The Noose Hangs High
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| The Noose Hangs High | |
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 The Noose Hangs High Theatrical Poster |
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| Directed by | Charles Barton |
| Produced by | Charles Barton |
| Written by | John Grant Howard Harris |
| Starring | Bud Abbott Lou Costello Cathy Downs Joseph Calleia |
| Music by | Irving Friedman |
| Editing by | Harry Reynolds |
| Distributed by | Eagle-Lion Films |
| Release date(s) | March 4, 1948 |
| Running time | 77 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $652,000 |
| Preceded by | The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap (1947) |
| Followed by | Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) |
| IMDb profile | |
The Noose Hangs High is a 1948 film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello.
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[edit] Plot
Ted Higgins (Bud Abbott) and Tommy Hinchcliffe (Lou Costello) work for the Speedy Service Window Washing Company. They run into Nick Craig (Joseph Calleia), a bookie, who mistakes them for employees of the Speedy Messenger Service. They are sent by him to Mr. Stewart's (Ben Weldon) office to collect $50,000 that he owes him. However, Stewart has plans of his own: he hires two thugs to hold up Ted and Tommy and retrieve the money he has just paid. Tommy runs from the gangsters and hides in a room with a bunch of females who are mailing face powder samples. He hides the money in an envelope and addresses it to Craig, but it is accidentally switched with another envelope that contains one of the face powder samples. Ted and Tommy arrive back at Craig's office and explain what happened and promise that the cash will arrive in the mail the next day.
However, when the mail arrives it is the face powder and Craig gives Ted and Tommy 24 hours to get him his money. They try to contact everyone on the mailing list until they finally locate the recipient, Carol (Cathy Downs). Unfortunately she has some bad news for them- she has spent most of the money already and has only about $2,000 remaining. The three of them get together and head to the race track hoping to use the remaining cash to win enough money to pay back Craig. They meet up with a strange fellow, Julius Caesar (Leon Errol) who claims to have never lost a bet. They don't follow his advice, and his horse wins and they are left with nothing. Ted, abandoning hope, decides that they safest place for them is in jail, so they run up a huge tab at a nightclub. Just as they are about to be arrested, Craig and his men show up and demand their money. They tell him that they do not have it, and he takes them to a nearby construction warehouse and begins pouring cement to place them in. Meanwhile, Carol and Julius Ceasar have been sitting at the bar and have been betting large amounts on fish at the club's aquarium. When Julius Caesar loses and hands her the $50,000 that she has just won, she is shocked. It turns out that he is J.C. MacBride, a millionaire, and they all head to the warehouse in time to pay Craig what he is owed.
[edit] Trivia
- It was filmed from November 13 through December 10, 1947.
- Under the terms of a new deal signed with Universal after The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap was completed, Abbott and Costello were allowed to make one film a year with another company. This was the first independent film made under that new agreement.
- It is a remake of the 1939 Universal film, For Love of Money.
- Universal intended to make this film with Abbott and Costello; however, they purchased the story from the studio and made it themselves at Eagle-Lion.[1]
- The horse that Costello bets on in the film is named Lolly C, which was done in honor of his mother, Helene 'Lolly' Cristillo.
[edit] Routines
- Pack/Unpack, which was previously used in Hit the Ice, where Abbott goes back and forth about whether they should skip town or not with Costello packing and unpacking a suitcase as instructed.
- Mudder and Fodder, where Costello is explained the meaning of different types of horses. In this case he mistakes a horse who can run well in the mud (a mudder) as 'mother' and the food that is fed to a horse (its fodder) as 'father'.
- Phone Booth, where Tommy attempts to call Craig from a phone booth. He is given a number where Craig can be reached and he calls it, unaware it is the phone booth next to him. Craig answers the phone and they have an argument with each other, unaware that they are right next to each other. This routine was first used in Keep 'Em Flying.
- You're 40, She's 10, where Abbott tries to explain to Costello how a girl younger than him can get closer in age to him as they get older.
[edit] DVD Release
Although filmed for Eagle-Lion, MGM Pictures currently owns the rights to this film and it is through them that this film has been released on DVD.
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[edit] Reference
- ^ Furmanek, Bob and Ron Palumbo (1991). Abbott and Costello in Hollywood. New York: Perigee Books. ISBN 0-399-51605-0
[edit] External links
One Night in the Tropics • Buck Privates • In The Navy • Hold That Ghost • Keep 'Em Flying • Ride 'Em Cowboy • Rio Rita • Pardon My Sarong • Who Done It? • It Ain't Hay • Hit The Ice • In Society • Lost in a Harem • Here Come The Co-Eds • The Naughty Nineties • Abbott and Costello in Hollywood • Little Giant • The Time of Their Lives • Buck Privates Come Home • The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap • The Noose Hangs High • Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein • Mexican Hayride • Africa Screams • Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff • Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion • Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man • Comin' Round The Mountain • Jack and the Beanstalk • Lost in Alaska • Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd • Abbott and Costello Go to Mars • Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde • Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops • Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy • Dance With Me Henry • The World of Abbott and Costello
Lou Costello solo film: The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock
