The Time of Their Lives

1946

1h 22m

Comedy

List

Reviews

81%

500+ Ratings

Audience Score

A psychiatrist (Bud Abbott) stays in a mansion haunted by prankish ghosts (Lou Costello, Marjorie Reynolds) from the Revolutionary War.

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Steve D

Not their best but some fun bits.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/28/23

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joe m

One of the better Abbot and Costello films, made so by the well developed plot of two American Revolution patriots who are mistakenly branded as traitors and cursed to haunt Danbury Acres unless their names can be cleared. Great set-up during the Revolution, then good casting and sets, with perhaps a little too much of Lou's tomfoolery and being a 'bad little boy'. Enjoyable fun.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Ed M

Very enjoyable movie. Different from every other Abbott and Costello movie.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

07/05/21

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Douglas J

Unusual for the duo. Others have recapped the plot. A bit otherworldly and well done. A fun trip, through an unusual A&C plot. Good for a rainy Saturday afternoon - lose yourself in the feeling created by the film.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/10/20

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Audience Member

One their better comedies in which the duo is split up and Abbott plays a dual role. The Ghost Steps Out, however, was the original title of Hold that Ghost in 1941, and not the alternate title to this film

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/21/23

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Audience Member

Abbott and Costello are, respectively, a butler and a tinker in the Revolutionary War era United States. They both love the same woman, a maid, but she only has eyes for Lou. Although Bud hopes to dispatch his rival, a group of soldiers mistakenly shoots and kills Costello and Marjorie Reynolds, thinking them traitors, when in fact Lou has a letter of reference from General George Washington and Reynolds (playing Melody Allen) was just about to expose the real traitors (including her fiancé). Fast forward 165 years and Costello and Reynolds are stuck haunting the same estate where they were killed. A group of modern young people, including Abbott playing his own descendent, now a psychiatrist, are staying overnight in the house, now restocked with its original furniture. The only way that Costello and Reynolds can be freed from the curse that keeps them in the house is to get those people in the house to find the hidden letter from Washington that reveals that they aren't traitors. But enough about the plot, there is a bit of slapstick and some ghostly special effects to please the 1940s audiences; however, I didn't find myself laughing too much. Other films by the comedy team seem funnier (despite the high rating on IMDb for this one).

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

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Charles Barton

Director

Bud Abbott

Cuthbert Greenway

Lou Costello

Horatio Prim

Marjorie Reynolds

Melody Allen

Binnie Barnes

Mildred Dean

John Shelton

Sheldon Gage

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Danielle Solzman

Solzy at the Movies

The Time of Their Lives may stray away from the typical Abbott and Costello formula but this film still draws laughs some 75 years later.

Jul 4, 2021

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Josephine O'Neill

Daily Telegraph (Australia)

Quite blithe spirits.

Apr 9, 2019

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Steve Crum

Dispatch-Tribune Newspapers

A bold Abbott & Costello venture, featuring the team in separate roles entirely, which was very inventive for its time.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 30, 2006

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 2/5

Aug 21, 2005

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Synopsis

A psychiatrist (Bud Abbott) stays in a mansion haunted by prankish ghosts (Lou Costello, Marjorie Reynolds) from the Revolutionary War.

Director: Charles Barton
Production Co: Universal Pictures
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Runtime: 1h 22m