The Noose Hangs High is a 1948 film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. The film is a remake of the Universal Pictures film For Love or Money (1939) The Noose Hangs High was filmed from November 13 through December 10, 1947 under the terms of a new deal signed with Universal after completion of The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap. Those terms specified that Abbott and Costello were permitted to make one film a year with another company. Universal intended to make this film with Abbott and Costello. However, under the terms of their contract, the duo decided to purchase the story from the studio and made it themselves at Eagle-Lion, which had taken over the studios of Poverty Row studio Producers Releasing Corporation Synopses: Ted Higgins (Bud Abbott) and Tommy Hinchcliffe (Lou Costello) work for the Speedy Service Window Washing Company. They run into a bookie named Nick Craig (Joseph Calleia), who, after mistaking them for employees of the Speedy Messenger Service, sends them to Mr. Stewart's (Ben Weldon) office to collect $50,000 owed to him. But Stewart has plans of his own: he hires two thugs to rob Ted and Tommy of the money he has just paid. Tommy flees from the robbers and takes refuge in a room with a gaggle of women who are mailing face powder samples. He hides the money in an envelope and addresses it to Craig, but it is accidentally switched with an envelope containing a powder sample. Ted and Tommy return to Craig's office and explain what happened; they assure him that the cash will arrive in the mail the next day. When face powder (instead of cash) arrives in the mail, an irate Craig gives Ted and Tommy 24 hours to return his money. The boys attempt to contact everyone on the mailing list until they finally locate the recipient, Carol (Cathy Downs), who informs them that she spent most of the money and has only about $2,000 left. The three of them go to the race track hoping to gamble the remaining cash to win enough money to pay back Craig. They encounter a strange fellow named Julius Caesar (Leon Errol), who claims to have never lost a bet. They refuse to follow his betting advice, only to see his horse win, and they are left with nothing. Ted, abandoning hope, decides that they would be safest in jail, so they run up a huge tab in a nightclub. Just as they are about to be arrested, Craig and his henchmen show up and demand the money. After Ted and Tommy reply that they do not have it, the thugs take them to a nearby construction warehouse and begin pouring cement in which to dump them. Meanwhile, Carol and Caesar have been sitting at the bar, betting large amounts on fish at the club's aquarium. Caesar loses and hands her the $50,000 that she has just won, to her amazement. It turns out Caesar is actually an eccentric millionaire named J.C. MacBride, and they all arrive at the warehouse in time to pay back Craig INFO: If you're under the age of 50, chances are you've never heard of The Colgate Comedy Hour. But way back at the dawn of the TV age, this show was one of the most popular on the air, eclipsing even the venerated Ed Sullivan and Your Show of Shows. In fact, The Colgate Comedy Hour occupied the same Sunday night at 8:00 time slot as the Sullivan program (then known as Toast of the Town) and on a weekly basis dealt it a sound thrashing in the ratings race.In 1950, NBC teamed with the Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Company to create a TV show that's only dimly remembered today but deserving of more recognition. The secret of the show's success wasn't the format - that was pretty conventional. As the name implied, it was heavy on the comedy, with a bit of singing and dancing thrown in for good measure. But the combination of a sizable budget (for its time), funny and entertaining material, and a roster of big name stars ensured its popularity. NBC filled out the remainder of the season with a show called The NBC Comedy Hour until coming up with a more permanent replacement in The Steve Allen Show in June 1956. The Colgate Comedy Hour was one of the bright spots of early television. But as the medium matured and competition increased, it became harder to retain big name hosts. And with a decline in ratings, NBC could no longer justify the program's cost. Broadcast History Sundays, 8:00 - 9:00 pm, NBC-TV The Colgate Comedy Hour (9/10/1950 - 6/5/1955) The Comedy Hour (Frigidaire-sponsored episodes, 10/1/1950 - 5/13/1951) The Colgate Summer Comedy Hour (6/6/1954 - 9/5/1954) The Colgate Variety Hour (6/12/1955 - 12/25/1955) The NBC Comedy Hour (1/8/1956 - 6/10/1956)

• published: 21 Nov 2015
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