weezeralfalfa
About half the action in this musical comedy supposedly takes place at the Sun Valley ski resort in Idaho. However, all of the action actually takes place in various California locations. Two years earlier, Fox had released the very popular musical comedy "Sun Valley Serenade", much of which was filmed at Sun Valley. The theme song was "It Happened in Sun Valley", which I chose as my review title.As in nearly all of the early Abbott and Costello(A&C) films(excepting "Who Done It) there are a number of songs, probably too many, all concentrated in the latter half, supposedly in Sun Valley. Willowy, and beautifully elegant, Ginny Simms is the primary soloist, often abetted by The Four Teens(who looked to be older than teens) and/or a larger chorus, and with Johnny Long's Orchestra supplying the melody. All the songs are well suited to Ginny's style, and all were composed by the team of Harry Revel and Paul Francis Webster. This duo also composed the songs for the previous A&C film "It Ain't Hay". If you would like to see and hear Ginny in Technicolor, I can recommend "Night and Day" or "Broadway Rhythm". For Ginny's character, 'It happened in Sun Valley', as she became engaged to orchestra leader Johnny Long by film's end, disappointing Costello who thought he was going to be the groom. I thought the verbal comedy was especially strong here. I take notes for my reviews, and my notes for this film were especially copious, which usually means I found it interesting.The screen play begins with gangster Silky Fellowsly in the hospital, with his only apparent symptom a vacillating fever(induced by a pill he takes). He's hoping to slip out of the hospital unnoticed, rob a nearby bank, and slip back into his bed without anyone noticing(quite an achievement!) That way, he has an apparent alibi for not being at the scene of the robbery. Unfortunately for him, his nurse noticed his absence, but by the time she got the doctor to confirm it, Silky was back in his bed, so the doctor didn't believe he disappeared. Before the robbery, A&C entered his room(why?)with their cameras. They talk about shooting(photographing) people, so Silky assumes that they are the 2 hit men from Detroit that are supposed to show up for the robbery(Apparently, the real hit men never showed up). The miscommunication between Silky and the boys is hilarious. Examples: Silky:" What do you do for a living?" Lou: "We shoot people". Silky: How do you shoot them?" Lou: "We stand them up against a wall". Lou: "That gives me time to shoot a couple other people first". A&C still think their role in the robbery is to take pictures of the gangsters when they emerge from the bank, which they do. However, A&C become the prime suspects, as they enter the bank(why?) and find everyone gaged and tied up in the vault. "They're all tied up in the back" explains Abbott to the policeman when he inquires where everyone is. Accidentally, Costello hits the burglar alarm button, and police swarm. But, both the robbers and A&C manage to get on the train for Sun Valley. The boys don't even attempt to disguise themselves, despite good drawings of them having appeared in the paper! Silky's doctor and nurse also get on the train, as do Ginny and Johnny Long's band. The nurse tries to make a play for the doctor, but he doesn't respond, so she is mad. A&C are hired as waiters and Costello has quite a time trying to deliver orders on skates. He 'hits the ice' many times. Abbott does much better. Meanwhile, they attempt to recover at least some of the stolen money by blackmailing the gangsters with said photos of them exiting from the bank. They refuse to show the photo, but the gangsters reluctantly take their word for it, until Lou is knocked out and they find the worthless photo on his body. A&C find the satchel with the money in it in a ski cabin. They try to make a getaway on their dog sled, but only Ginny gets away(At the cabin, she seemingly changed from being the gangsters' moll into aiding A&C). The boys then don skis they find in a shed and get a head start on the gangsters, who are not far behind them on skis. Of course, Costello, especially, has a perilous journey on his skis. At one point, he lands on top of Abbott. Then, a bear is on the back of his skis for a while. He ends up inside a giant snowball, with Silky, the other 2 gangsters having been knocked out by hitting a tree. Yes, it's all silliness, often disjointed, and unbelievable, but that's what A&C films are all about. If you can't accept that, better not watch them. For that reason, they are best suited for kids.
AaronCapenBanner
Abbott & Costello play Flash Fulton & Tubby McCoy, two newspaper photographers who are mistaken for hit men by a trio of gangsters(played by Sheldon Leonard, Marc Lawrence, & Joe Sawyer) who plan to rob a bank while have an alibi of being in the hospital. The boys become prime suspects for the crime, so flee to a ski lodge where they meet old friend Johnny Long and his orchestra, along with singer Ginny Simms, who get them jobs, while they dodge the gangsters and clear their names. Patrick Knowles & Elyse Knox play the doctor and nurse fooled into helping the "sick" gang leader. Very funny comedy with pleasant setting, good cast and songs. Quite underrated comedy with the team.
www1125
Not one of Abbott and Costello's best, but it still manages to be above average. The film certainly ranks above a lot of their later films, and it captures them still in their prime, and it's the last time Costello has the same perfect quality he had in their previous films(after this film, Lou was stricken with rheumatic fever, and recovered only to have his baby boy drown two days prier to his first birthday. After these events, Lou was never quite the same. He was always hilarious and lovable, he just had a difficult time giving his all to the parts anymore.) The ice skating scene is a Lou Costello highlight, as is the ski scene. This film also features the best version of "Pack/Unpack".
bob the moo
Photographers Flash and Tubby believe they have land a paying job when they agree to cover a group of men coming out of a bank. Little do they know that the men are bank robbers who have mistaken the two for hired guns, booked to cover the entrance during the job. They discovery this too late and suddenly find themselves suspected of the robbery themselves. With only the photographs they took as leverage, the two follow the crooks to a mountain ski resort where they plan to expose them and clear their own names.Abbott & Costello are always a duo I come back to but yet they are also a duo that tend to deliver solid amusement rather than great films. Hit the Ice is another one of those because it is roundly "ok" even if it does have some bits that capture why people love these two. The plot is a simple affair with the usual misunderstandings and scrapes along the way but it does work, providing the love interest for Costello to flirt with and also the tough guys for him to face off against. There are a few routines that are good fun like the "teller" one or the bit where Costello packs and unpacks repeatedly, while the pratfalls and chases are amusing and are done with energy. It doesn't have enough to be considered a great film or anything but it is amusing enough to please fans and also children.The film is padded far too much with musical numbers. You expect one or maybe two but there are loads of them here and they never feel like anything other than filler. Abbott and Costello are both on pretty good form here, they feel like they are working well off one another – with Costello in particular putting effort into his falls and double-takes. Simms' songs perhaps don't appeal but she certainly does – stunningly beautiful and she has an easy screen presence that helps as well – I feel for Knox who has to compete but doesn't really. Leonard is fun as the main villain while Knowles is about as vanilla and dull as he could have been.Overall this is an OK piece of comedy that fans will like as well as kids. There are a couple of funny routines and, although it has too much of it, the pratfall-style comedy is OK too. The musical numbers are overused and slow the film down but at least you get to look at Simms while they are on (well, mostly). Solid but unremarkable.
