Lost in Alaska
- July 28, 1952 (1952-07-28)
Lost in Alaska is a 1952 American film starring comedy duo Abbott and Costello.
Plot
The time is the 1890s, and the place is San Francisco. George Ball and Tom Watson are firemen who rescue 'Nugget' Joe McDermott from committing suicide by drowning. Joe wants to die because his girlfriend, Rosette no longer loves him. The boys keep an eye on him and Joe is thankful for it after receiving a telegram the next morning from Rosette claiming that she still loves him. George and Tom take their gold reward to the bank when they learn the police mistakenly believe Joe was murdered for his gold that night by the two men who actually rescued. They catch up to Joe on his boat for the Yukon and try to get him down to the police station only to see the ship depart San Francisco with all three of them on it.
Joe returns to Alaska, with George and Tom anxious to get him back to San Francisco to clear their names. 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. They also find that a group of Joe's old friends also want him dead as they are the beneficiaries of his will. Rosette works at a casino whose owner, Jake Stillman, demands that she marry Joe, whom Jake also plans to kill once he is married to Rosette, so that he can 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.
Cast
- Bud Abbott as Tom Watson
- Lou Costello as George Bell
- Mitzi Green as Rosetta
- Tom Ewell as 'Nugget Joe' McDermott
- Bruce Cabot as Jake Stillman
- Emory Parnell as Sherman
- Jack Ingram as Henchman
- Rex Lease as Old Timer
Production
Lost in Alaska was filmed from December 3 through December 31, 1951, under the working title The Sourdoughs.[3]
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.[citation needed]
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.[4]
Home media
This film has been released twice on DVD. The first time, on The Best of Abbott and Costello Volume Three, on August 3, 2004, and again on October 28, 2008 as part of Abbott and Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection.[citation needed]
References
External links
- Lost in Alaska at IMDb
- Lost in Alaska at the TCM Movie Database
- v
- t
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- Bud Abbott
- Lou Costello
- 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 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock (Costello only)
- The World of Abbott and Costello
- The Abbott and Costello Show