Smartorhypo
Highly Overrated But Still Good
StyleSk8r
At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.
Verity Robins
Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.
galicea-19143
When most consider Abbott & Costello's expansive filmography, the first movies that usually come to mind are "Buck Privates" and "Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein." As someone who's seen each of their films seven times, (or more, depending on movie), this one's my very favorite (although I think only truly faithful A&C lovers know how much fun it is). The casting choices are pitch perfect, (especially with Lou's beautiful co-star). The unique, innovative storyline takes Abbott & Costello back to the revolutionary era, each of them playing two different parts in past and present modes (circa 1945), gifting the audience a wonderfully funny double dose of sheer genius.I think it's one of A&C's most imaginative, brilliant scripts, with almost non-stop laughs. This is definite "must-watch cinema," a true comedic gem, so rare in the 21st century.
jjnxn-1
I guess it depends on your fondness for Abbot & Costello as a team but for me this is without question the best film the team ever made with Buck Privates a close second.The pair share hardly any screen time together due to the demands of the script and also apparently because of behind the scenes tensions between the team. It all works to the film's advantage since it gives a freshness to their material. It also helps that both are paired with compatible partners, Abbot more than one. Marjorie Reynolds' kindly patience with the sweet but dithering Lou adds a great deal of charm to their scenes, and makes him less buffoonish, as wronged ghosts frustrated by their inability to prove their innocence. In the modern section Bud has a fine bunch of co-stars with two standouts: Gale Sondergaard doing a fun riff on Mrs. Danvers from Rebecca and the delightful Binnie Barnes cracking wise at every opportunity. The cast is great but they are fortunate to have a decent script with a nice set up to work with. The gentle humor of the tale is a pleasant change from the usual silliness of most A&C films which while initially amusing can wear thin pretty quickly.
dougdoepke
Costello as an inept ghost from revolutionary times and Abbott as a psychiatrist, of all things. This is likely the most unusual of the A&C comedies. Actually, the results are more like a Reynolds and Costello comedy than the usual A&C pairing. Instead, Abbott's more like one of the cast rather than a headliner, while the two have few scenes together. I gather the pair were feuding at the time, which may have something to do with the departure from the usual.Still, the movie's both funny and inventive. Reynolds and Costello are two wandering spirits from George Washington's time condemned to haunt an estate until they can clear themselves of bogus charges of treason. Needless to say, Costello makes a laughably inept ghost—he just can't seem to get that disappearance wiggle down right. Nonetheless, he and Reynolds play off one another nicely with her getting the "straight man" role in fetching fashion.There's a number of inside jokes with references to Rebecca (1940) and Bogart & Bacall (just whistle if you want me). And in a casting master stroke, there's the icy Gale Sondergaard (Emily) on hand to give everyone the shivers. I really like the last sequence with its touch of humorous irony that's fitting for the supernatural hijinks that've gone before.This is definitely not formula A&C, but may be their most inventive and among their loony best.
MartinHafer
In the 1946, Abbott and Costello were at each other's throats and refused to work with each other BUT would still make films. So, Universal Studios was very creative and made two films where the two comedy stars could be films together...of sorts. While they both were in LITTLE GIANT and THE TIME OF THEIR LIVES, they didn't do all that many scenes together and they definitely didn't look like a team. While many disliked these two movies (particularly LITTLE GIANT), I like them both a lot because all the films leading up to it were becoming a bit stale--with an obvious formula and predictability about them. The standard formula up to 1946 consisted of Abbott and Costello doing their thing, a separate love interest (that mostly distracted the viewers) and lots and lots of singing (again, it mostly distracted the viewers). Most people were wanting more Abbott and Costello in films and they got this in these two films--just not in the way most people wanted. THE TIME OF THEIR LIVES is less a comedy and more a character driven film with some comedy. This isn't a bad thing--just a big departure from the past. Unlike the older films, the jokes were not the most important thing, but plot development was.The film begins in 1780. Because of a mistake, Lou Costello and Marjorie Reynolds both were killed and assumed to be traitors to the revolutionary cause. Upon their death, they were cursed and their ghosts were to haunt the property forever--or until there is proof that the two were not traitors.Now, in the present day of 1946, the mansion where they'd been killed was newly restored and once again people started coming back to the property where Lou and Marjorie were stuck. Eventually, they are able to communicate, of sorts, with the present time and a search begins to locate a letter from General Washington that proves they were NOT bad guys after all.It's interesting that Bud Abbott plays dual roles (just like he did in the previous film). In the prologue, he plays an awful scoundrel who hates and betrays Lou. In the present time, he plays a psychiatrist who wants to discover the truth--even if it means his relative was a jerk. It's a nice role because it requires acting, not laughs.Overall, the film is well worth seeing, though not all that funny. This isn't a bad thing...in fact it's a welcome thing as the film is engaging from start to finish AND doesn't have any stupid song and dance numbers! Well written, acted and constructed from start to finish.
