Libramedi Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Doomtomylo a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Senteur As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

AaronCapenBanner Abbott & Costello play Dexter Broadhurst & Sebastian Dinwiddle, two actors on the River Queen, a boat on the Mississippi river during the 1890's under the command of Captain Sam Jackson(played by Henry Travers) that he loses ownership of to a trio of conniving cardsharps who proceed to turn it into a crooked gambling house. The boys then become determined to thwart their plan, and restore ownership to Captain Jackson. Oddly flat period costume comedy is only ed for putting their hilarious and immortal "Who's On First?" routine on screen complete to live forever. Aside from that irable distinction, this film is pretty forgettable.

itamarscomix The one and only reason to watch this film, as far as I'm concerned, is that it contains the full-length, and probably the best, version of the famous 'Who's On First?' routine. The delivery of that routine is perfect, and it's a few of the most side-splittingly funny minutes ever put on film, and since it takes up nearly ten minutes of the film's 76 minute run, you might as well just go ahead and watch the whole thing, but unless you're an Abbott & Costello fan, you could well skip it and not lose any sleep about it. The Naughty Nineties has a couple of good routines and gags, and two or three very funny scenes of physical comedy; Costello is always tons of fun and Abbott is the ultimate straight-man, and when they're together on screen the dynamic is always great. But there are far too many scenes where only one of them is featured, and those always fall short; and the truth is, once you the 'Who's On First?' scene, nothing else comes close.

wes-connors In the 1890s, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello (as Dexter Broadhurst and Sebastian Dinwiddle) are entertainers on a Mississippi River showboat. The captain of "The River Queen" Henry Travers (as Sam Jackson) loses a percentage of his ownership to some unscrupulous gamblers. So, Abbott and Costello lend him their comic hands. Considering the money they were making for Universal, this is a surprisingly slipshod production for the comedy duo. It consists of haphazard routines, tossed in with an irrelevant plot and an ending chase scene. Marx Brothers bits, and even Buster Keaton's "House Falling" scene, are tossed into the mix. The deservedly famous "Who's on First?" stand-up is cheaply dressed; this is not, as touted, their best version of the routine. But, the "Cat Eating" is very well done; helping make the total package medium, if not rare.***** The Naughty Nineties (6/20/45) Jean Yarbrough ~ Lou Costello, Bud Abbott, Alan Curtis, Rita Johnson

David Spiro This movie is too often considered great just because of the "Who's on First" routine. Now don't get me wrong, that is the best part of it, but there are other wonderful parts of it as well. This is the first costume piece that Abbott and Costello ever did. I don't know that it had to be set on a Riverboat, but it did give them the opportunity to do a lot of great gags. This movie also includes the classic "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean" routine where Costello thinks he is getting stage directions from Abbott and the "feathers in the cake" routine.A couple of comments on "Who's on First": this is one of the funniest comedy routines ever, and you can be easily amused just by reading it. What makes it so great in the hands of Abbott and Costello is their ability to stay in character while doing it. Throughout the routine Abbott cannot understand why Costello doesn't get what he is saying, and Abbott tries many times, in vain, to figure out the names of the players. The routine seems to be shot in one take, and we are the better for it. Watch it many times and pay attention to only Abbott or Costello and you'll get what I mean about them always staying in character. They rarely look at the audience, the continue their thoughts (as their characters) and the fact that neither of them understands why the other is not making sense is what makes this work.