Starring Lou Costello, Bud Abbott, Buddy Baer, and Shaye Cogan
Directed by Jean Yarbrough
Music by Lester Lee; Lyrics by Bob Russell
Like Martin and Lewis, popular comics Bud Abbott and Lou Costello also broke from their home studio Universal to make one outside picture a year. In this case, it was due to Universal not wanting to make their movies in color. This would be the first of two color movies the duo made in the early 50's as part of that deal, and one of their several ventures into fantasy and flat-out musicals. How does this Wizard of Oz-esque story of a babysitter who dreams himself into the famous fairy tale look today? To answer this, let's start at a typical home in pale tan Sepia, as handsome suitor Arthur (James Alexander) tries to find a babysitter for the bratty kid brother (David Stollery) of his fiancée Eloise (Cogan)...
The Story: Jack (Costello) and his buddy Mr. Dinkle (Abbott) convince the very tall and pretty receptionist at the employment agency (Dorothy Ford) that they're babysitters and will take the job. Jack likes her, but her towering police officer boyfriend (Baer) doesn't appreciate him flirting with her. Jack tries reading his favorite story "Jack and the Beanstalk" to young Donald, but the precocious boy ends up reading it to him instead...
Which takes us into the color sequence. Here, Jack's the one who plants those famous beans and climbs the beanstalk. Dinkle is Mr. Dinklepuss, who sold him the beans and follows him, hoping to nab the hen that lays the golden eggs. His mother (Barbara Brown) is worried about her goofy son going after the giant (Baer). He's already kidnapped the Prince Arthur (Alexander) and Princess Eloise (Cogan) and stole the cow Jack traded to Mr. Dinklepuss for the beans. Jack has to figure out how to defeat this towering menace and romance his lovely housekeeper (Ford), before they all end up roasting in the Giant's fireplace!
The Song and Dance: While not Abbott and Costello's first or last foray into fantasy, this is their only crack at a genuine fairy tale, and it's pretty cute. Ford works well with Costello and has a lot of fun knocking him around in their solo dance routine, and he and Abbott have a couple of good gags while trading the cow and in the giant's castle. The "Super Cinecolor," the then-most recent version of a cheap color process that had been kicking around since the early 30's, looks darn good in some restored prints like the one shown recently on TCM.
Favorite Number: The title song is heard three times. We get it over the credits, then as the chorus remarks about Jack's lack of brains as he climbs up the beanstalk, and then in the finale as part of the big dance routine to celebrate the giant's demise, "And He Never Looked Better In His Life." Lou sings "I Fear Nothing" when he's going to capture the giant after climbing the beanstalk...not suspecting that the giant is right behind him the whole time. He and the giant's housekeeper get the previously mentioned comic dance to "Dreamer's Cloth" in the castle after they hear Arthur and Elaine sing it in the garden.
Trivia: Mel Blanc did the voices of the talking animals in the barnyard.
There was apparently more to this when it previewed, including a longer version of Arthur's ballad "Darlene" in the dungeon and a solo section for Eloise in "Dreamer's Cloth." It was cut before the film's general release. Some missing sequences turned up on video, but others remain lost.
What I Don't Like: Color aside, this is about as obviously cheap as you can get. The sets and costumes look like they were taken from a dime store fairy tale collection. The wrap-arounds with the bratty kid and the employment agency have nothing to do with the Jack and the Beanstalk story and are really kind of just there, the songs are dull, and the two big chorus routines seem a little skimpy with only four dancers. The Giant and his housekeeper are less giants than just very tall people, and there's no perspective or illusions done to make them look like actual giants. It really ruins the effect they're going for with the monstrous giant terrorizing everyone.
The Big Finale: Fun for kids and families who can overlook the inexpensive and dated production and enjoy the goofy gags and talking animals.
Home Media: This is in the public domain, so it goes without saying it's easy to find everywhere and on all formats for super cheap.
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