The Time of Their Lives is the most unusual of all of the Abbott and Costello films. This is one of the two films in which the duo did not work as a team, but rather as two actors appearing in the same movie (the other being Little Giant (1946)). In fact since for the majority of the movie Lou plays a ghost, Bud's character cannot see or here him, offering little of the famous exchanges of words between them. Lou's character keeps much of Lou's famous screen persona. Horatio Prim (Lou's character), while not as stupid as his usual persona keeps the child like nature and absent mindedness are still present. Bud's character on the other hand has virtually nothing in common with how we are used to seeing Bud on screen. Dr. Greenway (Bud's character) is a timid and anxiety-filled man, who retains none of Bud's usual on screen brashness and greed. Bud would remain quite proud of this role and state The Time of Their Lives as one of his favorite movies he was in.
This is a fantastic film and holds up just as well any of the boys' more traditional films. While one may not think of the story when talking about an Abbott and Costello film, the story in this movie is excellent. The story is completely involving and the serious moments are just as great as the comedic. This was the first Abbott and Costello film to be directed by Charles Barton. What Barton brought to the team's films is that he played the serious scenes rather straight (Something that would later help make Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), so great). The two main romances are very sweet and bring an emotional hold to this movie. The film also has a few scenes that get surprisingly dark for an Abbott and Costello. Seeing Lou's character (as well as Marjorie Reynolds') shot dead is honestly a little disturbing. There are again no jokes here, and the seriousness adds some very effective weight to the movie. The séance scene offers a moment that is both touching and kind of creepy.
Just because this movie's serious moments work well doesn't mean this movie isn't funny. The idea of people from the past interacting with modern (well modern for 1946) technology may be one we have seen many times, but it works beautifully here. Horatio's (Lou) reaction to a light bulb and the great scene involving a radio are really funny. In some ways Marjorie Reynolds plays Bud's usual role of straight man to Lou and she is fantastic at it. The two have great chemistry and offer many laughs. There are also many good one-liners in this film and even the one's that don't come from Bud or Lou are very funny. I especially love a reference to Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca (1940). The ending gag is one of the best endings to an Abbott and Costello film and never fails to make me laugh no matter how many times I see this movie. (Interestingly this movie was originally going to have a sweet ending instead of a funny one. Horatio (Lou) would go to Heaven and see his girlfriend (Ann Gillis) waiting outside. Horatio would ask her why she wasn't in Heaven. She would say that she asked to wait outside because it wouldn't have been Heaven without him. This was replaced by the funny ending we have now.)
The script did not start out as an Abbott and Costello movie. In this early script (by Val Burton, who would end up producing the final film) the two ghosts (parts that went to Lou and Marjorie Reynolds), would have been a dandy and his black servant. Burton wrote this script in 1944 and quickly abandoned it. However just a year later writers Walter DeLeon and Bradford Ropes decided to rework this idea into an Abbott and Costello movie. Abbott and Costello's main writer John Grant (who knew every vaudeville routine by heart) would be brought in to add some additional dialogue.
At one point during the making of this film Lou called the director stating that he wanted to switch parts with Bud or not do the film at all. Too much had already been shot and Barton refused. Lou did not show up for a little bit, but when he came back he played the part he had been assigned saying nothing about this call.
Despite receiving good reviews, this movie was a disappointment at the box office. It marked the last of the two films the duo made together but not as a team.
Showman's Trade Review, 1946
The following is from a 1946 issue of the Motion Picture Herald. "A neat piece of booking and exploitation was engineered over the Labor Day weekend by manager George H. Mackenna and publicist Bill Brereton for the Abbott and Costello picture, 'The Time of Their Lives,' at Basil's Lafayette Theatre, Buffalo, N.Y. Learning that Abbott and Costello would be in Buffalo for a benefit performance under the auspices of the American Legion, Mackenna and Brereton booked the picture to run simultaneously with the personal appearance. To further exploit the tie-up a jeep was used for street ballyhoo. The jeep was decorated with adequate Abbott and Costello copy and driven through the streets in the Legion Parade."
-Michael J. Ruhland
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