Abbott and Costello Movies: Release Order

1940 - 195636 Films48h 41m3.3 Average

Abbott and Costello were the most popular comedy team of the 1940s and early 1950s, creating a massive 36-film legacy that showcased their vaudeville-honed routines and impeccable timing. From their breakout hit Buck Privates to their final collaboration Dance with Me, Henry, the duo perfected a formula of Abbott as the scheming straight man and Costello as the lovable buffoon.

Most films are standalone comedies with new characters and settings, connected only by the duo's consistent comedic personas and recurring gags like the famous "Who's on First?" routine. This complete filmography includes their Universal Pictures contract films, their glossier MGM productions, and their later independent works that gave them more creative control.

There are 3 other watch orders available – see the links up above.

1
One Night in the Tropics poster

One Night in the Tropics

19401h 22m2.9
Director: A. Edward Sutherland
Cast: Allan Jones, Nancy Kelly, Robert Cummings, Bud Abbott, Lou Costello

An insurance salesman creates a novelty 'love insurance policy' that pays out if his friend doesn't marry his fiancée, but the upcoming wedding faces complications from an ex-girlfriend and a disapproving aunt. A nightclub owner who underwrites the policy sends two enforcers to make sure the marriage goes through as planned.

MusicComedy
2
Buck Privates poster

Buck Privates

19411h 24m3.8
Director: Arthur Lubin
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lee Bowman, Jane Frazee, Alan Curtis

Two petty con artists accidentally enlist in the Army while fleeing the police, only to find their pursuer has become their drill instructor. Meanwhile, a wealthy recruit and his former chauffeur compete for the affections of the same woman in this classic Abbott and Costello military comedy.

ComedyMusicWar
3
In the Navy poster

In the Navy

19411h 26m3.5
Director: Arthur Lubin
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Dick Powell, Claire Dodd, Laverne Andrews

A popular crooner abandons his career to secretly join the Navy under an alias, but a determined reporter discovers his identity and follows him aboard ship, leading to comedic schemes as his fellow sailors help him avoid being photographed.

ComedyMusicWar
4
Hold That Ghost poster

Hold That Ghost

19411h 26m3.9
Director: Arthur Lubin
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Richard Carlson, Joan Davis, Mischa Auer

Two bumbling service station attendants inherit a gangster's fortune but get stranded in a spooky house with mysterious strangers while trying to claim their windfall.

ComedyHorror
5
Keep 'Em Flying poster

Keep 'Em Flying

19411h 26m3.1
Director: Arthur Lubin
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Martha Raye, Carol Bruce, William Gargan

A barnstorming stunt pilot joins the air corps with his two bumbling assistants Abbott & Costello in tow, leading to comedic chaos in this wartime comedy.

Comedy
6
Ride 'Em Cowboy poster

Ride 'Em Cowboy

19421h 26m3.1
Director: Arthur Lubin
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Dick Foran, Anne Gwynne, Johnny Mack Brown

Two hapless peanut vendors flee their troubles by heading west on a train, where they stumble into jobs as cowboys on a dude ranch despite having no experience with horses or ranch life.

ComedyWestern
7
Rio Rita poster

Rio Rita

19421h 31m3.1
Director: S. Sylvan Simon
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Kathryn Grayson, John Carroll, Patricia Dane

Two bumbling characters encounter Nazi agents attempting to smuggle explosives across the Mexican border into the United States.

ComedyMusic
8
Pardon My Sarong poster

Pardon My Sarong

19421h 24m3.6
Director: Erle C. Kenton
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Virginia Bruce, Robert Paige, Lionel Atwill

Two bumbling bus drivers accidentally steal their own vehicle and end up on a tropical island adventure with a playboy, where they encounter a dangerous jewel thief with malicious intentions.

Comedy
9
Who Done It? poster

Who Done It?

19421h 17m4
Director: Erle C. Kenton
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Patric Knowles, Louise Allbritton, Mary Wickes

Two bumbling soda fountain workers aspire to write radio mystery shows, but when they visit a radio station to pitch their ideas, they become embroiled in a real murder mystery when the station owner is killed during a live broadcast.

ComedyMystery
10
It Ain't Hay poster

It Ain't Hay

19431h 20m3.5
Director: Erle C. Kenton
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Grace McDonald, Cecil Kellaway, Eugene Pallette

Abbott and Costello accidentally kill a woman's horse and must find a replacement, unknowingly stealing a champion racehorse named Tea Biscuit in this classic comedy of errors.

