Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops (1955) User Reviews

A&C Meet the Keystone Kops? Not quite...

[Space_Mafune · 6/10 · 8 December 2003]

Abbott & Costello as Harry Pierce and Willie Piper are scammed into buying the Thomas Edison studio lot by a gentleman named Gorman (Fred Clark), who takes them for $5000. Together they decide to follow Gorman's trail to Hollywood where Gorman has taken up the identity of a foreign film director named Sergei Toumanoff. Predictably Pierce & Piper wind up involved in the shooting of one of Toumanoff's film and end up becoming stunt doubles for his films, while Toumanoff, who's really Gorman, tries to have the bungling Piper & Pierce done away with permanently before they realize who he really is.

Those looking for The Keystone Kops here might be somewhat disappointed as the antics of the Kops aren't exactly here in full force although there's an entertaining Kops style chase towards the end. Also this is a lesser effort from Abbott & Costello, whose routines had started to become predictable by this point in time. Still there's good fun to be found here especially if one is more capable of suspending disbelief and just having fun with what's on the screen. My favorite moments here include:

the opening silent movie sequence with Costello's Piper being emotionally affected by the dramatic story of a woman on the run from some nasty villains and the following scene outside the theater where Abbott's Pierce is the one who for once winds up in trouble.

the mistaken identity police-robber sequence throughout Gorman's house. Clark is quite funny in this scene which is a classic Abbott & Costello "who's who" routine all the way.

A&C Salute Silent Slapstick Comedy

[DKosty123 · 7/10 · 3 June 2007]

This is actually one of the boys better outings. It has their regular script writer in John Grant & one of their regular directors in Charles Lamont at the helm. It is in a way, very much a salute to the early silent Mack Sennett Comedies as it's title suggests.

Fred Clark does a very good turn as the heavy though evil stands little chance in getting one up on Lou Costello as he proved in taking on all the monsters & milking them for laughs. The film starts with a little history as A&C are conned into purchasing the historic Edison studios in New Jersey which by the 1950's were a run down set of slums.

Then through only the kind of trip A&C can make, they decide to go to Hollywood. One way or another they ride the rails & live by their wits & stale bread reaching their destination. Here is where some fine silent slapstick sequences are put together in order to foil the heavy.

The sequences are borrowed from Harold Lloyd, W C Fields, & the Keystone Kops are thrown in for good measure. Enjoy it

A Nice Cartoon

[frankebe · 7/10 · 5 September 2008]

I've seen 28 A&C movies, and I have to say that this comedy team is consistently enjoyable. The only movie that's no good is their last ("Dance w/Me, Henry"); all the others range from fall-over hilarious to innocently droll. In a couple of films Costello seems distracted and campy, but in most he manages to be sympathetic, as he is in this one.

I have especially enjoyed sorting through their later "lesser" movies, like "…Go to Mars" and "…Go to Alaska", which I found quite entertaining, and I am entertained by this movie for most of the same reasons: Costello's cherubic character seems more warm and ingratiating as the movies go along. To me, the more relaxed timing in their acting and partnership makes them more engaging. Instead of so much verbal patter, the later movies emphasize character, and may actually be funnier and more appealing to anyone speaking English as a foreign language (Cantinflas movies, with their long stretches of static action, are miserably boring to watch if you don't know Spanish).

In "…Keystone Cops", I found myself once again watching a cartoon-like feature-length movie that just happened to have, miraculously, Abbott and Costello as main characters. How do you go wrong with that, especially if you have an 8-year-old mind in a 56-year-old body? Nope, there are none of the classic verbal routines here, but how many of those can you watch over and over again? A&C are plenty amusing as protagonists—a classic duo like Laurel and Hardy, and although they did not make me roll with laughter, the movie certainly kept me smiling with its convivial mood and enjoyable cast.

