In Society (1944)

In Society: Directed by Jean Yarbrough, Erle C. Kenton. With Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Marion Hutton, Kirby Grant. Two bumbling plumbers are hired by a socialite to fix a leak. A case of mistaken identity gets the pair an invitation to a fancy party and an entree into high society. As expected, things don’t go too smoothly.

“Bud Abbott and Lou Costello play a couple of plumbers whose handiwork reminds one of scenes from the Three Stooges when they were u0026quot;handymenu0026quot; in a couple of films. Their scenes being mistaken as house guests at an estate are very funny, with them getting the dress clothes of a couple of other guests. The two have a couple of other scenes with some humor, including a firetruck chase. But the comedy in the rest of the film is just so-so. And, but for the two stars, the rest of the film would be a drag.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;In Societyu0026quot; has a romance subplot, as do a number of early Abbott and Costello films. These usually evolve around singing and music with a lesser known swing band of the day. That translates in the 21st century to a band no one is likely have heart of or remembered. And, the cast for this story, and their performances are what one would normally see in the B movies of the day. That goes for the singing and music as well. The only other cast member who adds anything to the film is Arthur Treacher who plays Pipps, the butler.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis film may have been funnier to audiences of its day, during World War II, but itu0026#39;s not a memorable comedy in the 21st century.”