In Society (1944)

56% of users liked it
(265 ratings)

For their first film in a year, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello played it safe with a medley of old burlesque routines and slapstick setpieces -- and never mind a coherent plot. The boys play Eddie and Albert, a pair of plumbers hired to fix the pipes of a fancy society mansion. While a masquerade party… More For their first film in a year, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello played it safe with a medley of old burlesque routines and slapstick setpieces -- and never mind a coherent plot. The boys play Eddie and Albert, a pair of plumbers hired to fix the pipes of a fancy society mansion. While a masquerade party takes place on the first floor, our heroes wreak havoc in the bathroom on the second floor. The angry owners (Thurston Hall, Netta Packer) shoot off a letter of complaint to the plumbers which gets mixed up with an invitation for a fancy weekend party. Thus it is that Eddie and Albert, accompanied by their female cab-driving pal Elsie (Marion Hutton), show up dressed to the nines at a posh country estate. While the boys get mixed up in further comic complications, Elsie carries on a romance with wealthy and handsome Peter (Kirby Grant). Things come to a head when a valuable painting is stolen, prompting Eddie and Albert to chase after the thieves by commandeering a fire engine! Released in most areas simply as In Society, this slapped-together comedy proved beyond all doubt that Abbott and Costello's appeal had not slipped during their screen absence. Highlights include a variation on the burlesque chestnut "Floogel Street" (here renamed "The Susquehanna Hat Company"), a wild and crazy fox hunt, and the climactic fire-engine pursuit, which was lifted virtually in toto from W.C. Fields' Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 24 min.
Directed By: Jean Yarbrough
Genres: Classics, Comedy

In Theaters: Aug 18, 1944 Wide

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Cast

            Bud Abbott as Eddie Harrington

            Lou Costello as Albert Mansfield

            Marion Hutton as Elsie Hammerdingle

            Kirby Grant as Peter Evans

            Ann Gillis as Gloria Winthrop

            Arthur Treacher as Pipps the Butler

            Thomas Gomez as Drexel

            George Dolenz as Baron Sergei

            Steven Geray as Count Alexis

            Margaret Irving as Mrs. Winthrop

            Murray Leonard as Marlow

            Thurston Hall as Mr. Van Cleve

            William B. Davidson as Butler

            Luis Alberni as Luigi

            Don Barclay as Drunk in Pool

            Gladys Blake
            
            Charles Coleman as Doorman

            Edgar Dearing as Cop

            Ralph Dunn as Cop

            Tom Fadden as Fire Chief

            Sid Fields
            
            Alice Fleming
            
            Dorothy Granger as Hysterical Woman

            Cyril Ring
            
            Charles Sherlock as Policeman

            Mabel Todd as Manicurist

            Nella Walker as Mrs. Van Cleve

            Ian Wolfe
            
            Tom Dugan as Derby Dan

            Al Thompson
            
            Milt Bronson
            
            Charlie Hall
            
See full cast

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