as "Crazy House," you won't believe how they managed to work it into Ride 'em Cowboy.
So it's a nice package but what's really impressive is the price for the set: Twenty-five bucks. In fact, you can pre-order it from Amazon for $21.23 by clicking here. (If your order's over $25, you get free shipping, so you'll want to find at least one other item.) Let's hope this becomes a trend. A 4-disc set of four Ma and Pa Kettle movies, also produced at Universal, will be available at the same time for $17.00.