Corrida messicana

Fresh from the hit "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein," the comedy duo set out on "Mexican Hayride." Costello plays Joe Bascom, who is on the trail of Harry Lambert (Bud Abbott). Lambert coerced Bascom into swindling friends in Iowa, and Bascom has followed him into Mexico to force him to pay up. Through a series of misunderstandings, Bascom becomes "Amigo Americano" and is honored and feted. Lambert sees this as an opportunity for further land swindles in Mexico, and again tries to use Bascom as an unwitting pawn.

If this description sounds like an unusual plot for an Abbott and Costello film, you would be right. The story is based upon a Broadway show. A&C stalwart screenwriter John Grant does his best to interject A&C humor and routines into the existing Broadway storyline. Two of his best examples are the scene where Abbott rips off Costello's clothes in an effort to hide his initials, which are sewed on every piece of clothing; and the scene with Fritz Feld as an diction specialist.

"Mexican Hayride" is considered one of the weakest films in the A&C series, and I agree. The main problem lies in trying to interject A&C into a Broadway storyline built for other actors. A&C give it their best as usual, but the storyline simply isn't for them. One expects Abbott to take advantage of Costello here and there; it was seen in many of their best comedies. But for Abbott to swindle many people besides Costello simply isn't funny. There are also many gaps in the humor that result in dull moments. I really tried to like "Mexican Hayride," but the storyline simply didn't fit A&C snugly, and the humor is not consistent enough to generate many laughs. 3 out of 10.