Comedy
11
Hit the Ice poster

Hit the Ice

19431h 22m3.1
Director: Charles Lamont
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Ginny Simms, Patric Knowles, Elyse Knox

Two photographers stumble into trouble when they capture images of a bank robbery and are drawn to the criminals' mountain hideout, where they encounter an unexpected familiar face.

Comedy
12
Lost in a Harem poster

Lost in a Harem

19441h 29m2.7
Director: Charles Reisner
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Marilyn Maxwell, John Conte, Douglass Dumbrille

Two bumbling magicians help a Middle Eastern prince regain his rightful throne from his despotic uncle.

Comedy
13
In Society poster

In Society

19441h 15m3.1
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Marion Hutton, Kirby Grant, Ann Gillis

Two bumbling plumbers get mistaken for high society guests and find themselves invited to a fancy party, leading to predictable chaos and comedic mishaps.

ComedyActionCrimeMusic
14
Here Come the Co-Eds poster

Here Come the Co-Eds

19451h 30m3
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Martha O'Driscoll, Peggy Ryan, Lon Chaney Jr.

When taxi dancer Molly receives a scholarship to an all-girls college, she brings along her brother and his friend as caretakers, but they must devise a scheme to save the school from foreclosure. Their plan involves betting on the college basketball team, but complications arise when the local bookie interferes with ringers.

Comedy
15
The Naughty Nineties poster

The Naughty Nineties

19451h 16m3.9
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Alan Curtis, Rita Johnson, Henry Travers

Abbott and Costello star as a ham actor and his bumbling sidekick who try to help a kindly riverboat captain reclaim his Mississippi showboat from crooked gamblers in this 1890s-set comedy.

Comedy
16
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood poster

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in Hollywood

19451h 23m3
Director: S. Sylvan Simon
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Frances Rafferty, Bob Haymes, Jean Porter

Two bumbling barbers try to help a talented but unknown singer break into Hollywood by staging an elaborate scheme to get him noticed.

Comedy
17
Little Giant poster

Little Giant

19461h 30m2.7
Director: William A. Seiter
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Jacqueline deWit, Brenda Joyce, George Cleveland

Lou Costello plays a naive vacuum-cleaner salesman from the country who works for a company run by the scheming Bud Abbott. This Abbott and Costello comedy features less of their typical vaudeville routines and keeps the duo mostly separated throughout the story.

Comedy
18
The Time of Their Lives poster

The Time of Their Lives

19461h 22m4
Director: Charles Barton
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Marjorie Reynolds, Binnie Barnes, John Shelton

Two ghosts from the Revolutionary War era return to 20th century New England to clear their names by finding a letter from George Washington that would prove their innocence after being wrongly branded as traitors.

ComedyFantasyHorror
19
Buck Privates Come Home poster

Buck Privates Come Home

19471h 17m3.5
Director: Charles Barton
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Tom Brown, Joan Shawlee, Nat Pendleton

Two ex-soldiers return from overseas, one secretly bringing a French orphan girl he's grown attached to. They encounter their old sergeant and get mixed up with a race-car builder seeking financial backers for his new midget racer.

ComedyRomanceAction
20
The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap poster

The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap

19471h 18m3.4
Director: Charles Barton
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Marjorie Main, Audrey Young, George Cleveland

Two traveling salesmen get framed for murder in a small Montana town, leading to unexpected complications in this Abbott and Costello comedy western.

ComedyWestern
21
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein poster

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein

19481h 23m4.1
Director: Charles Barton
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lon Chaney Jr., Bela Lugosi, Glenn Strange

Baggage handlers Bud and Lou accidentally encounter classic movie monsters including Frankenstein's Monster, Dracula, and the Wolf Man in this comedy horror crossover.

HorrorComedy
22
Mexican Hayride poster

Mexican Hayride

19481h 18m2.9
Director: Charles Barton
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Virginia Grey, Luba Malina, John Hubbard

Two con men flee to Mexico to escape the law and unexpectedly reunite with an old female friend who has become a bullfighter.

ComedyRomance
23
The Noose Hangs High poster

The Noose Hangs High

19481h 17m3.9
Director: Charles Barton
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Joseph Calleia, Leon Errol, Cathy Downs

Two window washers are mistaken for messengers and accidentally get involved with a bookie's $50,000, leading to a series of comedic mix-ups when the money gets mailed to the wrong person who spends it.