The movie has good production values, with lots of real out-of-doors shots, steam engines, single prop airplanes, and lots and lots of stunts. It is more of an "action film" than some of their other films; in fact, it's worth watching just to see the stunt men, who are really fabulous. Generally I am offended when one of these films stops being an A&C movie and becomes a stunt-man movie (as Buster Keaton famously said, "Stunt men aren't funny", meaning they don't convey character). But here, the director sets up the stunts so clearly (sometimes frightening, like the train-in-the-tunnel), that they come across as very funny events. The actors playing the Keystone Cops are stupendous. I had to stop-motion parts of the final chase because I couldn't believe what they were doing.

The film has an excellent final joke.

By the way, has anyone else noticed that in some movies, like this one, the lip sync is way off during some of the long shots?

A pleasant little romp

[planktonrules · 7/10 · 25 August 2009]

Although this film was made very late in their film careers, this Abbott and Costello film is amazingly enjoyable--proving that even as late as 1955, the team was still capable of making good movies. In fact, 1955 was a very good year, with the equally enjoyable ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE MUMMY also coming to the screen.

The film gets very high marks for being focused on the comedy team and not filling the movie with padding such as song and dance numbers (this is so in at least half their films). There also, thankfully, is no parallel romantic plot--another part of the formula that didn't help their earlier films.

ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEETS THE KEYSTONE KOPS begins with the boys buying a movie studio from a shady character (Fred Clark). However, when they go to take possession of the place, they find that the crook had sold this to many people--and it wasn't his to sell in the first place. So, for the first third or more of the film, Bud and Lou are trying to cross the United States to go to Hollywood, as the trail of this crook has led there.

Once in L.A., the fall into a movie shoot and don't realize it. However, their amazing driving of a runaway wagon wasn't lost on the film's producer--he loved the boys and wanted them to work in upcoming films. The director, in contrast, wasn't thrilled as this was Clark in disguise as a "great European director" and so far, no one had caught on that he had been a con man. And, to keep this a secret, Clark hired Slapsie Maxie Rosenblum to "arrange an accident" and get rid of Abbott and Costello once and for all. There's more to it than that as well as a crazy tribute to the Keystone Kops in the finale, but you'll just need to see the film to find out what happens.

Overall, it's a funny film and a decent homage to silent comedy. Not their best but probably among their better films, this should make most Abbott and Costello fans quite happy.

Entertaining A & C Outing

[grghull · 7/10 · 6 July 2009]

Good movies about the early days of movies are scarce, which is strange and disappointing considering what a wealth of good material exists about that era. Peter Bogdanovich's NICKLEODEON started off pretty well but descended into trite soap opera before it finished. One of the best movies about silent movies is this one, maybe because it has a real feel for the time and the characters and presents them with a certain degree of authenticity. All that aside it's also a lot of fun. Bud and Lou are on form, the supporting cast (especially the great Fred Clark) is good, and the stunts are funny and well executed with nary a CG shot in sight. One of the best things about it is the lively musical score, in part by an uncredited Henry Mancini who recycled some of it for the chase scenes in Blake Edwards THE GREAT RACE. Recommended for slapstick fans.

"Don't try to figure it out!"

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 14 October 2018]

Sometimes things pop out of a movie for me that don't have any impact on the story but I'll find interesting enough to look into further. There were a couple of instances here that piqued my curiosity, the first being when crooked businessman Tom Gorman told Willie (Lou Costello) and Harry (Bud Abbott) that the reason he was selling his West Orange movie studio was because it was so far away from his Brooklyn location, and he didn't like to travel so far. Granted, the country's transportation grid wouldn't have been that well developed in the mid-Fifties yet, but on the other hand, you didn't have the same amount of traffic to contend with. The distance between West Orange, New Jersey and Brooklyn, New York is a mere twenty two miles, but it will take you over an hour to get from one to the other today. And don't try it during rush hour!

The other thing that just floored me was when the boys hit the city limits of Los Angeles, and a road sign indicated that it had a population of 319,198! That's a pretty far cry from present day of just a shade under four million! I love it when movies reveal an indication of life long ago; some of the best are what things used to cost in decades past. I'm always on the lookout for those references.

