ClassicFlix once again releases an independently produced Abbott & Costello film(after "The Noose Hangs High"(1948) this time a 1949 comedy called "Africa Screams", previously available on DVD in both a B&W and Color enhanced version, though here is only available in original B&W, though loaded with new extras like a commentary track by Ron Palumbo, extensive still galleries, a 10-minute long live comedy sketch, a radio broadcast with Bela Lugosi, various trailers, and a 3-D comic book with glasses included to watch it on screen, and it does indeed appear in 3-D! Not one of their better films, but fans can't ask for more in this splendid looking 4K restoration by 3-D Film Archive.

I just finished watching this “Africa Screams” restoration on my 92” screen with Sony SXRD projector, and I am so impressed with the quality, a perfect balance of digital cleanup without destroying the analog film characteristics (which some studios do). The extras are IMO an excellent set, very nicely done.

As a lifelong film buff (and a REAL movie theater projectionist in the late 60s-early 70s) with a quite capable home theater projection system and more than a thousand Blu-ray titles (majority old films, with a range of restoration qualities), I can say that this is amongst the best offerings out there of the less grandiose, “ordinary” but beloved films, when even locating decent and complete source material can be a serious challenge.

Can’t wait for the “Jack and the Beanstalk” Blu-ray coming next year by the same folks, which I am now supporting on Kickstarter!

P.S. Being a long-time stereo photographer and 3D film enthusiast, I have most of the 3D Film Archives Blu-rays in my collection, and they are all outstanding restorations, hope some of the “still missing” 3D films will also be coming soon from these folks!

If you like Abbott and Costello, like I do, this is them, and that’s enough. They quietly (without screen credit) produced this outside their long running relationship with Universal Pictures, and it fell into public domain for decades, leading to several opportunistic reissued from very substandard materials…in other words, lousy looking beat up old prints. ClassicFlix however has somehow managed to restore this cute film to nearly perfect condition—only lacks razor sharpness, but it’s plenty crisp enough, with zero dust, damage or defects, nice deep blacks and chipper mid-tones and bright highlights. The soundtrack is as good as with any of their Universal films. If you’re too sophisticated to enjoy this, your kids will be happy to laugh all the way through it.

This transfer of the film is very nice. Its image quality is sharp with rich contrasts. This version comes with some 3D glasses to view a 3D comic with bud and lou. Even the colorized version of this film lacks the clarity and sharpness found in this release.

Since this film wasn't a Universal Pictures release it didn't get much airplay when I was young. Other copies (VHS and DVD) that I had seen were poorly done from mediocre media. This copy is beautiful. Glad I bought it.

Public Domain can be a tricky devil sometimes, but I've had this DVD of the film, so sometimes that's good enough. Pretty funny film for later Bud and Lou--having Shemp Howard there definitely doesn't hurt. And Joe Besser--love him or not--proved that (outside of the stooges) he could be pretty amusing.

The plot is simple enough--as if the title didn't spell it out--and some of these routines got revived on the TV show. Always nice to see Hilary Brooke, too. And a nice twist at the end with Bud working for Lou and waiting for a raise (which may never come)...

Good A & C entertainment....

I have already reviewed Africa Screams as a movie in a previous review of a separate DVD release. Therefore, I will focus mainly on the quality and characteristics of this particular release...

Despite being one of more than a dozen independent releases of Africa Screams, this release stands out as being rather unique. What makes it so unique? A couple factors. First, Africa Screams has been colorized, an attempt to captivate a modern audience that, sadly, has no use for monochrome films. When a film of this era is artificially colorized, it sacrifices much of its charm and appeal. Naturally, I prefer the black & white version of the movie. However, it's nice to have the color version as a welcome change of pace. Fortunately, this DVD offers the viewer the option to watch the movie in its original monochrome form, another thing which makes this particular release stand out, the dual capacity afforded to the viewer. It must also be noted that artificially colorized films in the past tended to look phony, pink skin, sickly shading, etc. Modern colorization technology has dramatically improved, because this particular film appears almost natural. The only glitch I noticed was in the fading to black in certain scenes, the outline of the setting remained on the screen until the next scene faded in. Other than that, I must say the quality of the colorization is tremendous.

Another feature that makes this release of Africa Screams is the close captioning, for those of us who like to watch movies using this feature, since some of the dialogue is whispered, spoken too quickly, or badly enunciated. With the close captioning, you never miss a line of dialogue. As far as I can tell, this is the only Africa Screams release with close captioning/subtitles.

A few further observations on the movie...

Watch fearless lion tamer Lou Costello, in a precious opening scene, braving a perilous and intimidating jungle setting...of a department store...attempt to tame a FEROCIOUS... cute little kitten...

Witness two Third Stooges, Shemp Howard and Joe Besser, entertaining at opposite ends of the spectrum. The brilliance of Shemp Howard vs the idiotic "comedy" of Joe Besser. Besser ruined The Three Stooges during his tenure as the Third Stooge, and he tries his best to bring down this film with his tired and annoyingly un-funny antics. However, Africa Screams is such a wonderful film that it rises above and overcomes Besser's inane performance...

Enjoy the scenes deep in the jungles of Africa in which an African cannibal chief with a sweet tooth for fat guys connives to make Costello Soup for lunch...NGAWA...he keeps repeating in a delightfully stereotypical scene that would never be tried today. Rather, liberal Hollywood directors would dress the savages in three-piece suits and bowler hats in order to avoid negative politically incorrect images so as not to offend anyone...

Witness a hysterical scene as Costello tries to convince Hillary Brooke that he is no coward, with the aid of his friend, Bud Abbott, dressed in a lion-skin suit. Then watch Costello's drastic change of emotions, from belly-aching laughter to horrified whimpering, as he realizes that the REAL lion has shown up, and that he has mistakenly locked himself in a cage with the real beast...

See Max and Buddy Baer as the two henchmen of the villainess, played by Hillary Brooke. Pay close attention and you will hear a clever reference to the Max Baer vs. Joe Louis boxing match of the 1930s...

Plus, watch as Africa Screams pays homage to another great film of that era, King Kong...

Brings back old memories from the old days they should never be lost everyone Hass to watch this and see what slap stick company is really about