Abbott & Costello e o Pé de Feijão

The often-told fable gets amusingly tweaked with Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in the leads, singing, dancing, and messing with a really nasty ogre. Opening in sepia tone, Bud and Lou somehow walk into a job as babysitters for a problem child; Lou wants a bedtime story read to him, quickly falling asleep and dreaming he and his mother live in a colorful storybook village, growing a magical beanstalk and attempting to rescue a kidnapped princess from a giant. Devised and co-produced by Lou's brother, Pat, this was an independently-financed production from the comedy duo which Warner Bros. distributed. It has some kooky songs and even kookier sequences (such as a masochistic Minuet between Lou and the giant's equally lanky female cook), but it does appear as a paste-up job. Filmed in just over three weeks, some of the scenes are so sloppy, one doesn't know if they were hastily left that way or if the clumsiness was perhaps intentional (the editing, too, is awful, leaving the cook and her cow behind in fantasy limbo). The sets, leftovers from Ingrid Bergman's "Joan of Arc", are fine, but the costumes are atrocious--hopefully, this venture scared Costello away from tights for the remainder of his life! It's kinda cute in a bumbling, ramshackle sort of way, and Lou gets a lot of funny business to do, but it isn't as imaginative as it should have been. ** from ****

I turn to this movie when I'm feeling down. My 5-year old niece (with no prompting from me) prefers it to any Disney you care to name. It's one of those movies that's so bad it's brilliant. And why Jack's Mother's line, uttered in sheer frustration, "Plant the Beans, Jack!" has not become a revered movie catchphrase I'll never know. I always shout "Plant the Beans, Jack!" at the Kiefer Sutherland character in "24", especially when he's a little slow on the uptake. Abbott and Costello's "Jack and the Beanstalk" is a little gem and does not deserve the criticism levelled at it on IMDB. The humour may be basic, the characters may be of the cardboard variety, but the director has managed to create a special little world that children and adults can enjoyable enter .

I bought this DVD recently because it was a cheapy and I love A & C. I would say it is pretty funny and action packed if you look at it with the innocence of a child I think you will enjoy it more. If you look at it closely you will see Lou doing a lot (if not all )of his stunts himself which adds greatly to the enjoyment of the picture.The male and female leads are pretty bad and were no threat to Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald in the talent department but the girl is beautiful in a 1950's kind of way.As a big Superman fan , the biggest kick I got out of it is that the baby boy in the beginning of the picture is none other than baby Kal-el from the first episode of the George Reeves TV series "Adventures of Superman" entitled "Superman On Earth". I don't know what this baby's name was since he is not credited in either appearance but it's definitely the same tot.If he was born in 51 he would be in his early fifties now and I'm sure all Superman and A & C fans would like to know his name and what became of him. So if you are out there little Kal-el give a holler!By the way Betty Page fans will enjoy the tall actress who dances with Lou in the film.

Just purchased this film on DVD along with their Africa Screams for $4.99! While it does turn out to be the full 81 minute version it is a very bad print It is still worth having in a collection and a joy to watch. Abbott looks tired though but a surprise to see Costello jumping around and carrying on, although I know a lot of it was stunt work. The disc also has a cute trivia section and BIOS. The above review mentions the giant as Max Baer Sr (Jethro's father) but the IMDb lists him as Buddy Baer, Max's brother. Of course the change from sepia to colour is very reminiscent of Oz and watching it one could almost think it was made around the same time, but it's 1952!

I'm a big Abbott & Costello fan. Theyve been a huge influence on my life. This one was a let down overall. I enjoyed the songs, the actors, but the overall feel was very sloppy. It's one of their later works and yet it seems less out together and we'll thought out. It's just messy. They couldn't even get dancers that were in sync?