8mm Forum: Africa Screams!! (Abbott and Costello)

This is topic Africa Screams!! (Abbott and Costello) in forum 8mm Print Reviews at 8mm Forum.

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Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on July 13, 2007, 06:39 PM:

Having just seen (and watched) this older release on Super 8mm, it's time to do a review!

Bud and Abbott are working at a department store, when the both of them, (working at seperate counters) are approached about being able to produce a rare map to an african location in order to find of rare orangutan. Lou states that he could draw the map blindfolded, as he is Stanley Livington!

Bud sniffs an opportunity at making money, so he convinces the lady curious about the map to take Bud and Lou on the safari with them. Along with them, she'll take Clyde Beatty (a real Lion tamer) with them, as well as a sure shot, who gives being half blind a bad name, (played by the always funny Shemp Howard of the Three Stooges). She is also taking her butler, (played by the always funny Joe Besser, who would be the third stooge after Shemp Howard would pass on).

They head off on the road to africa, Lou dealing with a naughty (and hungry) Alligator in the process.

They've soon made camp, and Bud then finds out that they are not after Orangutangs, but Diamonds. It's also now that the only map Lou knows by heart, is the map that leads people to the department store where they work!

Assorted hi-jinks follow:

Lou trying to become a lion tamer. Bad choice.

Bud getting overly greedy, to his own detriment.

Hungery cannibals who take a liking to the chubby Lou!

Lou makes friends, (unbeknownst to himself) with a Large
Gorilla, (who happens to be the baby cousin to a giant gorilla)
who saves him from the cannibals. After a bunch of monkeys get the two thugs to beat the pulp out of each other, (very funny scene), and the main bad guy, (a woman, which is quite a twist on the usual Abbott and Costello film) is dealt with, it turns out that Costello ends up with the happy ending; he partners with the gorilla and gets the diamonds for himself, Abbott working as a elevator operator for Lou!

This has a number of quite good bits in it. Joe Besser
running back and forth thru a scene where Abbott is beratting Lou, only to ask, "Why are you running back and forth with a cup of water?"

"My tent is on fi - yah!" (imagine Joe saying it!)

It was good to see Lou getting the upper hand in the end, as well as Bud being genuinely moved at the thought that Lou has been killed, only to find Lou crying next to him!

"Nassour Studios" ...

Is the title card, but I don't know if this is the film company that released this, or the original studio the Bud and Lou had release this film. Perhaps somebody can clear this up.

What I can say is that this print is outstanding for a black and white print. The titles are slightly over-exposed, but after this, going right into the film, the exposure is spot on. The contrast to the print is very good. The negative they used must have been fairly close to the original. No damage due to dupe after dupe. I have seen many a copy of this on low cost DVD and video cassette and I must honestly say that the picture is better than what I've seen on those copies. The master material is above average. No specks or annoying scratches.

The focus is very good for a black and white print. Just about the best I have seen.

The sound is almost perfect mono. It could use a little more high end, but more than passable, as all dialogue was quite easy to hear and a very loud recording at that. no drop offs in the recording.

This was released on 5X400 reels. the film runs 82 minutes. The black and white is "2S" which (I may be wrong about this) is either Fuji or Ag? At any rate, good stock!

My print I bought did have a few light line scratches that for the most part dissappear after the first few minutes. I was very impressed with this print. We watched it at a good
6ft. by 10ft, and the image was quite pleasing and sharp!

There are only three Bud and Lou features on Super 8:

Abbott and Costello meet Captian Kidd
Jack and the Beanstalk
Africa Screams

... and this would make a welcome edition to your collection.

Live on and Long, Super 8!

Posted by Tony Stucchio (Member # 519) on July 13, 2007, 08:28 PM:

The boys made this film at Nassour Studios. The Nassour brothers had quite a time with them! Details can be found in the excellent "Abbott and Costello in Hollywood" (the book, not the movie) by Bob Furmanek.

Is this a Red Fox print?

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on July 13, 2007, 10:36 PM:

Thanks for clearing up the studio. Sorry, This came to me in white plain boxes, so I really don't know the film company of origin.

Perhaps someone else can help on that?

Posted by Tony Stucchio (Member # 519) on July 14, 2007, 05:31 PM:

Any markings on leaders or tails that say Red Fox? I think they were the only ones that released this title. My old Red Fox catalog says, "Prints are outstanding quality." They didn't say this very often, and I almost bought a print of this title once after being told how great it was -- and it was a Red Fox.

