Jack and the Beanstalk

Rating:
Summary: 4* for the print! Goodtimes version is the best yet on video
Review: Abbott & Costello made only two color movies and most circulating copies have variable color quality (sometimes so bad that the video is released in black-and-white instead). But this version of "Jack and the Beanstalk" is the best I've seen, and Goodtimes Home Video deserves a round of applause for issuing it on DVD. The original "Super Cinecolor" (less expensive and impressive than Technicolor) is generally very good indeed; I noticed a few instances of Costello's green costume shifting to blue-green, probably owing to different surviving film elements. Goodtimes did a fine job restoring this, and this DVD offers excellent value for the budget price.

The movie itself is a pleasant children's story with music. After a "modern" prologue in monochrome, Bud and Lou adapt their usual sharpie-and-patsy roles to colorful fairytale settings, and Buddy Baer is an excellent foil as the fearsome giant. (Listen for cartoon-voice Mel Blanc playing several roles in the "I Fear Nothing" song.) Makes a nice kiddie matinee, best for small children but older A & C fans will enjoy it, too.

Rating:
Summary: Abbott & Costello do a fairy tale for the kiddies
Review: Abbott & Costello films have always been popular with children, so it is not surprising that the boys made a couple of films geared directly for the small fry. "Jack and the Beanstalk" features Lou as Jack and Bud as Dinklepuss. The boys are sent by the Cosman Employment Agency to baby-sit an obnoxious kid (David Stollery) and his baby sister. Jack falls asleep reading "Jack and the Beanstalk" and dreams himself and his friends into the fairy tale, ala "The Wizard of Oz." Sergeant Riley (Buddy Bear) becomes The Giant, while Eloise (Shaye Cogan) and Arthur (James Alexander), Donald's older sister and her date, are transformed into the Princess and Prince. Dinklepuss, of course, becomes the butcher who trades the five magic beans for Jack's cow. "Jack and the Beanstalk" is also the film where Bud Abbott first grew what became his trademark mustache. This 1952 film, directed by Jean Yarbough, faithfully follows the fairy tale, which meant Abbott & Costello could not do their standard routines. Lou, who plays to the camera big time, has a great bit with his song "I Fear Nothing," while Bud gets to take a stab at being a comic villain. The weakest part of the film is that the love interests are not all that interesting. Not Disney, but not half bad, especially for the kiddies.

Rating:
Summary: Abbott & Costello do a fairy tale for the kiddies
Review: Abbott & Costello films have always been popular with children, so it is not surprising that the boys made a couple of films geared directly for the small fry. "Jack and the Beanstalk" features Lou as Jack and Bud as Dinklepuss. The boys are sent by the Cosman Employment Agency to baby-sit an obnoxious kid (David Stollery) and his baby sister. Jack falls asleep reading "Jack and the Beanstalk" and dreams himself and his friends into the fairy tale, ala "The Wizard of Oz." Sergeant Riley (Buddy Bear) becomes The Giant, while Eloise (Shaye Cogan) and Arthur (James Alexander), Donald's older sister and her date, are transformed into the Princess and Prince. Dinklepuss, of course, becomes the butcher who trades the five magic beans for Jack's cow. "Jack and the Beanstalk" is also the film where Bud Abbott first grew what became his trademark mustache. This 1952 film, directed by Jean Yarbough, faithfully follows the fairy tale, which meant Abbott & Costello could not do their standard routines. Lou, who plays to the camera big time, has a great bit with his song "I Fear Nothing," while Bud gets to take a stab at being a comic villain. The weakest part of the film is that the love interests are not all that interesting. Not Disney, but not half bad, especially for the kiddies.

Rating:
Summary: 4* for the print! Goodtimes version is the best yet on video
Review: Abbott & Costello made only two color movies and most circulating copies have variable color quality (sometimes so bad that the video is released in black-and-white instead). But this version of "Jack and the Beanstalk" is the best I've seen, and Goodtimes Home Video deserves a round of applause for issuing it on DVD. The original "Super Cinecolor" (less expensive and impressive than Technicolor) is generally very good indeed; I noticed a few instances of Costello's green costume shifting to blue-green, probably owing to different surviving film elements. Goodtimes did a fine job restoring this, and this DVD offers excellent value for the budget price.

The movie itself is a pleasant children's story with music. After a "modern" prologue in monochrome, Bud and Lou adapt their usual sharpie-and-patsy roles to colorful fairytale settings, and Buddy Baer is an excellent foil as the fearsome giant. (Listen for cartoon-voice Mel Blanc playing several roles in the "I Fear Nothing" song.) Makes a nice kiddie matinee, best for small children but older A & C fans will enjoy it, too.

Rating:
Summary: JACK AND THE BEANSTALK A CLASSIC
Review: I REMEMBER SEEING THIS MOVIE BACK WHEN I WAS VERY YOUNG. IT WAS ONE OF MY FAVORITE MOVIES AT TIME. AND VERY RECENT I SAW THE LAST 10 MINS OF THIS CLASSIC MOVIES AND I CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT IT. I THINK THIS MOVIE IS GREAT FOR KIDS AND ADULTS I JUST WANTED TO WRITE A GOOD REVIEW AND RECOMMEND IT TO ALL MOVIE LOVERS OUT THERE. YOU WON'T BE DISSAPPIONTED WITH THIS FILM IS HAS GREAT HUMOR AND SONGS ANY GENERATION WILL LOVE. THANKS FOR LETTING ME EXPRESS MY OPINION WITH ALL OF YOU. !

Rating:
Summary: Bud and Lou in the classic fairy tale
Review: Perhaps I'm a bit biased here, but this film was my first exposure to Abbott and Costello, and I've loved them every since. My parents bought the VHS tape of this when I was very young and I was instantly mesmerised -- those guys were the funniest team of comedians I'd ever seen. They still are, really.

In retrospect, this may not be one of their greatest films (it's not on par with Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, for instance), but it's a fun retelling of the classic Jack and the Beanstalk story, casting Lou as Jack and Bud as the crooked butcher who swaps him magic beans for a cow. Transplanting the boys into the fanciful setting works, and although some of the stuntwork and sets seemed pretty threadbare at times the story and the comedy still click well. This is also one of the few films the boys ever made that could be classified as a musical.

For completists who love Abbott and Costello and are still impatiently waiting for the rest of their films to come out on DVD, this is a must-have. Also recommended for folks with kids -- it's a wonderful movie for the young.

Rating:
Summary: Horrible video and audio transfer!
Review: This was a gift. I knew enough to stay away from Madacy products. The quality of the print is just awful with lines, missing frames, terrible contrast, fuzzy focus, washed out color, and the worst sound I 've ever heard on a DVD. I wish I could recommend a good copy of this movie but I don't know where to get one since it's public domain.

Rating:
Summary: Nicely done
Review: This was a light comedy movie.It had many funny scenes with the giant and the castle.It starts in black and white with Lou as a babysitter.He has the story read to him scence he cant read.Then it goes into a dream with Lou as Jack and Bud as Mr.Dinklepuss.This is Bud and Lous first movie in color.You wont want to miss this movie.

Rating:
Summary: Kids enjoy the show, but it's a poor transfer.
Review: You know the story... the film is a faithful retelling. Costello dreams himself (as Jack) and fellow movie characters into the story. The narrative device recalls Dorothy's dream in The Wizard of OZ; it plausibly lands Lou and Bud in character. Be advised that in addition to annoying film artifacts, my Madacy disc was defective (a series of small depressed circles in a ring concentric with the spindle hole) and in the Passport edition, the video is worse still and then is poorly synched with the audio! Stay away from both if you can find better transfers.