In Society
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Jean Yarbrough
Bud Abbott
Lou Costello
Marion Hutton
Kirby Grant
Margaret Irving
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Plumbers Eddie Harrington and Albert Mansfield are hired to fix a leaky bathroom facet by wealthy Mr. Van Cleve, who has just returned home from a grueling business trip. They travel to Van Cleve's Long Island mansion in the taxi of their friend, Elsie Hummerdingle. The three arrive at the estate in the midst of Mrs. Van Cleve's costume party, and Elsie is mistaken for one of the guests by Peter Evans, the party's guest of honor. Meanwhile, as the exhausted Mr. Van Cleve tries to sleep, Eddie and Albert manage to destroy, rather than fix, the bathroom's plumbing and end up flooding the entire house. The next day, the Van Cleves write a letter of complaint to Eddie and Albert, but mistakenly mail to the plumbers an invitation for a weekend stay at the Bryerwood estate of Mrs. Roger Winthrop. After receiving the invitation, Eddie and Albert are visited by Drexel, a thief who lent the plumbers $1,000 to start up their business. Drexel threatens to kill the two if they do not either repay the loan that night or help him steal the valuables of their wealthy clients. Later, Eddie and Albert are joined at the Winthrop estate by Elsie, who has been invited there by Peter. Mrs. Winthrop is upset by Elsie's presence and Peter's attentiveness toward her, as she hopes to unite Peter with her daughter Gloria. The lovesick Albert also becomes upset when he sees Peter and Elsie together, but he soon has a change of heart and promises to help Elsie in her pursuit of the rich young man. Drexel then arrives at the Winthrop estate, having seen a photograph of Eddie and Albert posed with Mrs. Winthrop and her priceless oil painting, "The Plunger," in the newspaper's society section. He demands that the plumbers help him steal the painting, but when they refuse, he steals it with the help of Marlow, a crooked chauffeur. Eddie, Albert and Gloria are immediately accused of the crime, but when the plumbers see Drexel and Marlow leaving the estate, they chase after the thieves in a fire truck. Eddie and Albert manage to capture Drexel and Marlow and return the costly canvas to Mrs. Winthrop, but before they can be rewarded, Albert is pushed into the painting, destroying it.
Director
Jean Yarbrough
Cast
Bud Abbott
Lou Costello
Marion Hutton
Kirby Grant
Margaret Irving
Ann Gillis
Arthur Treacher
Thomas Gomez
George Dolenz
Steven Geray
Murray Leonard
Thurston Hall
Nella Walker
William B. Davidson
Margie, Bea And Geri
Will Osborne
Don Barclay
Edgar Dearing
Charles Sherlock
Ralph Dunn
Cy Ring
Ian Wolfe
Charles Coleman
Roxanne Hilton
Alice Fleming
Gladys Blake
Mabel Todd
Kay York
Luis Alberni
Tom Fadden
Tom Dugan
Dorothy Granger
Ann Roberts
Leon Devoe
Milt Bronson
Al Thompson
Charles Hall
Crew
Jerome Ash
Bernard B. Brown
Clyde Bruckman
Philip Cahn
Howard Christie
Stanley Cowan
Mann Curtis
Carter Dehaven
George Dobbs
Edgar Fairchild
Milton Feld
Sidney Fields
Hal Fimberg
Lee Frederic
John P. Fulton
Kim Gannon
R. A. Gausman
John B. Goodman
John Grant
John Grant
Edmund L. Hartmann
Edmund L. Hartmann
Ross Hoffman
Walter Kent
Eugene Lourie
Joseph A. Mcdonough
Vic Mizzy
Paul Neal
Robert Pritchard
Leigh Smith
Howard Snyder
Hugh Wedlock Jr.
Vera West
Edwin L. Wetzel
Bobby Worth
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Lady, he ain't dead, he's hiding!- Albert Mansfield
Trivia
Introduced here by Marion Hutton, the song "My Dreams are Getting Better All the Time" became one of the top hits of 1944 when recorded by Doris Day with The Les Brown Orchestra.
Abbott and Costello were engaged in an acrimonious contract dispute with Universal during the making of this film, and as a result they refused to do re-shoots and every day, at exactly 4:00 p.m., whether they were in the middle of a scene or in the middle of a line, would immediately cease working and go home.
Notes
The film was also reviewed under the title Abbott and Costello in Society. This was Bud Abbott and Lou Costello's first Universal film following Costello's long bout with rheumatic heart disease. The picture was also the first Abbott and Costello film to be directed by Jean Yarbrough, who went on to direct four more of the comedy team's films as well as produce and direct their television series. Hollywood Reporter news items state that writers Hugh Wedlock, Jr. and Howard Snyder had originally intended to produce the film, which is based on their original story, for Universal in February 1943. In May 1944, Hollywood Reporter reported that the picture was to go into the Universal production schedule ahead of the previously announced Abbott and Costello vehicle, The Naughty Nineties , because the two comedians prefered the script for In Society. At that time, Arthur Lubin was set to direct the film. A July 1944 Hollywood Reporter news item lists Robert Dudley and Bob Stebbins in the cast, but their appearance in the released film has not been confirmed. Hollywood Reporter also reported that portions of the film were shot on location in Pasadena, CA, in late June 1944. According to modern sources, chase footage from the 1941 Universal film Never Give a Sucker an Even Break was used in this film .
