Introduction

Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion is a 1950 comedy film directed by Charles Lamont and starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello.

Outline

Bud Jones (Bud Abbott) and Lou Hotchkiss (Lou Costello) are wrestling promoters. Their star, Abdullah (Wee Willie Davis), no longer wishes to follow the script for their crooked matches, especially since he is supposed to lose his next match. Abdullah leaves America to return to his homeland, Algeria. The promoters’ financiers, a syndicate that has lent them $5,000 to bring Abdullah to the States, are now requiring them to return the money or face the consequences. The two men follow Abdullah to Algeria in hopes of bringing him back.

Meanwhile, Abdullah’s cousin, Sheikh Hamud El Khalid (Douglass Dumbrille) and a crooked Foreign Legionnaire, Sgt. Axmann (Walter Slezak), have been raiding a railroad construction site in order to extort “protection” money from the railroad company. When Bud and Lou arrive they are mistaken for company spies, and the Sheikh and Axmann attempt to murder them. As each attempt fails, the assassins’ hatred for Bud and Lou intensifies, especially when Lou outbids the Sheikh for six slave girls, one of whom, Nicole (Patricia Medina), is actually a French spy assigned to gain entry into the Sheikh’s camp. The boys are then chased, only to wind up hiding at the Foreign Legion headquarters, where Axmann tricks them to join.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Legion Commandant (Fred Nurney) suspects that there is a traitor among the Legionnaires, as the Sheikh anticipates every one of the Legion’s moves (secretly through Axmann). The Commandant then grants Bud and Lou a pass into town where they discovers Axmann’s alliance with the Arabs before meeting Nicole. She informs them that they must search Axmann’s room for proof that he is a traitor, but he catches them in the act. However, they are spared, only to end up at a Legionnaire desert camp. At night, just before the camp is ambushed by the Sheik’s men, Bud and Lou wander off in search of a camel that ran off and escape death. They are eventually captured, along with Nicole, who is put in Sheik Hamud’s harem. The Sheikh orders that one of his wrestlers execute them. The wrestler turns out to be Abdullah, who helps them escape so he can escape from being married to an unattractive woman. They head to Fort Apar, where they lure the Sheikh’s men inside and then blow it up. They are given awards by the Commandant and honourably discharged from the Legion. Lou thanks Nicole for helping them and gives his award to her before they leave, only for Bud to find out that Lou is taking the six slave girls with them back to the States.

Production & Filming Details

• Director: Charles Lamont.
• Producer: Robert Arthur.
• Writers: John Grant, Martin Ragaway, and Leonard Stern.
• Narrator: Jeff Chandler.
• Music: Joseph Gershenson.
• Editor: Frank Gross.
• Production: Universal-International.
• Distributor: Universal Pictures.
• Release Date: 24 Jul 1950 (US).
• Running Time: 80 minutes.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.

YouTube Link