Africa Screams

The 1950's is not a time period of political correctness and modern thinking that we use in 2017. Ideas and beliefs were characterized onto film and it gave us stereotypes and ideas based on stories and what we see on television. That's food for thought. Now, the movie I have just seen features the legendary comedic duo of Abbott and Costello. They are vaudeville and Hollywood royalty. Their comedy acts are world renown and their shtick are still seen in movies and television today. When you think of them, most will think of either their “Who's on first” routine or their collaboration movies with the Universal Monsters from the 1940's. You are probably asking what is up with the first couple of sentences of this review? Well, the movie we're going to learn about is called Africa Screams. A movie about Abbott and Costello going to Africa and shenanigans ensue with how they portray the animals, the “help” and the eventual tribesmen that inhabit the jungle. We'll review the movie based on story, comedy, and we'll also cross the bridge and talk about the political correctness that needs to be addressed. With all the political correctness that would trigger many, does this movie have any redeeming factors in terms of comedy and entertainment? Let's set the course and see if this movie is a diamond in the rough as we look at Africa Screams.

The main plot of this movie is about Abbott and Costello working at a department store when they are approached by two thugs and a woman who want a book that has a map inside. When Costello says he can draw the map, greed sets in for Abbott who wants a big cut of money. With everyone trying to manipulate each other, they are all catapult to a country in Africa, where they want to capture a giant orangutan, lions, exotic creatures and diamonds. The plot is actually quite funny and fascinating. It has Abbott being greedy and Costello being the lackey. Taking the duo out of America to the jungles of Africa where they have no clue what to do sounds like it would be a lot of fun and have lots of funny scenes. Abbott and Costello are playing the same kind of characters as they usually do for their vaudeville and their movies. There are no differences here. We also get cameos from Shemp Howard (one of the original Three Stooges) and Joe Besser (an eventual Three Stooge, who was annoying and not funny. FYI, he is annoying in this movie also). We also have legendary carny/circus performer Clyde Beatty (a well known lion tamer from the yesteryear) showcasing in the movie some of his skills as a tamer cracking the whip and having the lions move about the cage. The story focuses on Abbott and Costello but tangents off with showing different comedic bits and not on the story.

The comedy is hit or miss in this movie. The Abbott and Costello bits are from their Frankenstein movie and their vaudeville acts are classic and always get a chuckle out of me. I can appreciate comedy and it is a very hard genre to do. The funny scenes in the movie, to me, were before they even went to Africa (which is the first twenty minutes of the movie). Once they are in Africa, it just becomes sort of boring it also seems like they were trying WAY to hard for an out of water experience with how Costello would interact in a completely unique environment. An example is they are going to take a dip in the river. Well, there is an area you can swim in without any fear of an alligator or crocodile interfering. Well, before they take a dip, a croc escapes capture and goes inside

the safe area. Well, we see Costello diving into the safe area and we see the croc. Wacka wacka wacka everyone. We see it coming a mile away, we knows it going to happen. The crocodile scares Costello out of the water with no repercussion and it fades to black to move on to the next scene. That's the bit. It was a visual gag we knew was going to happen a mile away, they give it to us, and I think, “Well, yeah. That's pretty much what I thought was going to happen.” I guess I was hoping for more payoff but it fell flat and I was numb to it. The whole movie has bits similar, like a sight gag. We know what's happening, they fall for it, whoopsie, they are in trouble. I know its an old time way for comedy, but they have better banter and shtick that just sight gags. I was wishing for more, and I didn't really receive much of it.

I don't want to trigger anyone or have people in uproar when I talk about this movie, especially when it comes to the treatment and attitude toward the African people in the movie (I'm not sure if it's people in blackface or if they actually had African Americans in the film). For most of the movie, the white safari wearing men and women are ordering the Africans (who are wearing loincloths) to do the labor such as setting traps and moving things out of the way and getting them food. *Pulls collar making a sound like yeesh*. Also, Abbott calls one the men “boy” (ugh) and last but not least, Abbott and Costello, while collecting diamonds, meet African cannibals with their white paint, Zulu like shields and wanting to eat Costello (Double ugh). Where do I begin? Is it racist? Yes. Is it PC? Hell no its not PC. Well, that's a start. This movie was made in 1950 and most Americans only know very little about Africa. They would know about the slave trade of the Americans, reading books about safaris and going to the movies. African tribesmen during those days were always portrayed as some kind of cannibal or hoodoo practitioner. When I see the chief looking at Costello and grossly licks his lips cause he wants to eat him, I am thinking this isn't funny. Maybe because I live in 2017 and I know better, but how were people in the 50s finding these scenes funny? There could have been so much more possibilities with this movie but they short changed us and, the sad thing, is that there have been many movies previous featuring the same kind of African tribal that it wasn't even creative but rather a recycled trope for the audience.

So, what do I think of the movie as a whole? Frankly, I expected more from Abbott and Costello. I was thinking maybe they were done with their movie career but it turned out they did many more features. The script maybe wasn't the best and maybe Abbott and Costello didn't really have much to work with? I don't know the answers. The movie story was fine for the 1950s, though it had different tangents within it. It featured a famous duo and it took them out of America and put them somewhere exotic. However, besides the overt racism in the movie with the stereotypes of African males, the comedy isn't there. Maybe I'm being stingy but I am not entertained by the movie. It fell flat for me. I even took a phone call during the movie because I was bored with the dialogue and the comedy. The duo have done so much better than this movie and I did buy a collection of theirs, so, I'm hoping the next Abbott and Costello movie I see will be funny and not have to deal with any triggers in them.

I give this movie 1 lion roar out of 5