“One Night in the Tropics” filmscript book published
Bear Manor Media has published One Night in the Tropics, the third volume in the Universal Filmscript Series of the Abbott and Costello films. Through meticulous research and exclusive interviews, film historian Ron Palumbo takes readers into the executive offices and onto the sound stages as he examines every ingredient of this landmark film—from the source novel to the songwriters, cast, crew, and the remarkable origins of the film’s classic Abbott and Costello routines (including “Who’s On First?”). And that’s only the beginning. The centerpiece of this 255-page book is the film’s shooting script, supplemented by a re-take script, and the press book. Other highlights include an introduction by Lou’s daughter, Chris Costello, and 140 photographs. The book is available in in hardcover for $45 and paperback for $35.
It took the studio years to bring One Night in the Tropics to the screen. “In 1936, Universal planned to turn this novel into a romantic comedy set to the music of Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields,” Palumbo explains. “Kern and Fields had just come off writing their brilliant score for the Astaire and Rogers musical Swing Time. But Universal ran into financial difficulties and the project and the score were shelved.”
It was resurrected four years later as a vehicle for Allan Jones. At the same time, the studio was interested in signing radio comics Abbott and Costello to test their appeal. “Director Henry Koster saw Bud and Lou in New York and recommended them to his studio bosses,” Ron said. “Koster was directing the Deanna Durbin films that were so important to Universal then. When he spoke, the executives listened. Coincidentally, Koster later married Peggy Moran, who co-stars in One Night in the Tropics.”
The studio ordered producer Leonard Spigelgass to make room for Abbott and Costello in the picture. This led to late night rewrites with additional screenwriters. “You’ll see that the script has an unusual amount of handwritten edits and some duplicate page and scene numbers,” Palumbo noted. “It was probably just as hasty and frustrating a process as Spigelgass remembered it to be.”
Very little was actually written for Bud and Lou, however. They simply used several of their best routines, including “Who’s On First?,” “Mustard,” “Jonah and the Whale” and “365 Days.” Ron explained, “The dialogue for the routines was not written out in any drafts of the screenplay. There was no need to, because Bud and Lou knew the material by heart. It simply says, ‘They do the Baseball Routine,’ or ‘Mustard goes here.’ But all of these routines are transcribed in the book for the first time, so you can read along with them.”
Palumbo was also able to trace the fascinating lineage of each routine and gag, and how they were altered for, or by, Abbott and Costello. “I’ve always found it fascinating that Bud and Lou did material that had been around for ages, yet they always made it seem spontaneous and fresh. Jim Mulholland has said it, and Chris wrote in her introduction, but they are rarely given credit for being great actors. Yet that’s how they made that material work so well—by acting.”
Abbott and Costello and their routines stole the picture, and it paved the way for their prolific film careers. Years later, Allan Jones, saw a theater marquee that read, “Abbott and Costello in One Night in the Tropics.” Jones, the star of the film, thought to himself, “Where the hell am I?”
“It’s funny, but Bud and Lou were absolutely destined to make their film debut in an Allan Jones movie,” Ron said. “They nearly did a picture with him at MGM in 1938, and another at Universal earlier in 1940. But things didn’t align until One Night in the Tropics, unfortunately for Allan Jones.”
Lou’s daughter, Chris Costello, brings a family perspective to the book’s introduction, “I can only imagine how excited my father must have been when he and Bud arrived in Hollywood to make their first film. Dad’s ambition had always been to be a movie star, and now his dream was coming true!” There are many behind the scenes photos of Lou and his family on the set. As Chris explains it, “He brought his entire family out to California for this movie. Dad and Bud were very close to their families, and they wanted their families to share their success.”
The film’s premier was also something of a family affair, too, since it was held in Lou’s home town, Paterson. Palumbo covers that event as well. “Red Skelton and Phil Silvers performed, along with other comedians and singers,” Ron said. There are also contemporaneous reviews and accounts of what happened to the cast and crew in the years after the film. “I’ve even uncovered the mystery of the infamous ‘Daylight Savings’ short the boys made,” Ron said.
The Universal Filmscript: One Night in the Tropics is a must-have for Abbott and Costello aficionados, fans of Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields, movie comedy buffs and scholars of Hollywood’s Golden Age. As Chris Costello sums it up, “Although this film is usually overlooked, it is important in Abbott and Costello’s careers, and Ron Palumbo gives it the attention it deserves. No one is a better guide to Dad and Bud’s work.”