One great thing about the Abbott and Costello show for me is how I can watch many of the episodes over and over again. This episode I specifically remember watching over 50 years ago as a kid because I remember it teaching me how to tell time! I'm probably biased by memories of my youth but I really laugh out loud at this one now. There is intense dramatic dialog used and Lou is utterly depressed after Lou's birthday guests leave his party for reasons I wont spoil. It gets pretty dramatic from there but if you are in on the gag it is very funny. Look for a Stinky cameo and the Sidney Fields looking glass picture is a riot! 10 of 10.
3 Reviews
A Lonely Birthday
JordanThomasHall21 June 2019
It's Lou's birthday and he and Bud are going to throw a birthday party in their apartment. Mr. Fields comically takes every aspect of an invite as a jab at him and his family. Guests soon arrive with their presents: Mrs. Crumbcake with a cupcake, Mike the Cop gifting his broken whistle, Mr. Fields with a kaleidoscope image that comically turn out to be of him in a bathtub, and Hillary giving a comic book- "Terry and the Used Car Dealers". Lou serves everyone his "famous antipasto hors d'oeuvres". They quickly begin feeling ill after eating them. Bud discovers that Lou mixed up the can of antipasto with ant paste. Bud angrily throws him out of the apartment. A dejected Lou leaves feeling no one loves him. Events on the sidewalk adds to his suffering. Lou is plowed down by Stinky riding a scooter who also puts him down. Lou decides to cheer himself up by buying his own birthday cake and having a party for himself. He runs into trouble with the baker Mr. Bacciagalupe.
A previous reviewer incorrectly stated it was "rat poison", but I tend to agree that the serious nature in the middle of the episode feels odd. There are people out there that do have dejected, lonely birthdays and may feel a kindred spirit in Lou here. Perhaps they may even realize they're not worse off than Lou and everything bad that happens to him. Yet, for this legendary comedic team, the change of pace is a bit of a miss.
A previous reviewer incorrectly stated it was "rat poison", but I tend to agree that the serious nature in the middle of the episode feels odd. There are people out there that do have dejected, lonely birthdays and may feel a kindred spirit in Lou here. Perhaps they may even realize they're not worse off than Lou and everything bad that happens to him. Yet, for this legendary comedic team, the change of pace is a bit of a miss.
Strange Departure For This Series & Lou's Birthday
DKosty1235 October 2010
Warning: Spoilers
When I saw this it is only the second time I've seen Lou Costello trying to do a pathos type of comedy. The first time was in the feature Little Giant. The effort in Little Giant is more successful.
Eddie Forman's script here has Abbott & Costello hosting a birthday party for Lou. Lou serves all his friends (by accident) crackers laced with rat poison. Everybody at the party chokes on the poison & Abbott gets angry & screams at Lou to get out. Bud's screaming looks so real that you would think the two were actually fighting again when the episode was filmed.
Despondent about his mistake, Lou then wanders aimlessly about town for a while & then goes to the bakery to order a huge birthday for himself to cheer himself up. While an interesting departure for this series, this one does not really work real well with the only funny moments at the party & the bakery. In between is just too serious.
Eddie Forman's script here has Abbott & Costello hosting a birthday party for Lou. Lou serves all his friends (by accident) crackers laced with rat poison. Everybody at the party chokes on the poison & Abbott gets angry & screams at Lou to get out. Bud's screaming looks so real that you would think the two were actually fighting again when the episode was filmed.
Despondent about his mistake, Lou then wanders aimlessly about town for a while & then goes to the bakery to order a huge birthday for himself to cheer himself up. While an interesting departure for this series, this one does not really work real well with the only funny moments at the party & the bakery. In between is just too serious.
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