Fantastic!

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

I'm going to say right off the bat that this is by no means a good movie. The worst part is probably how they utilize the going to Venus thing. Yeah, they don't go to Mars. It's true that they THINK they're going to Mars, but it's actually Venus. As you might have predicted, they use the joke about it being populated entirely by women. It's interesting how they first appear in New Orleans during Mardi Gras.They think the people wearing the costumes are aliens. I thought there were a lot of good jokes in this. I even liked the romantic bit they got in at the end. Okay, it's not as good as them meeting Frankenstein, but it's still okay for what it is. I'm impressed at how prolific they were. It's just alright. **1/2

You'll either love it or hate it. There's no in between. It's so outrageous, I have to love it. Never mind that the real Venus is a hellhole, with a sizzling 462 degrees C surface, and a suffocating 96% CO2 atmosphere. Never mind that A&C mistake participants in the New Orleans mardi gras as Martians. A&C rocket off to Venus after tiring of the 'Martians'.Abbott(Lester) is a maintenance worker at the spaceship research station near NYC. Costello(Orville) accidentally gains entrance to the facility when he hides in the back of a delivery truck, and is later mistaken for a Dr. Orvilla who is due to show up. The two have a mutual slapping session, with the Dr. the winner in the who's who decision. It's decided to let Lou stay and help Abbott. The 2 bring some things inside the spaceship. Lou plays with some switches and buttons, and it's lift off! First they buzz some skyscrapers, fly under some bridges, and even fly through the Lincoln Tunnel! They land at New Orleans, thinking it Mars(mighty fast trip!). They don their space suits and go out. Soon, they see some strange-looking people-like creatures and other creatures. It's the N.O. mardi gras. They fit right in with their space suits. Meanwhile, 2 escaped convicts enter the spacecraft and find a 'ray gun'. They use this to 'freeze' the employees at a bank they rob, then return to the spaceship, along with A&C. The boys decide to point the spaceship toward Venus. Upon landing, they discover that Venus hosts only beautiful young women(played by Miss Universe contestants). Seems they eliminated men 400 years ago, after it was discovered how to achieve physical immortality and eternal youth. Thus, these beauties are about 400 years old.Queen Allura(Mari Blanchard) is very bossy and jealous, if exceptionally beautiful. She has the 2 convicts incarcerated. Reluctantly, she goes along with Lou's request to be crowned King of Venus. But, it's only provisional if he doesn't think about the other women(Allura is very jealous and very much a feminist!). To see if he can pass this test, she gives him 3 balloons. If he thinks of another woman, one will pop. Bang! Now, he must pass the lie detector test. A metal chair is wired to produce a current sufficient to cause sparks to fly if Lou tells a lie. He flunks this test also. Thus, Allura says the men have to leave Venus, even if many of the girls want them to stay, at least for a while. Allura also orders that any girl who kisses a man will immediately lose the gift of immortality and eternal youth. One girl violates this decree, and immediately changes into a 400y.o. woman(well, 120y.o., anyway) At first, the spaceship wouldn't take off for Earth. It was concluded the reason was excess weight. Abbott discovered that Lou had smuggled a bevy of girls into some closets. After they are ushered out, the spaceship takes off fine, and eventually lands near NYC, but not before buzzing some skyscrapers, flying under a bridge, flying through the Lincoln Tunnel, and causing The Statue of Liberty to duck! A big parade is held for A&C, while the 2 convicts are sent to jail. The amazons watch the parade on their video, and Allura sends a congratulatory gift for Costello, but I won't say what it is.

One of the better later entries of the A&C series. The boys appear motivated which was not always the case as their careers wound down, (they separated in 1957). They've got two productive shticks here—the Mardi Gras and the planet Venus. Those costumed Mardi Gras characters are a real hoot and a good chance for Costello to react in his inimitable way. The clownish figures also show how close at times the comedic can be to the grotesque. And catch that parade of pulchritude inhabiting Venus. I'm getting my outer space reservations right away. Looks like Universal hired every tall, shapely starlet in Hollywood for this sequence, including notables Ekberg and Hyer. Then too, the special effects may be cheesy, as expected, but they are elaborate. But what's with the fat Jack Khruschen character, Harry. He comes across as a dopey counterpart to Costello, as though one dim-witted funnyman is not enough. I wonder what the story is there. As in most slapstick, plot doesn't mean much here, just a rack to hang the sketches on. All in all, it's an entertaining 80-minutes of A&C nonsense, with the boys in pretty good form.

Not Abbott and Costello's very best but a funny enough one any way. Of course I don't see how the whole premise of two buffoons accidentally could happen in real life but this is not real life. When the two land near New Orleans during Mardi Gras they start seeing the people in the strange costumes that are typical for the time. They then belief they are on Mars. When two cons on the run show up and make them take off again they end up on Venus. Of course Venus has only women since all men were exiled. How they reproduced is not really covered, cloning? The men then show some of the Venusian girls what they have been missing. Not graphically but just some romantic by play.