Here's another of those 'lost' films that somehow fell through the cracks and don't even show up on Turner Classic Movies at three in the morning, when they tend to play obscure so-so pictures for a cult audience that either sets the tape machine or sits up all night long, staring at the tube. Wish they would revive it, though, for it this is anything but subtle, it does contain several well mounted slapstick situations of the type that flourished in the early days of film, before sound came in. Originally, the film was to have starred Bud Abott and Lou Costello. When they dropped out, the studio inserted Hugh O'Brian, who shortly would incarnate the ultra-serous marshal Wyatt Earp on TV, and Buddy Hackett, just then emerging as a world-class funnyman. The decisive move was to rethink this as a (the?) vehicle for Spike Jones and His City Slickers, a madman band that offered more comedy than music. And, as earlier said about this film itself, they weren't subtle but they sure were funny. Another forgotten film waiting to be found.
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zaphod-7415 January 2007I have to start saying it has been a long time since I have seen it, but have seen it 5 or more times; a wonderful little romp that was clearly inspired by the musical/comedy pairings of new or fading stars with musical groups of prominence. Kay Kyser's mysteries would be a good example.
Having Spike Jones unleashed is the best part of the show, as he and his band play many tunes and are a part of the action, doing a fine job of support. Hugh O'Brien plays the face, Buddy Hackett the part rumor has it that was offered to Lou Costello and thus, Abbott and Costello replacing the leads. Don't know if that was true.
all in all, a pleasant movie, but important to have that much Spike Jones and his band on film for history. Wish that it was released, as I haven't seen or heard of it now in two decades. Hope it is not lost -
rmarosy7 September 2007I've spent years looking for a copy of this film(16mm,dvd,vhs), so I could show it to my kids. The movie is funny, and Spike and the members of his band show why they were the best musicians in the business. They had to be that good to play that demented. I like it and recommend it for movie lovers of all ages.
The movie is about a turn of the century firehouse, with a crew of misfits that are firemen and the department band (when not fighting the fires). There's the usual running gags, plus the mayhem of Spike Jones and his Orchestra. Also, comedy relief provided by comedian Buddy Hackett and straight-man Hugh O'Brien. -
sabishi1 May 2000I hope someone will make a video of this wonderful old Spike Jones comedy. It was good family fun! I remember when my father watched it he laughed so hard tears were rolling down his cheeks. He said he laughed so hard his stomach hurt! I would love to see it again and hope my daughter can someday see it.
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planktonrules9 November 2022Originally, "Fireman Save My Child" was intended as an Abbott & Costello film. However, Lou Costello was apparently too ill to do the movie and instead Universal rewrote the film to star Buddy Hackett and Hugh O'Brian....as well as Spike Jones and his band.
The story is set around 1910 and is set at a firehouse featuring a VERY odd group of firemen. While their jobs are supposed to be all about putting out fires, they seem to spend most of their time playing goofy music. Into this bizarro firehouse come Smitty and Smokey (O'Brian and Hackett). Smokey wants to be a fireman to test out his latest fire prevention invention but he's so darn dumb and clumsy, the invention seems to have been forgotten for most of the movie. Can Smitty keep Smokey out of trouble and make a real fire fighter out of him?
Compared to other Abbott & Costello films, this one far more slapsticky...with more pratfalls, goofy action scenes and the like. I personally think a few LESS would have helped the story as they were pretty cheap laughs and we often used instead of plot. The same could be said of Spike Jones and his City Slickers. While their songs were weird fun, they also seemed to take the place of plot. As an adult, I sure noticed this. If I'd seen it as a kid...well, I probably would have loved it! As an adult, I really found it tough to enjoy...though occasionally a real laugh snuck into the film.
By the way, if you watch the movie, pay attention in some of the shots. A few were actually filmed with Lou Costello and a few times it actually is him in distant shots instead of Hackett. -
JohnHowardReid21 June 2016This "Fireman" certain misfires. The script was originally intended to surface as an Abbott and Costello picture, but fortunately for A&C, the studio had second thoughts and decided to use the script as a vehicle for Spike Jones and his City Slickers instead, with Buddy Hackett in the Costello role and Hugh O'Brian as a Bud Abbott substitute. It didn't work! Only the musical numbers were successful. The best of them was a loony rendition of "In a Persian Market" which had the double advantage of being out of copyright and didn't cost Universal a cent. A couple of the other musical numbers could have been moderately successful with audiences too, but they are made less appetizing by long drawn-out "comedy" inserts – especially the "Poet and Peasant Overture". Spike and his boys labor enthusiastically with ad libs as well, but director Leslie Goodwins (who often boasted that he had over two hundred director credits – he did indeed!) manages to make most of their gags fall flat. According to studio publicity, Abbott and Costello can actually be seen in the film, but I've not spotted them myself. According to IMDb, they are present in a "long shot"!
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gleetroy21 February 2008I have never seen this film but have heard a lot about it. Just recently, I was reading an Abbott and Costello biography where it quoted Buddy Hackett as saying that he "replaced" Lou in the film when Lou got ill. (Was it another rheumatic fever attack?) I would like to know the origins of the casting and would like to see this film.
It is easy to see that Hugh O'Brian was essaying the Abbott role. But was he funny at one point?
Spike Jones in a movie that was tailored around him? Just zany enough to be a great idea! When Turner Classic Movies does show it at 3 in the morning I'll have the VCR set -
Very much a Spike Jones show, although Buddy Hackett was fun to watch, also. The only comparison I can think of (without Spike's music) is Steve Martin's "Roxanne", which was also a comedy about a volunteer Fire Department. Mostly, I very much miss seeing this film on the late-night movie circuit and hope for its return.