Movie Review: Lost in a Harem (1944)

Synopsis: A singer, Hazel, and two bumbling magicians, Peter and Harvey, are arrested while performing in the Middle East and regain their freedom by agreeing to help a usurped prince regain his throne from his uncle. When their plan fails, Peter and Harvey must rescue Hazel before the uncle makes her one of his wives.

Who's in it? The movie stars Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Marilyn Maxwell, John Conte and Douglass Dumbrille.


Review: This was one of the few Abbott & Costello movies I had yet to see so, when I came across it on one of my movie channels, I made sure to record it. I had a chance to watch it this weekend and, unfortunately, it wasn't as good as I was hoping it would be.

Don't get me wrong, the comedy team was at its best when performing some of their classic bits, including their magic show early on in the film. I think my biggest problem with the movie was it just didn't feel like a movie.

The story about Hazel (Maxwell) trying to help a prince by seducing his uncle into giving up a pair of rings had the potential to be somewhat interesting. However, instead of making that the main focus, the film seemed to spend much more time on various song and dance numbers that didn't even feature any of the main characters. 

In other words, it was a bit more like watching a variety show than a movie and the actual "plot" ended up being more of an afterthought. In fact, I was beginning to wonder if they would even bother giving that story an ending.

Final Opinion: It wasn't a bad film and, as I said, Abbott & Costello were great. It's just, compared to some of their other movies, it fell a bit short.

My Grade: C

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