As for the picture itself, I was surprised that it was pretty much absent of your typical Abbott and Costello routines, all except for that updated 'oyster' gag from "Here Come the Co-Eds" which was also used quite a few number of times in other films as well, usually with an assortment of marine life. This time out it was with a squirrel who drove Willie Piper squirrely in that loaf of bread. For me, one of the treats that the story offered was an on-screen look at legendary producer and director, Mack Sennett, who's Keystone Film Company eventually gave us all those slapstick chase gags of the Keystone Kops. Don't despair if the ones in the picture don't include all of the originals, that chase scene is probably the most inventive of all the slapdash finales that Abbott and Costello ever found themselves engaged in for any of their pictures. Incidentally, this one was released around the same time the Keystone Komedies began airing on that ancient medium called television, so the timing was such to introduce a new generation to the antics of the comedy performers.

With this picture, I've now completed watching and reviewing all the Abbott and Costello films from Universal. They were always favorites of mine as a kid, with their 'Meeting Frankenstein' at the top of my list. You may need to come from an earlier generation to appreciate the humor in their movies, but I always found them fun to watch and have a good time catching their films even today.

A rare review

[medrjel · 4/10 · 25 January 2002]

Well, this is far from classic A&C. Basicly, it's a silly romp with a lot of dumb skits. That being said, I absolutely love this movie. It is a personal sentimental favorite. The use of modern Universal stuntmen to act as the Keystone Cops, and the appearance of Mack Sennett himself make this a movie to treasure. Don't worry about plot. Don't think about how out of place Bud and Lou seem in this. Just sit back and have fun with it. This is strictly a "ride" movie. Take the gags as they come.

All through my years growing up, I always looked forward to my local station cycling around the A&C films to when they would be showing this movie on Sunday morning.

Abbott and Costello's Homage to Silent Films

[cyran1031 · 8/10 · 13 July 2005]

Let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of Abbott and Costello and don't dislike any of their movies. This is not one of their very best but is enjoyable nonetheless. The coolest part of the film is the fact that it's centered around the movie business and pays homage to the silent comedies of years before. There is a cameo by Mack Sennett and of course, the 50's remakes of the Keystone Kops! Bud and Lou are two pals turned hobos after they are tricked into "buying" Edison theater. After they are tricked, they pursue the crook and end up working in the Hollywood movie scene. In their later movies, Bud Abbottt's persona changed a lot and it is seen here. He becomes a lot nastier, more gruff, and starts to take more of a part in the physical aspect of the comedy. Although I enjoy his earlier years a bit more, it's all good. Lou is unchanging and as amusing as ever. Also, I think Fred Clark deserves credit as the villain (especially in his "cover" of the flamboyant Sergei Toumanoff!). Without him, the whole burglar gag wouldn't have worked at all. Finally, the ending chase sequence is great! The use of the zany Keystone Kops is wonderful and the 50's versions of the icons do a great job. Look for the part where Bud and Lou ride through the stack of hay. Hilarious!! Well worth a look for A&C fan as well as fans of classic comedy.

One of my favorite A&C films

[Leahcurry · 7/10 · 23 April 2000]

"Abbott and Costello meet the Keystone Kops" gives a nice homage to the silent film era, in most ways. In that and every other respect, this film is flawed only by the long and eventually tedious chase scene involving the fake Keystone Kops. I admit it is enjoyable to watch people run in fast motion (typical of silent films), but that scene gets boring before long. I am a big Abbott and Costello fan. Here, the acting is good. Fred Clark is good as Joseph Gorman, and the man who plays the producer (I don't remember his name) was billed last, and he is one of the best actors in the cast, better than Fred Clark, even! Also, Roscoe Ates (the hillbilly who stutters) was perfect! The mistaken identity scene of the two policemen and crooks is hilarious. This film also has many other hilarious touches: Costello being thrown out of the theater (twice), the train scenes, the stop-motion when Joseph Gorman (disguised as Sergei), yells Cut!, Abbott and Costello being carried by each other at various times, and many more. This is not the best A&C film (only one film is reserved for that honor), but this is not a bad

film. It doesn't need to be better, really. It all depends on your expectations (and that should never be very high anyway).

