Awesome movie
As soon as I got this movie in I plugged it in at work (hospital) and everyone was laughing!! Good clean fun for all ages a classic and a must have!!!!!!

Funny and Fun
The Army has never been so much fun as when Bud and Lou sign up for their Uncle Sam. Made to capitalize on their sudden popularity, a fine cast and breezy tone overcome the slight premise and give the boys an opportunity for some of their most hilarious gags. Add the fabulous Andrew Sisters to the mix and you've got a great time at the movies.

Slicker (Bud) and Herbie (Lou) are selling ties without a permit but when they duck into what they think is a movie theatre they end up enlisting in the army! This gives our favorite comedy duo a chance to display both their slapstick ability and their fabulous verbal routines. Nat Pendleton is the perfect foil as their Sergeant. As usual, Bud continues to get Lou into hot water, but it seems more of a gag here, rather than mean-spirited, with Bud coming off a bit softer than in later films. Groucho Marx didn't call him the greatest straight-man in the history of comedy for nothing.

Shemp Howard of the Three Stooges gets a nice bit as K Company's cook. He and Lou even get to do a number together! Most of the songs are done by the always great Andrew Sisters, however. They get to do the romantic "I'll Be With You in Apple Blossom Time" and some breezy war songs on the train to bootcamp and at company dances which keep things moving right along.

The secondary story is actually pretty good here, and is not distracting at all. Lee Bowman is very good as the rich playboy (Randoph Parker III) used to getting things his way, and Alan Curtis is equally good as his opposite, Bob Martin. Both are after the lovely Judy Gray (Jane Frazee) who gets to sing "I Wish You Were Here" and brightens the film every time she appears. Director Arthur Lubin has to be given some credit for keeping this part of the story interesting and not simply using it as a filler until Bud and Lou reappear.

It will all come to a satisfying conclusion after a simulated battle against Blue Company. But not before Herbie is tricked into entering the ring in a camp boxing match as "The Human Buzzsaw." The fight is a hoot and so is much of this film, when it's not being breezily entertaining. Seeing this fun film which was made with a slight script and meager budget will remind you of what's wrong with the movies today. A good time for Abbott and Costello fans.

A great Andrews Sisters movie!
I loved this movie! Not because I'm a fan of Abbott and Costello, but because I'm a huge Andrews Sisters fan and they are featured very prominently in this film. In fact, they do the entire "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" number in this movie as well as many others. It is a great way to see the Andrews Sisters perform and sing. I recommend it highly!

You're In The Army Now
This was the first big hit for Abbott & Costello. The boys are peddling ties on the street, and duck into an Army recruiting station to escape a policeman. There are the usual sight gags and verbal jokes that made them the top comics of the 1940s. The Andrews Sisters provide the songs. A steam train takes the inductees to their training camp. [Note how all the men wore suits, ties, and hats.] There is a funny scene where Lou Costello learns how to play with dice. He is a fast learner! The next lesson shows a lesson in finance. Then a playboy gets a chance to learn things they don't teach in college. There is a humorous lesson in teaching close-order drill. Then another comedy routing.

There is a shooting match that is lost when the top marksman develops a problem to stay out; he is shunned. We see some rough crude humor in the boxing match. [Lou Costello shows his skill as a physical comedian.] Next morning there is a sham battle as a training exercise. Real army films are included for realism. Three patrols are set out to capture and destroy a guardhouse. One patrol manages to accomplish their mission. There is a party to celebrate, and we see a dance and song from that era. A side bet at 10-to-1 allows Company K to clean up. There is a final big number to end the film.

A few months later in December 1941 the nation changed forever. But the need for entertainment went on, and so did Abbot & Costello in other comedies.

THERE'S NEVER A DULL MOMENT IN 'BUCK PRIVATES'
IN A NUTSHELL: THE QUINTESSENTIAL ABBOTT & COSTELLO FEATURE FILM

'BUCK PRIVATES' is unquestionably one of the best Bud Abbott and Lou Costello films. 'Buck Privates' features some of the A & C team's best and most memorable vaudeville routines. The perfect setting for these routines is what makes 'Buck Privates' work as a comic masterpeice.

WHAT 'BUCK' PRIVATES' IS ALL ABOUT:

Having been caught in the act of peddling neckties in the street, without a permit, Bud and Lou get hoodwinked into enlisting in the army to avoid being sent to jail. Ironically, they soon find themselves in boot camp under the command of the policeman who was prepared to arrest them.

SOUNDS LIKE VERY SILLY STUFF -- RIGHT?

It is silly, but it holds together very nicely and with a minimal, but coherent plot.

CLASSIC ABBOTT & COSTELLO ROUTINES FIT RIGHT IN

For Abbott and Costello, the strictness and structure of military discipline provides the perfect platform for a wide variety of burlesque skits that include many of the team's most famous and classic routines, such as; 'waiting for the little girl to catch-up', 'the dice game', 'the drill of the awkward squad', 'turn-on the radio' and 'the boxing ring'. I must admit that I have recited many of these routines over the years and they delight me to say them, and even more to hear them from the mouths of A & C.

'Buck Privates' also features the Andrews Sisters, who at times turn the film into a music video as they perform their mega-hit tunes such as, 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy' and 'Apple Blossom Time'. This musical setting also helps to elevate the mood of this film which was made as the U.S. was entering World War 2 while at the same time the grand music video style of the Andrews Sisters performance gives a classic big-budget feel to this relatively low budget B-film.

LESS IS SOMETIMES BETTER!

'Buck Privates' uses an interesting if not rather cliche secondary plot, involving a love triangle, to provide balance to the film, and provide a framework for the plot so that A & C can make their appearances seem like comical happenstances rather than staged vaudeville routines. This sub-plot may appear extraneous, but this diversionary love triangle, involving Judy Gray [Jane Frazee] is the device that keeps A & C's crazy humor timely and welcomed by the audience.

A VERY FULL 84 MINUTE FILM EXPERIENCE

-----> THE PRINCIPAL CAST MEMBERS

Lee Bowman - Randolph Parker III
Alan Curtis - Bob Martin
Bud Abbott - Slicker Smith
Lou Costello - Herbie Brown
Jane Frazee - Judy Gray
The Andrews Sisters - Themselves
Nat Pendleton - Sgt. Michael Collins
Samuel S. Hinds - Maj. Gen. Emerson
Harry Strang - Sgt. Callahan
Nella Walker - Mrs. Parker II
Leonard Elliott - Henry
Shemp Howard - Chef

-----> THE PRODUCTION CREW

Arthur Lubin - Director
Alex Gottlieb - Producer
John Grant - Screenwriter
Arthur Horman - Screenwriter
Milton Krasner - Cinematographer
Charles Previn - Composer (Music Score)
Hughie Prince - Composer (Music Score)
Phil Cahn - Editor
Nick Castle - Choreography


-----> 3 ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS [all for the music!]

Best Score (nom) Charles Previn 1941 Academy
Best Song (nom) Hughie Prince 1941 Academy
Best Song (nom) Don Raye 1941 Academy


BOTTOM LINE: STILL WONDROUSLY FUNNY AND WITHOUT A DULL MOMENT AFTER 65 YEARS!