Even by Abbott & Costello standards, 'Africa Screams' is a terrible film with a few amusing moments. There are some items of interest to movie buffs today, such as the casting of two of the Three Stooges, Shemp Howard and Joe Besser, in secondary roles; this was seven years before Besser replaced Shemp as the 'third Stooge.' 'Africa Screams' was a rare independent production for A&C. It was filmed by Nassour Studios, though the team was still under contract to Universal. The previous year had seen Bud and Lou reach the top of the box office after a slump in the mid-forties, with 'Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein,' arguably their best film ever. Whether 'Africa Screams' was planned prior to that success or was a result of it, I don't know. In any event, it was a 'one-off,' as A&C immediately returned to Universal afterward and stayed there until 1955, when they were dropped. They made one more independent film in 1956, 'Dance With Me, Henry', before calling it quits for good. 'Africa Screams' is a hodgepodge of old routines, a few new ones, and an 'African safari' plot that pops up occasionally, mainly to justify the presence of animal trainers Clyde Beatty and Frank Buck. The pro boxing brothers, Max Baer and Buddy Baer, are along for the ride too as a couple of tough henchmen. So we get the obligatory 'lion-taming' sequence from Mr. Beatty, and a punch-out scene with the two Baer brothers. Frank Buck, fortunately, has virtually nothing to do. Joe Besser has one funny moment when he hears one of the others reveal a secret; he punches the guy on the arm and in his best spoiled-brat voice says, "Ooo, you're such a snitch!" Shemp Howard, like Frank Buck, is nowhere to be seen during most of the action and when he is, has nothing amusing to do. As for Abbott & Costello themselves, they resurrect any number of old routines, most of which are not related to the plot at all. It's almost like watching an early television variety show where they come on at intervals, do a sketch, then depart. Abbott does the familiar bit where he thinks Lou has been killed and delivers a long, mournful monologue about what a great guy Lou was and how he, Abbott, is to blame... even though Lou's standing right there. (How many times did A&C AND the Three Stooges use that routine?) My favorite is Lou reprising the 'whispering threat' business from 'Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap' where he challenges the bad guys to a no-holds-barred fight, but from a distance where they can't see him and in a voice so slight they can't hear him. For about three minutes, it's a very funny film. The casting of Besser and Hillary Brooke, as the female lead, foreshadows in fact the Abbott & Costello TV show of the early fifties, as both would be regulars. Production values of 'Africa Screams' are bottom-of-the-barrel, making any of the team's Universal flicks look like 'Gone With The Wind' by comparison. Well, the good news is, there are about 35 other Abbott & Costello films to watch instead.