I have this one on DVD from the Roan Group with JACK AND THE BEANSTALK and the quality is excellent -- but I would love to have it on Super 8 as well.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on July 15, 2007, 01:53 PM:

I looked at all leader (it's all original leader), and no mention of "Red Fox films" on it anywhere. That doesn't mean that Red Fox didn't release it however. I have a print of "Ride In The Whirlwind" that's a Red Fox print, but the only way you'd know it is that it comes in the original box. The film leader says nothing about "Red Fox" on the "Whirlwind" print.

One clue may be, on the leader to "Africa Screams", it says "Matinee Memories" on it. I don't know if this is the original film lab or company that owned the rights to the master for this, or if "Matinee Memories" was the super 8 compnay that released this.

All I do know for sure is that this is one of the best black and white prints I have come across. Deep blacks without loss of contrast. No excessive grain to the print. Very good, overall.

Posted by Lee Mannering (Member # 728) on July 20, 2007, 05:06 AM:

Interesting that Osi. I never knew that film was on 8.
Learn something new each day..

Posted by Brad Kimball (Member # 5) on July 24, 2007, 08:24 PM:

The print was released by REEL IMAGES in Sandy Hook, Connecticut back in the early 1980s and mine also came in plain white boxes on black plastic reels.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on July 25, 2007, 10:58 AM:

Wow Brad!

What a coincidence! There is another Reel Images post on the forum right now! I didn't realiz that I had another Reel Image release. Cool!

Posted by Trevor Adams (Member # 42) on July 25, 2007, 04:53 PM:

This flick is worth having just to watch Beatty work the big cats.As a kid I saw him perform with tigers and lions.The tigers jumped through flaming hoops.Great stuff!

Posted by Tony Stucchio (Member # 519) on March 01, 2008, 08:32 PM:

I recently had the opportunity to screen this print at a friend's house who has had the print for many years -- he bought it directly from Red Fox. It, too, has the "Matinee Memories" printed on the leader, but it is in Red Fox boxes. I know Red Fox sold other distributor's prints, so this must have been the case here.

I know quality is subjective, but I wouldn't rate the print I saw as high as Osi describes. Nowhere near as good as the Red Fox FRA DIAVOLO. (Again, technically speaking, AFRICA SCREAMS may not really be a Red Fox print.) And certainly not up to an A&C Castle films release. To me, it was on par with an average Super 8 Laurel and Hardy Blackhawk.

The most annoying thing in the print I saw was printed in splices. Lots of clipped dialogue. Osi, does yours have this as well? This print also had the light lines at the beginning that disappeared, and the titles were over-exposed as well. My guess is that lines were in the pre-print, which probably was a nice, but slightly battered, 16mm original.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on March 01, 2008, 08:42 PM:

Strane Tony, my print wasn't over exposed during the titles, nor does mine have messed up dialogue. I guess not all prints
were created equal.

I wonder if this was a film that, as stated, Red Fox got ahold of, but then struck thier own prints of?

By the way, trivia :

This was last screen appearance of Shemp Howard (of the Three Stooges), apart from the Three Stooges. Shemp Howard was the most successful of the Stooges outside of the stooges, and had appeared in a number of earlier Abbott and Costello films, as well as the "Joe Palooka" series ect. After this film, Shemp appeared only in the Stooge comedies for the rest of his career, but hey, he had a great cash cow in the stooge films!

Posted by Tony Stucchio (Member # 519) on March 02, 2008, 07:19 PM:

quote:
The titles are slightly over-exposed, but after this, going right into the film, the exposure is spot on.

That is exactly how I would describe the print I saw.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on March 02, 2008, 10:48 PM:

Hey, your right Tony!

I just took a look at the titles again tonight, and they do appear slightly overexposed. Gee, I'd forgotten all about writing dat!

The rest of the print, if I remember clearly, was pretty good. Lets just say, that for a Black and White print I was struck by the quality. Better than most black and Whites.

Posted by Tony Stucchio (Member # 519) on March 03, 2008, 07:46 PM:

quote:
Better than most black and Whites.

But when I think Abbott & Costello in Super 8, I immediately think of all the great Castle prints that I have. And AFRICA SCREAMS, at least the print I saw, does not compare well.

Anyway, Osi, it is great fun having these conversations. And you seem to enjoy the spirit of it as much as anyone! That is what makes this hobby fun.