Comedy
24
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff poster

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff

19491h 24m3.6
Director: Charles Barton
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Boris Karloff, Lenore Aubert, Gar Moore

When bellhop Freddie Phillips becomes the prime suspect in a murder at the Lost Caverns Motel, he must clear his name with help from his friend while dodging a mysterious swami's hypnotic schemes. This classic Abbott and Costello comedy pairs the duo with horror legend Boris Karloff in a blend of mystery and slapstick humor.

ComedyHorrorMystery
25
Africa Screams poster

Africa Screams

19491h 19m3
Director: Charles Barton
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Clyde Beatty, Frank Buck, Buddy Baer

Two bumbling friends are mistakenly thought to be African explorers and are forced to guide a treasure-hunting expedition into the jungle in search of valuable jewels.

ComedyAdventure
26
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in the Foreign Legion poster

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in the Foreign Legion

19501h 20m3.3
Director: Charles Lamont
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Patricia Medina, Walter Slezak, Douglass Dumbrille

Comedy duo Bud Abbott and Lou Costello find themselves accidentally enlisted in the Foreign Legion while searching for a wrestler in Algeria, leading to their typical misadventures in the desert.

ComedyAdventure
27
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man poster

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man

19511h 23m3.5
Director: Charles Lamont
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Nancy Guild, Arthur Franz, Adele Jergens

Comedy duo Bud Abbott and Lou Costello play bumbling detectives who encounter the Invisible Man in this classic monster-comedy crossover from Universal Pictures.

HorrorComedyScience Fiction
28
Comin' Round the Mountain poster

Comin' Round the Mountain

19511h 17m3.2
Director: Charles Lamont
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Dorothy Shay, Kirby Grant, Joe Sawyer

Two magicians team up with a cousin to search for treasure hidden in the Kentucky hills by their grandfather, Squeeze-box McCoy.

ComedyMusic
29
Jack and the Beanstalk poster

Jack and the Beanstalk

19521h 18m2.9
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Buddy Baer, Dorothy Ford, Barbara Brown

A young boy trades his family's cow for magic beans and climbs the resulting giant beanstalk to confront the terrorizing giant above.

ComedyFantasyMusic
30
Lost in Alaska poster

Lost in Alaska

19521h 16m3.2
Director: Jean Yarbrough
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Mitzi Green, Tom Ewell, Bruce Cabot

Two volunteer firemen who rescue a suicidal gold prospector find themselves mistakenly wanted by police for murder in this comedy adventure.

ComedyAdventure
31
Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd poster

Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd

19521h 10m3.1
Director: Charles Lamont
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Charles Laughton, Hillary Brooke, Bill Shirley

Two bumbling waiters accidentally mix up a love letter with Captain Kidd's treasure map, leading to their kidnapping and a hilarious adventure on the notorious pirate's island.

ComedyMusicAdventure
32
Abbott and Costello Go to Mars poster

Abbott and Costello Go to Mars

19531h 17m2.8
Director: Charles Lamont
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Mari Blanchard, Robert Paige, Horace McMahon

When bumbling duo Lester and Orville accidentally launch a rocket meant for Mars, they end up in New Orleans before being forced by bank robbers to travel to Venus. There they discover a civilization populated entirely by women who have banished all men from their planet.

ComedyScience Fiction
33
Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde poster

Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

19531h 17m3.5
Director: Charles Lamont
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Boris Karloff, Craig Stevens, Helen Westcott

American policemen Bud and Lou find themselves in London where they encounter the infamous Dr. Jekyll and his sinister alter ego Mr. Hyde in this classic comedy-horror mashup.

ComedyHorrorMysteryScience Fiction
34
Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops poster

Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops

19551h 20m3.3
Director: Charles Lamont
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Fred Clark, Lynn Bari, Maxie Rosenbloom

Harry and Willie are conned into buying Edison's old studio and follow the scammer to Hollywood, where they unknowingly become stunt doubles in a film directed by their nemesis in disguise.

Comedy
35
Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy poster

Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy

19551h 19m3.2
Director: Charles Lamont
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Marie Windsor, Michael Ansara, Dan Seymour

Comedy duo Bud Abbott and Lou Costello find themselves trapped in an Egyptian tomb with a living mummy in this classic horror-comedy adventure.

AdventureHorrorComedyFantasy
36
Dance with Me, Henry poster

Dance with Me, Henry

19561h 19m2.5
Director: Charles Barton
Cast: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Gigi Perreau, Rusty Hamer, Mary Wickes

Bud and Lou own an amusement park called Kiddieland, but when Bud's gambling debts put him in trouble with the mob, both partners find themselves caught up in a web of shady deals and criminal accusations.

Comedy