Fun in Sun Valley
Made at the height of Bud and Lou's popularity, "Hit the Ice" is a very fun time for fans. Set during winter in Sun Valley, there are some great routines mixed with some of their best slapstick in this one.

Flash (Abbott) and Tubby (Costello) are a couple of photographers who get duped into helping with a bank heist when a gangster named Silky (Sheldon Leonard) thinks they're the two guns he's sent for. Of course the boys have to find the real crooks to avoid jail and it's off to the slopes in Sun Valley. Patrick Knowles is a doctor being duped by Silky and Elyse Knox is the nurse who suspects something is amiss and tries to warn him.

Once in Sun Valley, Tubby goes goofy about lovely Marcia (Ginny Simms). Simms was very popular during the early 1940's and does a lovely job on several songs. Her charachter, Marcia, knows Silky but is in love with Johnny Long, whose orchestra she fronts. There is an entertaining train ride on the way to the resort that has a special charm and sets the tone for what follows.

There are obviously some studio sets for background, but it still is very flavorful and delightful to watch. Director Charles Lamont actually put the entire cast and crew on ice skates during a lengthy and hilarious sequence on the rink with Lou. There is the classic "teller" routine and a wild chase on the ski slopes that cap this one off nicely, making it one of their most enjoyable.

Perhaps a tick below "Hold that Ghost" and "Who Done It," it is still one of their best and fans of the comic duo will enjoy this one. The setting also makes this a good one to put on your play list during the holiday season. Loads of fun!

ONE OF THE TEAM'S BEST FILMS
HIT THE ICE
Universal Pictures
Release Date: June 2, 1943
Runtime: 82 min.

Director:
Charles Lamont

Producer:
Alex Gottlieb

Writing Credits:
True Boardman
John Grant
Robert Lees
Frederic I. Rinaldo

Cast:
Bud Abbott.....Flash Fulton
Lou Costello....Weejie 'Tubby' McCoy
Bobby Barber....Candy butcher knocked down on
train (uncredited)
Wade Boteler....Train Conductor #2 (uncredited)
Cordelia Campbell...Child skater (uncredited)
Ken Christy.....Fire Chief (uncredited)
Joseph Crehan...Train Conductor #1 (uncredited)
Eddie Dunn......Officer Murphy (uncredited)
Pat Flaherty....Police Lieutenant (uncredited)
Edward Gargan...Policeman at bank (uncredited)
Patrick Knowles.....Dr. Bill Elliot(Credits)/Dr.
William 'Bill' Burns (in film)
Elyse Knox.....Nurse Peggy Osborne
Marc Lawerence.....Phil (Silky's henchman)
Sheldon Leonard....Harry 'Silky' Fellowsby
Johnny Long........Himself (leader, Johnny Long and
His Orchestra)
Mantan Moreland....Porter with snowshoes
(uncredited)
Eddie Parker....Ambulance Driver (uncredited)
Rebel Randall...Woman in bed with Tubby
(uncredited)
Virgina Sale....Nurse #2 (uncredited)
Joe Sawyer......Buster (Silky's henchman)
Ginny Simms.....Marcia Manning
Harry Strang....Train check-in gateman
(uncredited)
Minerva Urecal...Wife at hospital (uncredited)
Dorthory Vaughan..Nurse #1 (uncredited)
Billy Wayne.....Man in bed with Tubby
(uncredited)
Gene Williams...Himself (vocalist, Johnny Long
and His Orchestra)
Helen Young.....Herself (vocalist, Johnny Long
and His Orchestra)

Music by:
Harry Revel
Paul Sawtell

Cinematography by:
Charles Van Enger

Film Editing by:
Frank Gross

Art Direction:
John B. Goodman

Set Decoration:
Russell A. Gausman
Leigh Smith

Costume Design by:
Vera West

Other Crew:
Sammy Lee....choreographer
Harry Losee...shating sequence
Charles Previn..musical director

PLOT SUMMARY:

Flash and Tubby (Abbott & Costello) are photographers who are trying to get a job with a local newspaper. They run into an old boyhood friend, Bill Burns (Patrick Knowles), who grew up to be a doctor. While working, the boys get a snap shot of some bank robbers coming out of a bank. The head gangster (Sheldon Leonard) happens to be the patient of Dr. Burns. The gangsters, the doctor, the boys and a nurse all end up at a ski resort. Flash tries to blackmail the gangsters into buying the picture for a high price. The gangsters wanting to protect their identities, look to silence the boys for good.

Routines & Hilarious Moments:

Pack/Unpack
"Alright" Piano Routine

Trivia (from [...]): (1)The film was started by director Erle C. Kenton. However, he and Lou Costello clashed on several occasions, and Kenton was fired and replaced by Charles Lamont.(2)Lou Costello always suspected that Universal wasn't giving he and Bud Abbott the agreed-upon share of the profits the studio made from their films (a suspicion later proven, as a result of legal action they took against Universal, to be true). Therefore, he developed a habit of picking out furniture he liked from the sets of their films and taking it home, considering it payback for what he believed to be Universal's cheating. One day director Charles Lamont showed up on the set to shoot a scene at the ice skating rink only to discover that all the wrought-iron patio furniture that had been there the previous day had disappeared. Costello denied any knowledge of it, and Lamont said he would shoot no more scenes until the furniture was returned. A compromise was finally reached whereby Costello would bring back the furniture, the scene would be shot, and then he would be allowed to bring all of the furniture back home.(3)After completing production, Lou Costello was stricken with rheumatic fever. This would be the last new Abbott and Costello film for more than a year.

Goofs (from [...]): Revealing Mistakes: When Flash and Tubby arrive at the ski cabin, you can see their shadows on the trees in the backdrop behind them. Continuity: When Tubby is packing his suitcase to get out of town, a drawer falls out of the dresser, onto the floor. In the next shot, the drawer is back in the dresser.

Hit the Ice
One of A&C funniest pictures, not their best, but really fun and funny with great sequences including a great ice skating scene and a funny chase on skis for a finale. Only real drawback: too many songs. But prime A&C.

Classic
Let's face it -- "The Time of Their Lives" is their best film.

But this is amongst their funniest and the pace is frantic and kept up well throughout.

Some of their best slapstick, and the scenes boarding the train are amongst their best.

"SHORTSTOP!!!!!!"

Ice Capades
Abbott & Costello in a chilling comedy. This is one of the better put together Abbott & Costello movies from beginning to end. Even the songs were amusing, especially the finale song. A good movie to watch before the Christmas season, kind of gets you in the feel. Overall not their funniest but a very enjoyable movie and very good plot. Check it out.