A Funny Abbott?

[lzf0 · 6 December 2001]

There is a real change in the role portrayed by Bud Abbott in this picture. In past films, he has had the role of Costello's straight man for dialogue scenes. He played a sharp, smart, heavy. No one was meant to take this seriously, but Abbott played the bad guy! He usually gets the best of Costello. (This is not true of their famous "Dice Routine", "The Lemon Bit" and that oh so satisfying conclusion of "Africa Screams".) When it came to physical comedy, Costello was on his own, with Abbott nowhere to be found. But starting with this film, and continuing with "A & C Meet the Mummy" and "Dance with Me, Henry", Bud Abbott has become a buffoon. He takes more pratfalls in this film and in "The Mummy" than he did in all of his other films combined. Now it is obvious that a stunt man is doing the physical bits for him, but it is nice to see Abbott become funny. Why didn't this happen sooner? Maybe it was Lou Costello's ego. Maybe it was Bud Abbott's illness. Maybe Abbott just didn't care and let Costello carry the team.

With "Keystone Kops", the writers have finally made Bud Abbott funny. He tries to be gruff and mean, but it just isn't in him. He tries to show that he is braver and smarter than Costello, but no one believes him. There is finally some depth to the team. Costello is still silly and innocent, but now Abbott is a phony to the world. In the past he was able to fool everyone but Lou.

Now I am not saying that I do not enjoy the previous A&C efforts. Some of them are brilliant comedies and John Grant's routines are always marvelous. However, it took so much time for the characters of Bud and Lou to grow. I only wish there were more films to see their metamorphosis.

"23 - Skidoo"

[xyzkozak · 4/10 · 26 August 2014]

Released in 1955 - With its inferior and hokey-looking visual effects, along with its very silly story-line, I could never say that this Abbott & Costello vehicle amounted to being anything but that of a second-rate (and very unremarkable) bit of slapstick comedy.

Set in the year 1912, Bud & Lou play characters Harry Pierce and Willie Piper (respectively) who are presently residents of NYC.

Before he realizes what's happened, Willie is promptly swindled, by fast-talking shyster, Joe Gorman, out of the $5,000 that he's holding onto for his aunt.

The slimy Gorman, and his seductive accomplice, Leota Van Cleef, cleverly persuade Willie that he'll make millions being the proud owner of the Phenomenal Motion Pictures studio, situated on the outskirts of the city.

It doesn't take long for his buddy, Harry, to convince the naive Willie that he's been royally scammed. And, with that, our 2 buddies head out to L.A. where they believe Gorman has high-tailed it with the $5,000.

Upon arriving in L.A., Willie inadvertently becomes Amalgamated Pictures' star stuntman and before long swindler Joe Gorman is discovered working for the same production company under an assumed name and flimsy disguise.

Needless to say, a high-speed chase involving 8 Keystone cops gets underway where justice is finally served over the return of Willie's $5,000.

Filmed in b&w, this picture has a running time of only 80 minutes and it also features a cameo appearance by pioneering, silent-era, comedy director, Mack Sennett.

Much more than just interacting with the Kops.

[weezeralfalfa · 8/10 · 18 September 2017]

Don't expect the major part of this comedy featuring A&C to be interactions with the Keystone Kops. This does happen in the climactic chase scene at the end, which isn't all that interesting if you've seen the Kops a few times. For those who haven't, this is probably a film highlight.

The familiar-looking Fred Clark, as swindler Joseph Gorman, as well as silent film director Sergei Toumanoff, along with his fashionable girlfriend Leota Van Cleef(Lyn Bari) are the chief villains. Both had a long career in both Hollywood and TV. At age 42, Lyn was still looking quite youthful. She mostly played 'the other woman' or villainous women, occasionally in comedies, such as "Francis Joins the WACs", released the year before.