Posted by Brad Kimball (Member # 5) on March 21, 2008, 08:31 PM:

My Reel Images print has titles that are actually okay. My complaint is the audio. It has too little treble so it's not too clear unless I turn the volume way up.

Posted by Panayotis A. Carayannis (Member # 1220) on December 14, 2008, 02:27 PM:

AFRICA SCREAMS, originally a United Artists release,was issued on 8mm by Matinee Memories.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on December 14, 2008, 03:14 PM:

Apparently, a number of film companies released it.

Part of the fun of this film was the great cast. This was the last film that Shemp would make with Abbott and Costello, who had been with them from nearly the beggining, (ever since "Buck Privates", they're second film and they're first starring role), and it was fun to see him with the boys.

Posted by James N. Savage 3 (Member # 83) on December 15, 2008, 07:42 PM:

I wonder if "Matinee Memories" was an alternate name for "Hollywood Film Exchange".

I bought my first print of "Night of the Living Dead" from "Hollywood Film Exchange", but on the film leader (new, un-spliced), it says "Matinee Memories".

This company sold only Public Domain titles.

James.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on December 15, 2008, 08:42 PM:

Though three Abbott and Costello titles that were public domain :

Abbott and Costello Meet Captian Kidd (color)
Jack and the Beanstalk (color)
Africa Screams

There may have been another, but i can't remember.

Posted by John W. Black (Member # 1082) on December 31, 2008, 09:18 AM:

Matinee Memories was a company in Garfield,New Jersey. I have a Niles Reg 8 print,overall very nice

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on January 03, 2009, 12:02 PM:

You know John, with all of these smaller marginal companies that existed, there has got to be some kind of way of securing the equipment to make new Super 8 prints in america!

I already have my first reel for production, (wellm I need to make a few negatives of it first, of course), but i would love to get that on track!

Posted by James N. Savage 3 (Member # 83) on January 03, 2009, 02:09 PM:

Osi-

The last company that I remember actually PRINTING super 8 releases in the U.S. was "Reel to Reel" films, in New York City. They were still printing in the 90's. Mostly cartoons and other shorts. Maybe someone here still has a contact number for them.

That would be so cool if you could see your dream through, of releasing a super 8 print. I'm sure everyone on the forum would buy a copy, even if to support your efforts.

James.

James.

Posted by John W. Black (Member # 1082) on January 03, 2009, 11:52 PM:

Reel to Reel didn't print anything.They bought the remains of Canterbury Films,which did print,using the same labs as Ken Films.Reel to Reel was run by a pretty shady guy.Canterbury was run by Leslie Brooks,a good guy.Hardly anyone did their own printing.

Posted by Michael De Angelis (Member # 91) on January 04, 2009, 12:08 AM:

John,

Little did I realize, but some 20 years ago,
I lived up the block from Reel to Reel films.
The owner told me that he did print in 8mm and 16mm.
But go figure? Who knew?
The man was friendly to me.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on January 05, 2009, 01:17 PM:

Micheal!!

as always ...

good to hear from you,
and that,
being true ...

for without your posts
we become,
rather blue!

Posted by James N. Savage 3 (Member # 83) on January 06, 2009, 06:42 AM:

John-

Thanks for that very interesting information!

I bought a good number of Canterbury Films releases back in the very early 80's, and later I did buy films from Reel to Reel. The quality of Reel to Reel did seem a little different though.

While canterbury's quality was, I felt, a little better than Reel to Reel's, Reel to Reels prints have held up better in terms of color, since they used low-fade film, while Canterbury has some fade (except their b&w prints, of course, which were, and still are, some of the best b&w from that era).

James.

Posted by Robert Crewdson (Member # 3790) on July 02, 2013, 04:45 AM:

Osi, I remember seeing this in a Niles catalogue in the late 70s, they also had a short titled Abbott and Costello Bloopers. I wanted to own this at the time, but it was difficult at the time, you had to order through a company called Regent Films in Blackpool. Prices changed daily according to fluctuations in currency. I did get 2 films from Niles, Santa Fe Trail, with Errol Flynn, and Tumbleweeds, with William S. Hart, plus a couple of Blackhawk W.S. Hart films. Both Jack & the Beanstalk, and Meet Captain Kidd were available in the UK but only in B&W.

Posted by Osi Osgood (Member # 424) on July 02, 2013, 12:44 PM:

That Abbott and Costello blooper reel is even more rare than a good color "Jack and the Beanstalk"! I think I saw one ONCE on ebay and that's it.

(Just watch, someone will put one up on ebay because of this post!)

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