If you’ve ever seen anything from the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, you’ll know that it is rather rare to find anyone who will take up the screen as much as good old funny man Lou. . . that is, unless he’s paired with comedienne Martha Raye – there’s a reason she’s known as “The Big Mouth”. In Keep `Em Flying (1941), they would share the silver screen for the first and only time. . . but Lou had his work cut out for him, as she plays twins.
The team’s fourth starring movie released in just ten months (and the third military movie to keep spirits high during World War II), all four were manned by Arthur Lubin (their next film, Ride `Em Cowboy would be his last with the duo), a steady hand that helped keep the boys in line.
After Blackie Benson (Bud Abbott) and Heathcliff (Lou Costello) are unceremoniously fired from their carnival gigs by rough around the edges Gonigle (William Davidson – who you might recognize as ‘Moose’ Mattson from their previous effort, Hold That Ghost), they team up with rebellious stunt pilot Jinx Roberts (Dick Foran – In the Navy; Ride `Em Cowboy), who has the bright idea of getting paid to be trained by the Army Air Corps. Tagging along, the lacking in talent pair are gifted less envious positions – grunt jobs within the Corps.
Tying together several different storylines, Jinx gets distracted by the beautiful Linda Joyce (Carol Bruce), a nightclub singer who has enrolled as a USO hostess on the same base, while he must also deal with his new instructor, Craig Morrison (William Gargan), his former co-pilot that he blames for losing his job with a commercial airline. Similarly, Blackie and Heathcliff have their own problems distinguishing between waitresses Gloria and Barbara Phelps (Martha Raye) – one, an aloof rule follower who likes the former, the other a firecracker attracted to the latter. Like Costello, Raye steals the show every time she is seen onscreen – whether performing the rousing tune, “Pig Foot Pete”, or desperately trying to romance what amounts to a boy in a rotund man’s body.
A little looser in story than the three previous efforts, it does not take too much away from the comedy, as Bud and Lou are still in top form. There are a number of inspired scenes, one paying homage to some of the comedic scares found in their previous feature, Hold That Ghost – this time poor Heathcliff gets scared in a spooky carnival ride (his shadow literally running away before him), another finding the funny man flailing around on a runaway rocket (in which his brother Pat did some of the more daring stunts). . . plus, you just can’t go wrong with a terrified Costello having to face his fear of heights in an out of control fighter plane being flown by his buddy.
Anytime you’re discussing an Abbott and Costello film, it is also worth mentioning the fantastic promotional materials designed for release along with whatever their most recent picture was. Under contract with Universal, they were known for having some of the best artists, and Keep `Em Flying is just another prime example. For other noteworthy samplings from the studio, search up some of the posters for their horror films like Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, etc.
Though not as magical as some of the comedy team’s other early efforts, Keep `Em Flying still has many a laugh out loud moment, though perhaps leaning a bit more into the physical slapstick variety rather than extended moments of witty dialogue. It cannot be discounted just how influential these movies were at the time. . . a way to uplift the spirits of a nation. Just the next year, Abbott and Costello would raise an estimated 85 million in War Bonds. It is rather mind-boggling to think of two actors making four movies in just ten months today – their first four movies making them the third biggest box office attraction of the year (an astronomical rise that would place them on top the very next year – 1942). There’s a reason at the time Milton Berle once joked: “Things are slow in Hollywood. Abbott and Costello haven’t made a picture all day”. So, see what all of the fuss is about and parachute into this one – you’ll be flying high!