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Buck Privates
Buck Privates is a 1941 American musical military comedy film directed by Arthur Lubin that turned Bud Abbott and Lou Costello into bona fide movie stars. It was the first service comedy based on the peacetime draft of 1940. The comedy team made two more service comedies before the United States entered the war (In the Navy and Keep 'Em Flying). A sequel to this movie, Buck Privates Come Home, was released in 1947. Buck Privates is one of three Abbott and Costello films featuring The Andrews Sisters, who were also under contract to Universal Pictures at the time.
Abbott and Costello performed a one-hour radio adaptation of the film on the Lux Radio Theatre on October 13, 1941.
Slicker Smith and Herbie Brown are sidewalk peddlers who hawk neckties out of a suitcase. Chased by a cop, they duck into a movie theater, not realizing that it is now being used as an Army enlistment center. Believing that they are signing up for theater prizes, they accidentally enlist.
Meanwhile, spoiled playboy Randolph Parker and his long-suffering valet, Bob Martin, also report to the theater. Randolph expects his influential father to pull some strings so he can avoid military service. Bob, on the other hand, takes his military obligations in stride. Tensions between the two men escalate further with the introduction of Judy Gray, a camp hostess and a friend of Bob's upon whom Randolph sets his sights.
At boot camp, Slicker and Herbie are mortified to discover that Collins, the policeman who chased them, is now their sergeant. Randolph, meanwhile, learns that his father will not use his influence on his behalf, believing that a year in the Army will do Randolph some good. For all the difficulties, camp life isn't so bad, since The Andrews Sisters appear at regular intervals to sing sentimental or patriotic tunes (including "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy") and Herbie continues to foul up with little consequence.
Although he is an expert marksman, Randolph skips an army shooting match in order to spend the afternoon with Judy. The company loses the match and all the money they had bet on him, causing them to resent him even more. However, during a war game exercise, Randolph redeems himself by saving Bob and coming up with a ruse to win the sham battle for his company. He is finally accepted by his unit and wins Bob's and Judy's admiration in the process. When he learns that he's been accepted to Officer Training School, he initially refuses, believing that his father's political influence was responsible. However, his commanding officer assures him that his training record and recommendations from his superiors factored in the decision. Bob has also been offered an appointment to OTS, and Judy announces that she will be joining them there as a hostess. Meanwhile, Smitty and Herbie accept Collins' invitation to shoot dice, but Herbie ends up (literally) losing his pants.
Buck Privates was filmed from December 13, 1940, through January 11, 1941. It was originally budgeted at $233,000 over 20 days; in the end it was $12,000 over budget and four days over schedule. The film was originally conceived as a straight military story with Lee Bowman, Alan Curtis, and Jane Frazee in a romantic triangle, and Bud Abbott and Lou Costello offering comedy relief, as they had in their previous film One Night in the Tropics. When it became clear that Abbott and Costello were really the focal point of Buck Privates, they became the stars of the film. The "cast of characters" credits, after the end title, were filmed before the emphasis was shifted to Abbott and Costello, so Lee Bowman was billed first, as originally intended.
The "drill routine", where Smitty tries to get Herbie and other soldiers to march in formation, had been performed by Abbott and Costello on stage for more than three years, where it lasted about two-and-a-half minutes. Director Arthur Lubin and film editor Arthur Hilton, recognizing the potential for a major comedy scene, combined footage from all the various takes—in which Abbott and Costello never performed the same way twice—and extended the drill routine into a five-minute sketch that became a highlight of the finished feature. Abbott and Costello were amazed when they saw the scene on film; they were so accustomed to the shorter, two-minute sketch that they couldn't believe how cleverly it had been amplified.
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Buck Privates
Buck Privates is a 1941 American musical military comedy film directed by Arthur Lubin that turned Bud Abbott and Lou Costello into bona fide movie stars. It was the first service comedy based on the peacetime draft of 1940. The comedy team made two more service comedies before the United States entered the war (In the Navy and Keep 'Em Flying). A sequel to this movie, Buck Privates Come Home, was released in 1947. Buck Privates is one of three Abbott and Costello films featuring The Andrews Sisters, who were also under contract to Universal Pictures at the time.
Abbott and Costello performed a one-hour radio adaptation of the film on the Lux Radio Theatre on October 13, 1941.
Slicker Smith and Herbie Brown are sidewalk peddlers who hawk neckties out of a suitcase. Chased by a cop, they duck into a movie theater, not realizing that it is now being used as an Army enlistment center. Believing that they are signing up for theater prizes, they accidentally enlist.
Meanwhile, spoiled playboy Randolph Parker and his long-suffering valet, Bob Martin, also report to the theater. Randolph expects his influential father to pull some strings so he can avoid military service. Bob, on the other hand, takes his military obligations in stride. Tensions between the two men escalate further with the introduction of Judy Gray, a camp hostess and a friend of Bob's upon whom Randolph sets his sights.
At boot camp, Slicker and Herbie are mortified to discover that Collins, the policeman who chased them, is now their sergeant. Randolph, meanwhile, learns that his father will not use his influence on his behalf, believing that a year in the Army will do Randolph some good. For all the difficulties, camp life isn't so bad, since The Andrews Sisters appear at regular intervals to sing sentimental or patriotic tunes (including "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy") and Herbie continues to foul up with little consequence.
Although he is an expert marksman, Randolph skips an army shooting match in order to spend the afternoon with Judy. The company loses the match and all the money they had bet on him, causing them to resent him even more. However, during a war game exercise, Randolph redeems himself by saving Bob and coming up with a ruse to win the sham battle for his company. He is finally accepted by his unit and wins Bob's and Judy's admiration in the process. When he learns that he's been accepted to Officer Training School, he initially refuses, believing that his father's political influence was responsible. However, his commanding officer assures him that his training record and recommendations from his superiors factored in the decision. Bob has also been offered an appointment to OTS, and Judy announces that she will be joining them there as a hostess. Meanwhile, Smitty and Herbie accept Collins' invitation to shoot dice, but Herbie ends up (literally) losing his pants.
Buck Privates was filmed from December 13, 1940, through January 11, 1941. It was originally budgeted at $233,000 over 20 days; in the end it was $12,000 over budget and four days over schedule. The film was originally conceived as a straight military story with Lee Bowman, Alan Curtis, and Jane Frazee in a romantic triangle, and Bud Abbott and Lou Costello offering comedy relief, as they had in their previous film One Night in the Tropics. When it became clear that Abbott and Costello were really the focal point of Buck Privates, they became the stars of the film. The "cast of characters" credits, after the end title, were filmed before the emphasis was shifted to Abbott and Costello, so Lee Bowman was billed first, as originally intended.
The "drill routine", where Smitty tries to get Herbie and other soldiers to march in formation, had been performed by Abbott and Costello on stage for more than three years, where it lasted about two-and-a-half minutes. Director Arthur Lubin and film editor Arthur Hilton, recognizing the potential for a major comedy scene, combined footage from all the various takes—in which Abbott and Costello never performed the same way twice—and extended the drill routine into a five-minute sketch that became a highlight of the finished feature. Abbott and Costello were amazed when they saw the scene on film; they were so accustomed to the shorter, two-minute sketch that they couldn't believe how cleverly it had been amplified.