The film begins with Lou in a silent film theater, crying his eyes out over the plight of a woman and her child, who are being chased by the villain through snow and an ice-covered river. He creates a scene by standing up and shouting at the villain, resulting in him being roughly escorted out. But, he left his bag with $5000. inheritance from his aunt under the seat. So, he buys another ticket(from his real daughter) and enters to retrieve his bag. He makes another scene and is again roughly escorted out, where Abbott waits for him. Abbott slaps him, and a passerby socks Abbott and pushes him into a large potted plant. Lou then slaps Abbott, and the passersby ignore it. Then Abbott slaps Lou, and he again gets socked and pushed into another large potted plant.

Amazingly, without Lou seeing it, Gorman sells him a small movie studio, as Abbott recommends. They find this was Edison's old broken down movie studio, and that they aren't the first to fall for this scam. Gorman then skips town(NYC) with Lyn, hoping to become a movie director by the name of Toumanoff. A&C attempt to follow them, mostly by hopping on various empty boxcars, with many adventures along the way. They encounter Gorman again, when they accidentally get mixed up in a western Gorman is shooting. They don't recognize the director as Gorman, because he has donned a toupee to cover his mostly bald head. Nonetheless, he doesn't want them around, for fear they will eventually recognize him. But the producer is very impressed with an accidental stunt they performed, so suggests they become stuntmen for him.

Lou is assigned to double for Lyn, in a parachuting scene. Even though he puts on a dress and woman's hat, he looks nothing like Lyn. Nonetheless, he and Abbott take the plane up. What follows strongly resembles a similar scene in "Keep 'em Flying", except that they are shot at with live bullets instead of blanks, courtesy of Hinds(Maxie Rosenbloom): Gorman's henchman. Fortunately, they survive this assassination attempt.

Eventually, the producer, as well as A&C figure out that director Toumanoff is Gorman, but the director decides not to blow his cover, as he thinks he has potential to become a good comedy director. However, he doesn't know that Gorman has stolen $75,000. from the studio.

In a scene I don't much understand, A&C go to Gorman's house, Abbott dressed as a stereotypical cat burglar, while Costello is dressed as a Victorian bobby. Abbott gains entrance to the house, but Gorman catches him. Calling for police, Costello responds, and takes Abbott. However, he releases him outside, and Abbott again enters the house and Gorman again catches him and calls for police. This time a real policeman(or is it a Keystone Kop?), dressed exactly the same, rings the doorbell, and takes Abbott out. But Abbott soon enters the house again, and Lou answers the call for police. This cycle is repeated several more times, driving Gorman crazy.

In conclusion, this is an entertaining A&C comedy, lacking any singing, which is what many reviewers want.

I've forgotten how much fun this film is!

[jimtinder · 7/10 · 24 June 2004]

Costello plays Tubby, a fan of the Nickelodeon flickers, sometime around 1914. Abbott is Slim, who convinces Tubby to buy a motion picture studio with his aunt's money. The duo are conned by Joe Gorman (Fred Clark) who follow him to California. Will the duo catch up to Gorman, or will Gorman get the best of them?

"Meet the Keystone Kops" is probably the last fun film Abbott and Costello made. It is a surprise, considering that Costello just recovered from a major illness. Indeed, Costello looks thinner than in any of his previous films, so calling his character "Tubby" is somewhat off the mark.

Both Abbott and Costello are at their slapstick best. This too is a surprise, considering that Costello supposedly told Abbott in an earlier time not to slap him anymore!

Fred Clark is deliciously evil as Joe Gorman and is one of Abbott and Costello's finest foils. Clark's skill as an actor, coupled with his sense of comedy, are wonderful to see.

7 out of 10.

The Worm Turns Somewhat

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 27 April 2011]

As that famous silent film comedian Charlie Chaplin said, Lou Costello had pathos and its unfortunate that he and Abbott did not meet up with the Keystone Kops when they were in their prime.

