Released: January 1941

Dir.: Arthur Lubin

Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lee Bowman, Alan Curtis, Jane Frazee, Nat Pendleton, The Andrews Sisters.

Imagine a world where you and a pal could hangout on a street corner selling neckties for 10 cents apiece. Be chased by a cop, for illegally selling said neckties, hide from him by ducking into a movie theater and then accidentally enlisting in the army. Imagine a world where while waiting to be shipped off to boot camp you’re offered chewing gum, cigarettes, apples, and lollipops by a pretty young woman, then sung off to the train by The Andrews Sisters. Welcome to 1941. Welcome to the world of Buck Privates.

Buck Privates was Abbott and Costello’s second film, and their first starring film and remains one of my favourite films of Bud and Lou. The first of three military themed comedies they released in 1941, celebrating Americas growing peacetime military.

Buck Privates follows two distinct sets of characters. Slicker (Bud Abbott), Herbie (Lou Costello), Sgt. Collins (Nat Pendleton) are the zany comedic plot, and Parker (Lee Bowman), Martin (Alan Curtis) and Judy (Jane Frazee), star as the romantic plot, the film nicely balances the two with The Andrews Sisters being the fulcrum.

Buck Privates is a high energy, fun movie, filled with classic Abbott and Costello routines, songs by the Andrews Sisters, and occasionally interrupted by the romantic sub plot. Which is fine with me because if you tilt your head a bit and lean forward, the sub-plot comes across as a spoof of this very tired formula: the military themed love triangle.                       

When we meet Randolph Parker, the privileged playboy draftee, with a millionaire father who has political connections, right off the bat he’s a jerk. This army racket is for chumps, like his chauffeur and long-suffering valet, Bob Martin, who has also been drafted. Greeting Martin is his old friend Judy Grey, who is volunteering as an army camp hostess. Parker spots Judy, the gloves come off and a triangle is born. Fortunately, Judy sees Parker for the jerk he is.

Parker is a seemingly oblivious dope, not even a slap to the face and a few socks to the nose will dissuade Parker from having Judy. He has no comprehension of rejection and is breathtakingly selfish. He lets down his pals in ‘K’ company by blowing off a rifle tournament, costing everyone plenty of dough. Parker can just pay them off, fortunately no one, including Slicker and Herbie are having any of it.

As part of the film’s dramatic climax, the army conducts a ‘sham battle’, and the boys of ‘K’ company have a lot to prove. Their objective is to capture and destroy a block house before it falls into ‘enemy’ hands. Of course, this task falls to Parker and Martin.

Unbeknownst to Parker, he is undergoing a transformation, from spoiled rich kid to becoming a man (even though he looks like he’s 35). The standard act of sacrifice plays out as Parker sacrifices his reputation and allows Martin to be the hero. Of course, in a war picture Parker would have to throw himself on a live grenade and be blown to smithereens, or some such cliché. Lucky for him he’s not in a proper war picture.

In the end Parker and Martin become pals, and Judy happily makes it a threesome, which is kind of creepy.

The romantic stuff is incidental, and cannot carry the weight of Buck Privates, it’s there to give the audience some breathing room. Abbott and Costello are fast and frantic, and like Bud and Lou’s impeccable timing, Buck Privates knows when to bail out of a scene, leaving you wanting more, rather than praying for death. Not one scene feels too long.     

At ‘K’ company’s victory celebration the jitterbugs come out dancing to swing and the music of The Andrews Sisters, who have already performed several songs throughout the story, including ‘Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy’. Patty, Maxene, and Laverne are a welcome presence, as they occasionally interact with our heroes and become a part of the story. Their energy, combined with that of Bud and Lou, is nicely distributed throughout the film and is infectious.

Buck Privates is a celebration of pre-war 1940s American pop culture, something I personally find fascinating. At 85 minutes, Buck Privates is crammed with good old-fashioned entertainment, nothing goes to waste, even Shemp Howard shows up adding to the fun.

Buck Privates is available to own on Blu-ray and DVD from Universal Home Video.