Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

classicsoncall When I plug this film into my list of Abbott and Costello films I've reviewed, it comes out Number #1 using IMDb's ranking system. That surprised me a bit because it beat out a couple of my favorites, "A&C Meet Frankenstein" and "Hold That Ghost". I enjoyed the movie but I didn't think it would have been that popular.Anyway, this was Abbott and Costello's ninth film and the first with no musical numbers. They portray a pair of soda jerks, operative word being jerks in Lou's case but I mean that in a good way. Aspiring to be mystery writers for a radio station, the boys quickly switch gears when an actual murder is committed during a live broadcast, and decide to play detective to investigate the crime before the homicide squad shows up. It turns out that the murder of Colonel J.R. Andrews (Thomas Gomez) resembles the plot of the radio's 'Steel Chair Murder Case' in which the victim was electrocuted when a switch was thrown on cue.You can tell Lou is having some genuine fun here, hamming it up with fellow players Patric Knowles, Mary Wickes, and especially Walter Tetley, the elevator boy who constantly outfoxes Lou's character Mervin Milgrim. William Bendix manages to fall victim to Lou's handcuff gag, possibly the only police detective in cinema history more clueless than Costello. Throughout, Bud and Lou offer up some of their zaniest routines, with a couple references to their famous 'Who's on First' bit, but with a twist so they didn't actually have to do it.Coming out prior to the Second World War, "Who Done It?' cemented Abbott and Costello's reputation as the most popular entertainers of the era. They were always favorites of mine growing up as a kid in the Fifties, the kind of comedians whose routines have a way of staying with you through the decades. There just weren't that many 'who done it' the way these guys did.

Jay Raskin There are some slow spots here and there in this film, but for the most part it is racing through comic bits and lines at a terrific pace. It is one of half a dozen cinematic masterpieces from Abbott and Costello.The material here is almost always good and sometimes it is great. This is blasphemy, but I would rate their "Alexander 2222" routine in this movie as their best ever, even above "Who's on First?" Besides the excellent writing, there is also some excellent cinematography and the sets are first rate.My only fault with the movie is that they did not utilize William Bendix and Mary Wickes as much as they should have. Both of them were on screen for less than ten minutes, but were terrific. They both should have had two or three more scenes. Lou Costello's performance here is frenetic and surreal. He is at his comic best here. I would say that he deserved an Academy Award or at least a nomination for his performance in this movie.

dougdoepke Frenetic A&C, where the gags fly faster than speeding bullets, some of which hit their mark. The boys impersonate detectives so they can investigate murder in a radio studio. For me, that's the best part, seeing an old studio in operation. The action itself seldom leaves the indoors, making this an easier production for Universal to mount.Maybe the money they saved on sets went into a better than usual supporting cast, including the lovely Allbritton and the delicious Mary Wickes. Also, catch the Costello-like Bill Bendix as a cop who may even be dumber than Mervin (Costello). I wish he and Mervin had more scenes together—that would be a real departure for Costello's usual brand of humor. However, that might also look like a dumb-guy rivalry—never a worry with straight man Abbott.Then too, catch the great noirish lighting used to heighten the mystery aspects that slip in now and again. However, the comedy uses more throw-away gags than extended routines, except for the patented A&C play on double meanings. Here, the play is on "watt" which Mervin insists means "what" leading to the usual humorous confusion. And what about that dizzying city lights finale. It's almost nightmarish and very well done by the special effects departmentAnyway, to me, the results are not top-notch A&C since too many gags are not that funny. Still, the boys are energetic, the supporting cast excellent, and the pacing never dull. And, oh yes, there're still a number of laughs along the way.

Lee Eisenberg Man, nothing was sacred to Abbott and Costello! In the wacky "Who Done It?", they play soda jerks who pitch an idea to a radio station, and then find themselves in the middle of a murder case! This of course is an excuse for a series of hilarious gags (namely Alexander 2222 and the ledge of the building).One of the things that I liked about this movie is that it's not a musical. I'm just not into musicals. When I watch a comedy, I expect to laugh, and musical numbers cut into that. Here, just get to see Bud and Lou do their stuff. And some funny stuff it is. They must have had fun making it. Really funny!