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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. |
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