The setting is at the beginning of the film industry and the boys get taken by conman Fred Clark and his moll Lynn Bari. Never mind that they're in pursuit of Clark and Bari and their pursuit takes them out to the new film colony of Hollywood.

It's one of those Clark Kent/Superman situations where Clark puts on a rug and adopts and accent and Costello keeps thinking he's seen him some where, but he's not sure. Which would make Costello brighter than Lois Lane or Jimmy Olsen who never had a clue.

The worm turned somewhat in Abbott And Costello Meet The Keystone Kops because Abbott gets to take the hits and falls. That might have been at Lou's instigation, but quite frankly it doesn't work though it does show Bud's versatility.

Several original Keystone Kops join in the final chase scene and Mack Sennett himself makes an appearance here to give it that ring of authority. Not the best of their films, sadly their best days were left in the Forties.

Oh so prediction but oh so enjoyable.

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 30 November 2019]

Everything that you would expect to happen when Abbott and Costello meet the Keystone Cops does indeed happen here, and while the comedy is predictable, everything works because it is so entertaining. Lou has inherited $5,000 from an aunt and wants to head to Florida, but they are swindled out of the money by shyster Fred Clark who sells them a movie studio that actually belongs to Thomas Alva Edison. They find out that Clark is heading to Hollywood and screw every bizarre effort make it there, and encounter him on the Mack Sennett studios where he is disguised as a Russian director. Intending to kill them, he puts them up in a plane and shoots the footage for an action picture but it turns out to be hysterically funny and they end up as comedy stars. When they discover that under his disguise he's the man who conned them, they do all they can to trap him, especially after finding out that he has stolen studio money which results in a hysterical chase with the real Keystone Cops.

Heading towards the end of Abbott and Costello's career at Universal, this is surprisingly very amusing and is non-stop laughs from start to finish. Lynn Bari and "Slapsie" Maxie Rosenbloom are Clark's equally nefarious comical cohorts with Frank Wilcox as the studio chief who basically blackmails Clark into switching his focus from action to comedy. Roscoe Ates, a veteran comic from the early sound era, makes a series of recurring appearances as a stutterer (of course) traveling cross-country in a covered wagon whom Abbott and Costello calling out of $20.

There's also a hysterical sequence on a moving train where Abbott and Costello try to escape from the conductor and end up in a car filled with angry bulls. The frog in the soup bit from "The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap" has been redone successfully here as the squirrel in the loaf of bread. Mack Sennett appears briefly in a very funny cameo involving a pie. this is one of the few times where Abbott got as good as he gave, punching a tree instead of Lou, and ending up with the pie when Lou conveniently ducks. It wasn't always easy to put silent style comedy along with sound, or on stage, but Abbott and Costello succeed with this.

Keystone Performance Indicators.

[southdavid · 5/10 · 2 December 2022]

I've been rewatching these "Abbott And Costello" films as part of a reappraisal, inspired by seeing that the "Meet Frankenstein" movie was on TV. This perhaps is the first one that I don't have any recollection of seeing before.

Having been swindled out of thousands of Dollars by Joseph Gorman (Fred Clark), Harry Pierce (Bud Abbott) and Willie Piper (Lou Costello) head across country to Los Angeles, and specifically Hollywood, to catch him. They accidentally discover him there, in disguise, as mercurial European director Sergei Toumanoff. When they ruin one of his shots, his producer, and Gorman's next target, hires them as stunt men.

Like other films in this series, the "meets" title really means just that - in the sense the Keystone Kops are only really in one scene and it's right at the end of the movie. It is, admittedly, the films second best scene though. I can't say I've ever actually seen the Keystone Kops in anything before, but somehow the cultural resonance of them has seeped into me and so I knew what to expect. The best scene was a farcical police and robber interaction that was, admittedly, farfetched, but felt like a classic routine.

