Pardon My Sarong (1942)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Pardon My Sarong (1942) – E. C. Kenton

Amiable and meandering comedy starring Abbott and Costello which is just a bunch of bits strung onto a typically ridiculous plot.  The boys are bus drivers who hijack their own city bus to help out a society bachelor who needs to get from Chicago to California for a yacht race.  Soon, the law is after them -- in the form of William Demarest (a Preston Sturges favourite); they duck into a magician’s dressing room to escape (cue hijinks).  We are then treated to a few musical interludes (including from The Ink Spots) in the club, which was common in 1940s films of this type and gives them a relaxed feel.  Soon, though, Costello drives the bus into the ocean and the duo winds up on the playboy’s yacht, and subsequently shipwrecked on a tropical isle.  There they run into beautiful or burly natives, an anthropologist who is really running a gang of jewel thieves, and some more slapstick and wordplay.  Of course, given the vintage, there are some pretty crude caricatures on display here but fortunately the racism isn’t mean-spirited (but unfortunately it is still racism) – Lou Costello is typically the butt of most gags.  The sexism is probably more unabashed and there is a fair amount of leering (1940s style).  But if you feel disposed to look past these things (which we can hope are moving behind us, at least overtly), then there are a bunch of chuckles here and everything feels pretty good-natured.  One of A & C’s better outings.