Peereddi I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

Teddie Blake The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Kodie Bird True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

utgard14 Abbott & Costello meet Damon Runyon in this adaptation of his story, "Princess O'Hara." This is the second film version of that story, the first (and best) being the 1935 Chester Morris film. In what has to be one of the darkest beginnings to a comedy story ever, Lou accidentally kills a girl's horse. Feeling bad about it (you would hope so!), Lou and Bud try to find another horse to replace the dead one.This is definitely more Abbott & Costello than Runyon. Pretty much every scene involves the boys setting up (frankly obvious) routines, trying to score a "Who's on first?" but coming up with a "What was that?" Still, it's pleasant and sometimes pretty funny. Good cast backing up the boys includes Cecil Kellaway, Samuel Hinds, Patsy O'Connor, Shemp Howard, and Eddie Quillan. The obligatory banal lovebirds for the romantic subplot are Leighton Noble and Grace McDonald. The movie's scene stealer is Eugene Palette. The best parts of the movie are the jokes that break the fourth wall, like when Shemp Howard is asked why he's holding an umbrella and says "Who knows? I'm a Damon Runyon character." or Lou's joke about Universal.

JoeKarlosi Abbott and Costello are at their very best in this agreeable comedy. They play a couple of Manhattan taxi drivers with a fondness for a sweet young girl and her horse. Costello means well in trying to be nice to the animal, but his feeding it candy ultimately causes the horse to get sick - and die. So he and Abbott set out to make things right by getting a new horse for the girl, whose dad (Cecil Kellaway) runs a horse and carriage ride in the city. I know that synopsis sounds rather dramatic, but there is a lot of well-staged comedy between the serious moments. And Bud and Lou are as sharp in ever performing them. Some routines include: their classic "the horse eats his fodder", the boys getting swindled at a phony horse race outfit, Lou getting into trouble at a restaurant for not being able to pay his check, and other assorted gags. Third Stooge Shemp Howard also has a part, but the real fun comes courtesy of fat man Eugene Palette, who is the perfect foil for Costello's antics. As with almost all of A&C's movie of this period, there is some singing and dance numbers here; however, I find them to be rather entertaining and endurable this time out. *** out of ****

WILLIAM SEFFEL This film has not been restored and the Bud and Lou routines are great with perfect timing. One of their best routines are when they are by the race horse which is pulling the open carriage and Lou is briefed on the horse being a mudder and that the horse eats his fodder. The Step Brothers dancing scene is top rate and I haven't seen anything like it anywhere else. The Damon Runyon dialogue is great but because of the studios and family licensing differences, this film will pass into oblivion. What a shame this will be lost when so many would really enjoy it. The copies that are available are of such poor quality you really can't enjoy them.

robertshort_3 The comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were in their prime in the 1940's (particularly the early 1940's) and this offering from 1943 is very funny indeed. Based on a Damon Runyon story "Princess O'Hara" (and featuring some of the classic Runyon characters such as Harry the Horse), it's been tailored for the A & C brand of comedy, and features some of their funniest routines (the "mudder & fodder" exchange, which was repeated in their later film "The Noose Hangs High"; stealing the horse, the climactic horse race scene, etc.) Like most of their early features (with the notable exception of the great "Who Done It"), there's also the mandatory songs - they are a mild intrusion, but on their own merit are quite good. (These song numbers were a stock element in the Universal comedies at the time, so you just have to tolerate them, but, like in the Marx Brothers comedies, they did seem to be there just to "pad out" the running time.) There's also a gem of a supporting performance by the great character actor Eugene Palette.Unfortunately, "It Ain't Hay" is currently tied up in legal knots, which keeps it out of circulation at the present time. Due to this, it was not included in the great A & C collection released recently on DVD by MCA, nor has it been shown on television for many years. Hopefully these legal issues will be resolved, and this fine example of the great comedy duo's work will receive the distribution it deserves.