Product Description

By the late Forties, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were superstars. And sprinkled among their usual pictures for Universal were wildly original independent films that gave them more control and showed off the influence of their vaudville roots. Africa Screams and Jack and the Beanstalk offer perfect examples of these classics made outside the studio system. This DVD features pristine prints of both films in a package that will certainly entertain as it sparks nostalgia. In Africa Screams (1949), Bud & Lou find themselves on an African safari. And in one of their funniest films. Over the course of the picture, they encounter lions, a giant ape, uncut diamonds, a crocodile, crooks, cannibals and a great cast that includes Hillary Brooke and Joe Besser, who'd both end up in the Abbott & Costello TV show; lion-tamer Clyde Beatty; famed explorer Frank Buck; boxers Max and Buddy Baer; and Shemp Howard, who took time off from The Three Stooges to play a very near-sighted big game hunter. Jack And The Beanstalk (1952) gave Fifties audiences their first look at the boys in color. Managing to work Bud & Lou into a faithful musical adaptation of the fairy tale, the script places less emphasis on the team's burlesque origins and focuses more on their appeal to children. As Jack, Costello gets to show off his pantomime skills. And, naturally, Abbott is the butcher that cons Jack out of the cow.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #96192 in DVD
• Released on: 1999-11-09
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Black & White, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 161 minutes

Customer Reviews

Avoid ANYTHING from MADACY in Canada
I was FORCED to give at least 1 star. I would have given a 0 or asked for one back...

I have three different versions of Africa Screams and this is by far the worst transfer I've ever seen. Goodtimes Home Video has Africa Screams on DVD (6.99 @ Wal-Mart) and looks as good as anything Universal has ever put out for A&C.

Sound and video on these DVD's are worse than the VCD I picked up on EBay for 5 bucks.

This is the third DVD I have from MADACY and they are ALL very poor quality. The video tapes would look much better. This is a waste of money at any price. Others companies (Goodtimes Home Video and Platinum) have the same movies. I suggest those.

More Madacy trash...
Madacy has done it again...taken what could have been decent DVD's and turned them into trash. The video transfer from film is very poor, but the worst is the audio. Madacy has a history of producing low-cost low-quality legacy DVD's, just look at other reviews of Madacy titles (check out Charlie Chaplin DVD's). This is a shame because younger folks who've never seen these classics may walk away with the wrong impression. If you really want these titles get this one, it looks cheaper than ASIN B00000IC8F (which has the same titles & release dates). But Caveat Emptor folks.

More Madacy Entertainment trash...
Madacy has done it again...taken what could have been decent DVD's and turned them into trash. The video transfer from film is very poor, but the worst is the audio. Madacy has a history of producing low-cost low-quality legacy DVD's, just look at other reviews of Madacy titles (check out Charlie Chaplin DVD's). This is a shame because younger folks who've never seen these classics may walk away with the wrong impression.