Watch Pardon My Sarong For Free

Too much of everything

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

A cross-town bus disappears in Detroit and ends up on the road to paradise in this campy farce. Bud and Lou were at the height of their fame when they got on this wild goose chase that has them as the geese and private detective as the hunter. Their journey from the mid west takes them to a south seas island with Caucasians as the native chorus girls and a strange character in Lionel Atwill who has made his home on the island studying the native customs. The minimal romantic plot involves Robert Paige and Virginia Bruce who distract from the gags and songs.The Ink Spots add some musical sequences while Abbott and Costello are on their cross country journey. A couple of native dances (Hollywood style) help stretch out the running time of the paper thin plot when the gags are on hold. A ton of familiar faces have uncredited roles here, among them Charles Lane as the perplexed bus company owner. Costumes on the island sequences seem closer to Mardi Gras celebrations rather than a Pacific Island, but as the boys would say, "What's sarong with that?"Adults will be as equally amused as younger audiences as the kids, and who could balk at the constant flow of slapstick? Irving Bacon gets the Costello treatment as a gas station attendant who is bilked out of gas money and change, while an underwater sequence with the bus, and ultimately a seal, creates some laughs as well. It's all topped by a volcano erupting where Lou is given a test to see if he is worthy to become the king of the island. This could be ranked on gag mileage for as fast as they happen, and that makes this one a winner.

Abbott & Costello play two bumbling bus drivers who accidentally end up stealing their own bus; now fired and on the run from the police, they drive it into the ocean(!) and hitch a lift with a playboy(played by Robert Paige). After some mishaps along the way, they finally arrive on a South Seas island where they encounter a hostile native tribe(with pretty island girls of course!) and a Dr. Varnoff(played by Lionel Atwill) who is really a jewel thief on a mission, and most unappreciative of their intrusion. Virginia Bruce plays a potential love interest. A big hit in 1942, though I'm not sure why, since this is an overly silly film with the usual clichés that haven't worn well, though the one funny bit with "the big stinker" is a highlight, otherwise, the team had made much better films.

Probably not one of Abbott and Costello's shining moments. It's funny in spots ("Go ahead, back up"), but it lacks comic momentum. 5 musical numbers are simply too many for an 80-minute comedy. The numbers are interesting in their own right, but not well-integrated into the story, and not as catchy as some of those in another A & C film of the same period, "In The Navy". And although I have absolutely nothing against Black & White films, the tropical island setting of this one might have benefited from being shot in luscious Technicolor. On the plus side, the special effects are very impressive for their age, and as Luana, the island tribe chief's daughter, Nan Wynn is a dazzling exotic beauty - without exaggeration, one of the most beautiful women I have EVER seen. (**1/2)

This is pure silliness at its best. If you plan to watch, bring your sense of silly. A native dance turns into a nightclub act; Lou the bus driver gets confused by the instructions "go ahead and back up"; and many other classic bits.Bud and Lou obviously had a great time making this movie (Lou is hysterically funny). A smile never left my face during the last half of it, even though this a 60+ year old movie now. I'm sure it was popular escapist fun for Allied troops during WWII.