Who Done it
Window card poster for the
1942 American comedy-mystery film Who Done It?, starring the legendary comedic duo Bud Abbott and Lou Costello.
The film is widely considered one of their best efforts and is notable as their first feature film to entirely omit musical numbers, allowing for more non-stop comedic screen time.
Plot Summary
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello play Chick Larkin and Mervin Milgrim, two "soda jerks" working at a radio station lunch counter while dreaming of becoming mystery writers. Their chance comes when they attend a broadcast of the radio show Murder at Midnight, during which the network president, Colonel J.R. Andrews, is actually murdered by electrocution.
To prove their skills as mystery writers, the duo decides to impersonate police detectives to solve the crime. Their bumbling investigation leads them to become prime suspects for the real police, resulting in a frantic chase throughout the studio. The mystery eventually reveals a Nazi spy ring using the station for illegal transmissions, concluding with a classic slapstick rooftop finale.
Key Cast and Crew
Director: Erle C. Kenton
Lead Stars: Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
Supporting Cast:
Patric Knowles as Jimmy Turner
William Gargan as Police Lt. Lou Moran
Louise Allbritton as Jane Little
William Bendix as Detective Brannigan
Mary Wickes as Juliet Collins
Memorable Moments
The film features several of the duo's famous routines, including:
"Watts and Volts": A verbal wordplay routine similar to their iconic "Who's on First?".
"Alexander 2222": A solo routine where Costello desperately tries to reach a phone operator to claim a prize while others easily make international calls from the same booth.
Self-Referencing Humor: At one point, the characters hear their own "Who's on First?" routine on the radio and promptly turn it off.
1942 American comedy-mystery film Who Done It?, starring the legendary comedic duo Bud Abbott and Lou Costello.
The film is widely considered one of their best efforts and is notable as their first feature film to entirely omit musical numbers, allowing for more non-stop comedic screen time.
Plot Summary
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello play Chick Larkin and Mervin Milgrim, two "soda jerks" working at a radio station lunch counter while dreaming of becoming mystery writers. Their chance comes when they attend a broadcast of the radio show Murder at Midnight, during which the network president, Colonel J.R. Andrews, is actually murdered by electrocution.
To prove their skills as mystery writers, the duo decides to impersonate police detectives to solve the crime. Their bumbling investigation leads them to become prime suspects for the real police, resulting in a frantic chase throughout the studio. The mystery eventually reveals a Nazi spy ring using the station for illegal transmissions, concluding with a classic slapstick rooftop finale.
Key Cast and Crew
Director: Erle C. Kenton
Lead Stars: Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
Supporting Cast:
Patric Knowles as Jimmy Turner
William Gargan as Police Lt. Lou Moran
Louise Allbritton as Jane Little
William Bendix as Detective Brannigan
Mary Wickes as Juliet Collins
Memorable Moments
The film features several of the duo's famous routines, including:
"Watts and Volts": A verbal wordplay routine similar to their iconic "Who's on First?".
"Alexander 2222": A solo routine where Costello desperately tries to reach a phone operator to claim a prize while others easily make international calls from the same booth.
Self-Referencing Humor: At one point, the characters hear their own "Who's on First?" routine on the radio and promptly turn it off.
After
Disclaimer
The object and/or subject of this report is private property. This page is for informational purposes only. Unless clearly stated otherwise, all conservation and restoration has been performed by Poster Mountain (PM) or Los Angeles Paper Group (LAPG)I) PM-LAPG has not knowingly withheld any significant information from its evaluation report and to the best of its knowledge all statements and evaluations in this report are true and correct.
II) PM-LAPG stated in the Evaluation Report its own personal, unbiased and professional analysis, opinions and conclusions, which are subject to the assumptions and limited conditions in this evaluation report as set forth hereinabove.
III) PM-LAPG has no present or prospective interests in the property which is the subject matter of this report and it has no present or prospective personal interests or bias with respect to the participants in this matter.
IV) PM-LAPG and its employment and/or compensation for performing this evaluation or any future anticipated evaluation was not conditioned on any agreement or understanding, written or otherwise, that it would report (or present analysis in support) as predetermined specific authenticity, a predetermined evaluation that favors the cause of any party or the attainment of any specific result or occurrence of a specific subsequent event, such as value or marketability.
V) PM-LAPG prepared all opinions and conclusions about the subject property that were set forth in this Evaluation Report. If it has relied on significant evaluation assistance from any individual or individuals in the performance of this evaluation or the appropriation of this evaluation report, PM-LAPG has named such individuals and disclosed the specific task performed in this evaluation report. PM-LAPG certifies that any individual so named is qualified to the same extent as PM to perform the task. PM-LAPG has not authorized anyone to make a change to any item in this evaluation report, therefore, any change made to this evaluation is unauthorized and PM-LAPG will not take responsibility for it.
VI) The Client may not disclose or distribute this Evaluation Report to any potential purchasers of the subject property without first obtaining PM-LAPG's prior written consent. This consent must be obtained before this evaluation report may be disclosed or distributed to any other party, including, but not limited to, the public through advertising, public relations, news, sales, or other media.