Overrated and overhyped

Excellent adaptation.

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

A mediocre entry in the A&C series, enlivened with a few crazy special effects and lots of enticing women. Costello is predictably fearful of both. Admittedly, the script has some good ideas, but most of them fail to come to fruition in the clumsy hands of director Charles Lamont. In any event, the gags are too widely spaced, and Lamont has obviously failed to inspire either Abbott or Costello. They both seem tired and out of sorts. This is particularly true of Abbott, who not only looks both aged and overweight, but plays his role with an almost total lack of enthusiasm. This is a shame because his role is not as stereotyped as usual, and a more dedicated actor could certainly have made something of it. Fortunately, Mari Blanchard has a grand time as Allura. Martha Hyer has a colorless role, but she lends it a bit of spark, and it's always nice to see Anita Ekberg, even hidden here as she is in a crowd of Miss Universe pulchritude.

O.K., so there are some very funny visuals in this film, but lots of sight gags do not make an excellent film. Sure, this was made for the kiddie trade, but ultimately, it is the adults who review it. First of all, from a scientific level: this does not teach the young the powers of good writing, because the boys never make it to Mars. They think they are on Mars for about half an hour because that's where the space ship was making its destination as before dumb Lou hit the button that made them crash, right in the middle of the Louisiana bayou. It just so happens that it's Mardi Gras, and everybody is weird costumes with large heads that either spin around or come detached from the rest of the body. Bud and Lou's space suits go in great with the Mardi Gras crowd, and the laughs come fast and furious. The arrival of two escaped bank robbers who disguise themselves in space suits then proceed to rob a bank results in Bud and Lou being chased and the spaceship with the two robbers aboard taking off and ending up on Venus. There, they meet man-hating queen Mari Blanchard who had all men banished centuries before because they were not faithful. Of course, her all-women army is man crazy, and even the presence of plump Lou has their hot Venus blood pumping. Lou becomes king, but the jealous queen knows he'll stray. When Lou kisses one of the women goodbye, a curse from the queen turns her back into her real age, a funny visual to watch as she becomes an old hag in gold lame' with certain body parts changing location to reflect her true age.Having been around for well over a decade in the 1950's, by this time, Abbott and Costello were still popular but adults who enjoyed their hijinks during World War II were staying away. At least with "Buck Privates" and "Hold That Ghost", they were hysterically funny if still juvenile, but they were surrounded by actors who brought an adult mentality to the proceedings. This is not only juvenile in the sense of the age group of where it strives to be mentally, but in the fact that it presents women as jealous creatures who if they can't fully get a man's attention and manipulate them to keep them from going astray, then they will have to banish them altogether. Of course, it's only one woman making this rule as the women underneath her will do anything to get a man's attention. Certainly, the costumes for the Mardis Gras sequence are very funny (as is a sequence involving a plate of limburger cheese) and the crystallized sets for Venus are attractive as well. But what about the giant dog who chases Bud into a cave where he discovers the women's army? It is there, then gone. Even the Three Stooges rip-off, "Have Rocket, Will Travel", would introduce freaky creatures in their Venus sequence and do something with them. This film pretty much is a pointless comedy for little boys of a by-gone era who might look back on this as a fond childhood memory but in retrospect, leaves one longing for something so much better.

Bud and Lou finally decide to invade outer space and interplanetary relations will never be the same after Abbott and Costello Go To Mars. And they couldn't even get that right because it's Venus they wind up on.Bud does maintenance and deliveries at a scientific base and Lou is the oldest orphan in the world who sneaks on an army base and has to be kept there for security reason by order of Dr. Robert Paige and his assistant Martha Hyer.Which says security on this base is lousy because Bud and Lou accidentally lift the rocket off while cleaning it and become the world's first astronauts. They arrive at New Orleans during Mardi Gras and think they're on Mars because of all the colorfully costumed people. That being done they go right back to the rocket ship and take off again this time with two escaped convicts, Horace McMahon and Jack Kruschen, who have just robbed a bank.Then they arrive on Venus where the planet is populated by Amazons, men having been expelled hundreds of years ago. It's quite a place, but has its rules.This jaunt to outer space by A&C is once again quite below the standards of their work in the Forties. With Universal having a new look being typified by new leading men, Tony Curtis, Rock Hudson, and Jeff Chandler, Bud and Lou were no longer keeping the studio on the plus side of the ledger. They were gradually being phased out and this picture and others kind of prove it.The film provided some work for Joe Kirk who occasionally appeared as Mr. Baccagalupe on the A&C television series. Today the Italian American Anti-Defamation League would get all kinds of upset with his caricatured Italian scientist with the exaggerated accent. Nothing different from Kirk's character on television however, but you'd never get away with it today. It's a carryover from the ethnic humor of the Abbott and Costello days in burlesque where that kind of stuff was standard.This is not a bad A&C feature, but hardly anything like Buck Privates.

Abbott and Costello Go To Mars sees the popular duo tackle a sci-fi theme that was to be so prevalent in the 50s. It's directed by Charles Lamont and the co-star line up features Robert Paige, Horace McMahon, Mari Blanchard, Martha Hyer & Jack Kruschen. The plot sees Bud & Lou as Lester and Orville respectively, who accidentally find themselves on a rocket-ship bound for Mars. However, they actually land in New Orleans during the Mardi Gras and confusion reigns. Then an encounter with a couple of escaped convicts leads to another blast off, to Venus. A planet populated by a bevy of beauties.They were three years away from making what would be their last film together, but history dictates that the best of the film outings for Bud & Lou were long since past. However, "Go To Mars" and "Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (also 1953) are worthy pieces showcasing the comic talent and irrepressible charm of two fine entertainers. Sure the plot is as thin as some of the sets are for "Go To Mars," but there's enough chaos and comedy schtick to keep the smile on ones face. We get Costello doing an Italian accent-badly, which in turn leads to a slapathon. Then there's stunts with magnetic moon-boots, a triple bed fall down, gravitational larks and Mardi Gras strangeness. There's even a cheeky aside in favour of the ladies (the Venusian female race being contestants of Miss Universe) as the new male arrivals on Venus are compared to beefcake Adonis types on Venusian TV.Far from their best work but certainly enough good here to shoot down those "worst of the series" tags. 6/10