It’s time for another seasonal rerun. This post debuted in 2024. Enjoy.

I’ve always had a soft spot for Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. Their movies and teevee show were a part of my regular teevee watching regimen when I was a kid. They were a step up from the Three Stooges, but several steps down from the Marx Brothers. Shorter Adrastos: They made me laugh.

I’d heard about Abbott and Costello Go To Mars for many years but didn’t see it until I got a sweet deal on an Abbott and Costello 3-dvd package. I watched it for the first time right after Carnival 2023 but opted to wait until it was still seasonal. Seasonal? Read on, gentle readers.

The premise is outlandish. The boys, as they were always called even when they were in their mid-Forties, find themselves on a space ship that accidentally launches. Their first landing is just outside New Orleans during Carnival. The boys think they’ve landed on Mars. I’m skipping the crime subplot altogether. Suffice it to say that Bud and Lou meet their evil twins who rob a bank while clad in space suits.

The costume designers at Universal Pictures had a great time with this movie. I understand they had some local help as well. Dig these images:

Here’s Lou Costello with a bowhead.

Stilt-walkers are still around in modern Carnival but not as ubiquitous as in the 1950’s:

It’s a pity that nobody’s made an animated GIF of these old Carnival critters. This one’s head goes up and down totally flummoxing Costello. Abbott was always the calm and composed one.

The dude on the stairs scared the shit out of Abbott and Costello. See them cower:

It’s time for a Martian second line. Oh, that’s right, we’re in New Orleans, not on Mars:

Abbott and Costello never make it to Mars, their second landing is on Venus, which is a matriarchal society without any men. How they reproduce is beyond me. Costello is crowned king before being banished by the Venusian babes.

Grading Time: The movie is enjoyable nonsense that resists serious grading, but I give it 3 stars and an Adrastos Grade of B.

I’m sticking to the recent Pulp Fiction format by posting posters without postage or some such shit.

Dig this Mexican poster:

I’m feeling a bit peckish, so let’s all go to the lobby for some snacks.

I’d love to see the refreshments second line with the Quarter rats in the movie.

Let’s see some color lobby cards for this black and white movie.

Let’s exit the lobby and check out this photomontage from Abbott and Costello Go To Mars:

It’s trailer time:

I’m not quite finished. Here are Tony Soprano and Paulie Walnuts in Newark’s Lou Costello Memorial Park:

Here’s a better shot of the Costello statue:

Join me in a rousing chorus of HEY ABBOTT.

Happy Mardi Gras, y’all.