Buck Privates Come Home
Lou Costello drives through the back wall of a movie theater bearing a poster for a fictional film, "Abbott and Costello in 'Romeo Junior'". Footage of Costello, Bud Abbott and Betty Alexander in Shakespearean costumes was shot to be shown on the theater screen but was not used.,Bill Gregory: That's my car, hey Slick, who's racing my car?
Slicker Smith: I don't know, I'll ask Herbie... Herbie? Herbie can't drive!,Featured in The World of Abbott and Costello (1965),Abbott and Costello return from the war as buck privates. Although the credits list Abbott as Corporal Slicker Smith, he doesn't have corporal stripes on his shirts. The reference intended probably was that these are the buck privates who went in (form the first film) and now they're coming home. It's a comedy and family film that mixes in America's participation in the war. This is done with newsreel footage from before the start to the victory marches in Europe and the return home parades. With those are insets of Abbot and Costello joining and returning home, before the meat of the story takes place.

The fact that these guys would be coming back - it looks like at whole platoon or more, as buck privates is somewhat curious, and one wonders how funny that may have been to veterans at the time. They all would have had to goof up in some way or have been busted. Costello's dress uniform has six hash marks on the sleeve - indicating three years (six months per hash) of combat duty. But they went into the Army In 1940 and Sgt. Collins comments that they had been together six years.

Although the draft didn't start until Sept. 16, 1940, the Army and Navy had beefed up recruiting early in the year in anticipation of entering the WW II which had officially begun in Oct. 1939. And, with three million Americans in Europe at the end of the war (VE Day was May 8, 1945), home rotations would continue through 1946.

Now that that's settled, on to this fairly funny story of Costello's Herbie Brown smuggling an orphaned French girl aboard ship to get her into the U.S. This becomes a constant chase with their former First Sergeant Collins, trying to apprehend the threesome. He is played by Nat Pendleton who is back on his New York police beat. How Evie, played by Beverly Simmons, gets into the U.S. and escapes being deported is part of the funny early stuff. But when Herbie and Bud Abott's Slicker Smith meet up with Evie's friend and former WAC Sylvia Hunter (played by Joan Shawlee) , they soon find themselves in the midget car racing arena.

This all serves for some wacky car driving and chase scenes - with Herbie behind the wheel, naturally. It's a fun film that the whole family should enjoy.,