Lost in Alaska

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Lost in Alaska

Lost in Alaska Theatrical Poster
Directed by Jean Yarbrough
Produced by Howard Christie
Written by Martin Ragaway
Leonard Stern
Starring Bud Abbott
Lou Costello
Mitzi Green
Tom Ewell
Iron Eyes Cody
Music by Joseph Gershenson
Editing by Leonard Weiner
Distributed by Universal Pictures
Release date(s) July 28, 1952
Running time 76 min.
Language English
Budget $672,000
Preceded by Jack and the Beanstalk (1952)
Followed by Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd (1952)
IMDb profile

Lost in Alaska is a 1952 film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello.

Contents

[edit] Plot

The time is the 1890s, and the place is San Francisco. George Ball (Lou Costello) and Tom Watson (Bud Abbott) are firemen who rescue 'Nugget' Joe McDermott (Tom Ewell) from committing suicide by drowning. Joe wants to die because his girlfriend, Rosette (Mitzi Green) no longer loves him. He tells George and Tom about his fortune in gold that he has stashed in Alaska, and they decide to keep an eye on him. Joe receives a letter from Rosette claiming that she still loves him. He returns to Alaska, with George and Tom in tow. Once they arrive, it is learned that many people want to kill Joe, as he was once the local sheriff who had many people hanged.

Rosette works at a casino whose owner, Jake Stillman (Bruce Cabot), demands that she marry Joe, whom Jake plans to kill once he is married to Rosette, so that he can marry her and gain the fortune in gold.

Rosette reveals Jake's intent to George and Tom, who hide Joe and Rosette by sending them out of town. Jake is not happy about this turn of events and sends his gang to deal with George and Tom, who manage to outwit them. In the ensuing melee, the gold falls into a deep crevice in the ice, and is lost. Everyone manages to overcome their greed for the sake of friendship, and Joe and Rosette marry.

[edit] Production

It was filmed from December 3 through December 31, 1951.

[edit] Legal Problems

Production on the film almost never began. One month before filming began, Abbott and Costello filed a lawsuit against Universal, which was selling 16mm clips (through Castle Films) taken from various Abbott and Costello films. They also sued Realart Pictures for re-releasing some of the team's older films without their consent.

However, they settled for $2 million and additional profits from several of their prior films. Two weeks after the settlement, they re-signed with Universal through 1955.[1]

[edit] DVD Release

[edit] References

  1. ^ Furmanek, Bob and Ron Palumbo (1991). Abbott and Costello in Hollywood. New York: Perigee Books. ISBN 0-399-51605-0

[edit] External links