d6a2afd33b Two ex-soldiers return from overseas–one of them having smuggled into the country a French orphan girl he has become attached to. They wind up running into their old sergeant–who hates them–and getting involved with a race-car builder who&#39;s trying to find backers for a new midget racer he&#39;s building. In many ways, this film is a re-working of the Laurel and Hardy film, PACK UP YOUR TROUBLES. That&#39;s because like this earlier film, the duo is saddled with an adorable kid and they spend the film ducking the law. To me, this is not a great thing,I really prefer that comedies not use cute kids. However, this one isn&#39;tcloyingmost and she spoke reasonably good French, but why, oh why did they pick a child actress who had no French accent whatsoever–especially when she&#39;s playing a French orphan from WWII?! The film begins with Lou trying to smuggle this kid into the country when he and Bud are on their way back to the US on a troop ship. Naturally she is caught, but later in the film the kid escapes and finds her way to Bud and Lou rather easily. Considering it&#39;s only New York City, this ease of finding them is understandable (I&#39;ve heard everybody pretty much knows everybody there). But, to keep the kid, they must stay one step ahead of the police (in particular, their old Sergeant who is now a cop), get good jobs and get married so that they could adopt the kid. It just so happens that a nice WAC on the boat decides to help them and her boyfriend lets them in on a money-making deal with his midget racing car (a small car, not a car driven by a midget).<br/><br/>All this culminates in a long and wacky finale, though I really think this was the low-point of the film. Realism, even by comedy standards, was way out the window and I felt that the whole segment was amazingly dumb. Plus, miraculously, after wrecking everything, the whole film is wrapped up perfectly (and in a very unbelievable fashion). This sort of wrap up reminds me of a Curious George book–the monkey, like Lou, makes a mess of everything but somehow is STILL a hero.<br/><br/>Despite the ending, the film gets very high marks. Part of this is because there is almost no singing at all–only a catchy tune the soldiers sang in the ship. Too often in their earlier films (like BUCK PRIVATES) there were silly production numbers that detracted from the comedy, but not here. Another plus is that although there was a secondary romantic plot, it wasn&#39;t a bit part of the film. And, finally, the film was just pretty funny and quite watchable–even with the kid.<br/><br/>I&#39;d say that this is aboutgoodthe original BUCK PRIVATES, though the films are so very different that I&#39;m not sure I&#39;d consider them sequels–the structure, style and content are just too dissimilar. Producer: Robert Arthur. Copyright Universal Pictures Co., Inc. and C.S. Co., 25 March 1947. New York opening at the Winter Garden: 11 April 1947. U.S. release: April 1947. U.K. release: 4 August 1947. Australian release: 16 October 1947. 6,942 feet. 77 minutes.<br/><br/>U.K. release title: ROOKIES COME HOME.<br/><br/>SYNOPSIS: After serving nobly — if ineffectually —soldiers in World War II, Slicker (Bud Abbott) and Herbie (Lou Costello) board a troop transport to return to the United States.<br/><br/>During an inspection on board ship, Sergeant Collins (Nat Pendleton) and his captain (Don Porter) discover Evey (Beverly Simmons), a six- year-old French orphan whom Herbie has smuggled aboard. <br/><br/>The captain orders that Slicker and Herbie peel spuds until they mend their ways and that Evey be held for immigration authorities by a nurse, Sylvia (Joan Fulton), who also is a passenger. NOTES: A sequel to Buck Privates (1941), with Bud Abbott, Lou Costello and Nat Pendleton reprising their original roles. In fact this film actually opens with the famous &quot;drill routine&quot; footage from Buck Privates.<br/><br/>COMMENT: Upstanding entertainment for Abbott and Costello fans with some amusing routines and a good chase finale. It is the only Abbott and Costello feature that is a sequel to another film and the only one to use footage from one of their previous features. In fact, the first ten minutes consists of a reprise of &quot;Buck Privates&quot;, including the opening sequence and the classic drill routine, tied together with some stock newsreel footage and a commentary spoken by Knox Manning. <br/><br/>This movie is also unusual in its absence of musical numbers. There is a snippet of a going home song when the film itself starts, but that is all. There is also a very slight attempt at serious social comment, a factor not present in any other A&amp;C film. The story itself is on the sentimental side, though it is not laid on to anything like the same extent&quot;The Little Giant&quot;. Production values are first-class.<br/><br/>ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: In order to get race shots that would burn up the movie screens, Producer Bob Arthur and Director Charles Barton checked all recent auto race results and found the men with the best records. A full week was spent at Gilmore Stadium in Los Angeles shooting the racers from all different angles, with the drivers often cutting loose at speeds of more than 100 miles per hour. <br/><br/>Included in the list are four of last year&#39;s Indianapolis 500-mile racers, Ronnie Householder, Duke Nalon, Henry Banks and Louis Tomei. There also are five of the Pacific Coast&#39;s top drivers, including Cal Niday, Al Sherman, Bob Pankratz, Chick Barbo and Lyle Dickey. George Davis, Australian champion, was brought in for the film,were Mark Hilling, former motor cycle racer who has switched to the small cars, and Duane Carter who is well-known in the eastern and mid-western circuits. — Universal Press Release.
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