It wasn't in service of very much though. The plot is underwhelming and frankly there are elements of it that I didn't get. Perhaps that's not really the point, but stringing the routines around something I care about seems to be the key factor for me as to whether I'm enjoying their films or not.

Still, like other reviewers here, it's hard to get too negative about the film, it was certainly watchable, just nothing more.

they were funny, this is funny

[keiljd · 8/10 · 14 April 2002]

A&C Meet the Kops is a funny movie, then and now. Bud and Lou were funny men, and their best film work was done at U-I in the postwar years, starting with their Meet Frankenstein classic. All their U-I Meet Somebody movies were funny, some were very funny. This one's a hoot all the way. I saw it with Power and Hayward in UNTAMED, Fox Redwood, April 15, 1955. Can't get better value for money than that. I was 16, am now 63. Maybe you have to be really old to get it, but youngsters, these guys are better than Adam Sandler, Jim Carrey, Eddie Murphy and Ben Stiller all put together. No, really, they are.

Terrible, really, yet hard to dislike.

[bighebeal · 3/10 · 30 August 2021]

This is, like all of their '50's films except ...MEET THE MUMMY, really bottom-drawer A&C. There are very few laughs, and the few there are go to people other than Bud and Lou -- the stuntmen in the climax, Fred Clark (who gets the biggest laughs in the movie with his reactions during a mistaken-identity-exiting-and-entering scene), etc.

But the basic concept, of setting a Bud & Lou vehicle in the early days of movies, is a charming idea, and the period props, costumes, etc., are very cute. And the main musical theme, which is repeated in various forms and used under the climax, is terrific. Plus the cast has a lot of nice cameos, both from old A&C hands and silent comedy veterans. And the 'meta' references -- having Costello become a stuntman, which he really had been, then having the two of them set up as a comedy team -- are also appealing.

The weaknesses stem from several sources. First, there's the overall story arc, which, in its cheap and illogical turns, really feels like a kids' movie -- grownups just wouldn't buy it, even in this context. Add to that the musical score, which outside the main theme is pretty terrible, and is constantly telling us how funny everything is (especially when it isn't). Then there's the fact that Abbott keeps getting beat up -- did the writers forget the team's whole dynamic? (Though one early scene where that happens is one of the few good things in the movie, and feels like an old burlesque bit, which used to be their stock-in-trade.) Plus there's the uninspired direction by Charles Lamont, who helmed most of their worst movies, and was never any good with pace. (Same goes for the editing, which kills some laughs by not being tight enough.)

But the biggest share of the blame goes to the boys themselves, Lou particularly. At some point around 1950 or so he seems to have decided their main audience was children, and he started playing to them exclusively. The opening scene, with Lou crying at a silent melodrama, is just embarrassing, and so is a lot of the rest of his work here. Where is the genius comic of the war years, so admired by, among others, his hero Charlie Chaplin? He's not in this movie at all, nor in most of their others from that era.

Still, the climax is fun, as are some other moment here and there. Not many, but there are a few. As I said, it really is a lousy movie, but it's a hard one to hate.

Could be better

[Russell Dodd · 14 July 1999]

Set in 1920s where Costello buys a studio from a conman then spends half the film travelling with Abbott across America then the last half working as a stuntman ina studio where for some reason they presume the conman is hiding - how they come to this conclusion is never explained. This film has boring spots such as the mistaken identity bit where Abbott dresses as a burglar and Costello the cop where naturally an identical looking burgular and cop are prowling. The highlight is of course the comic chase at the end which is certainly fun to watch. Fred Clark is good as the conman. Listen for the background laughter when costello falls over in Mr Snavely's office. When the boys are in the train, Costello looks out and reads the sign and says "Harry, we're in Los Angeles already" from the camera's angle this looks true but Costello's head is right out of the door so there is no reason for him to make this mistake which don't make sense. Also When they jump into the carraige full of cows and Costello keeps boucing out look for the trampoline he is jumping on and when they buy the studio, the old man who greets them says"This is one of the 1st motion picture studio pictures ever built. It dates back to 1895, it isn't used anymore" Maybe that is the case in 1955 when the film was made but the film was set in the 1920s so the studio wouldn't be that old. The girl in the cashier's window at the start of the film is Costello's 15 year old daughter. This film isn't too bad, they made worse. It just isn't very funny.

Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops!

[Movie Nuttball · 10/10 · 15 November 2003]

This Abbott and Costello movie is pretty good. Abbott and Costello was good as always! Its a funny movie. One funny scene is when Abbott and Costello are in the house and Abbott play the robber and Costello plays the cop. It was hilarious! If you like Abbott and Costello then see Abbott and Costello Meet The Keystone Kops!

Watchable A&C

[pmtelefon · 5/10 · 29 February 2020]

"Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops" is not A&C's finest hour. It is watchable but it's not nearly as funny as many of their other movies. "Keystone Kops" is a good looking movie. The supporting cast is fine. Bud & Lou deliver nice performances but the material is not that strong. This movie does have a few good moments but not enough. "Keystone Kops" is an okay time killer but it's not the Abbott & Costello movie to show people who are not familiar with the A&C's work.

Loaded with technical trickery, but not with laughs

[gridoon · 5/10 · 25 April 2007]

"Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops" is a film about the early days of cinema, and contains a lot of cinematic tricks itself: stunt doubling, back projection, fast motion, reverse motion, freeze frame, special effects, etc. Some of these tricks work (the horse jump over a cliff is a fantastic shot which I still can't figure out how they pulled off), some don't (the plane scenes look especially fake), but the real problem is that the story is episodic and A&C have only two routines worth mentioning: one at the start, with Abbott mistaken as Costello's violent father, and one involving two pairs of cops and burglars, one fake (Bud & Lou) and one real. The climactic chase, involving the title "Kops", is frenetic but unfunny. This type of slapstick will still appeal to young kids, but anyone over the age of 12 will probably be begging for some more verbal humor. (**)

Hollywood Again.

[AaronCapenBanner · 3/10 · 28 October 2013]

Abbott & Costello play Harry Pierce & Willie Piper, who buy a movie studio from a Mr. Gorman(played by Fred Clark). Turns out he was a con man, who has pulled this scam before. They track him cross country by train(and on foot) and end up in Hollywood at the studio, where they find him directing silent films under an alias. They then go to work as stunt men, which leads to lots of expected comedy mishaps, as they try to get even with Gorman. Weak comedy has a few funny bits but not many, and lacks any point, since the Keystone Kops are not as fondly remembered as Abbott & Costello. Their penultimate film at home studio Universal is sadly indicative of their decline.

A good Abbot & Costello film with a rip roaring chase in the finale

[RogerMooreTheBestBond · 8/10 · 25 June 2022]

Like I said this is an entertaining film that would have gotten a 10 from me if the whole film was as entertaining as the last 10 minutes. There is a really funny, exciting chase scene at the end.

Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops

[Prismark10 · 2/10 · 17 February 2023]

Even as a kid, I realised that Abbott and Costello were not that funny. A reason why they are now largely forgotten outside of nostalgia circles.

This one is set in the early days of cinema. Set in 1912, it opens with Willie Piper (Lou Costello) crying as he watches the latest silent melodrama.

His friend Harry Pierce (Bud Abbott) persuades Willie to invest $5000 in a movie studio, money they got from his aunt.

Only they have been swindled by conman Joe Gorman (Fred Clark) and his moll Leota Van Cleef (Lynn Bari.)

Penniless they try to track down Gorman in LA only to finds themselves working as stuntmen in the movies.

Not realising that Gorman is now pretending to be movie director from Europe. He is also trying to kill the two men in case they expose him.

Maybe teaming up with the Keystone Kops will bring Gorman to justice.

This really is a flimsy and unfunny film. There are very few humours bits in it. By the time The Keystone Kops show up, I had lost interest.