Lost in Alaska

1952 American comedy film

"The Sourdoughs" redirects here. For other uses, see Sourdough (disambiguation).

Lost in Alaska

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Jean Yarbrough
Written by| Martin Ragaway
Leonard Stern
Produced by| Howard Christie
Starring| Bud Abbott
Lou Costello
Mitzi Green
Tom Ewell
Iron Eyes Cody
Cinematography| George Robinson
Edited by| Leonard Weiner
Music by| Joseph Gershenson
Distributed by| Universal Pictures

Release date

* July 28, 1952 (1952-07-28)

Running time

| 76 minutes
Country| United States
Language| English
Budget| $677,230[1]
Box office| $1.5 million (US rentals)[2]

Lost in Alaska is a 1952 American film starring comedy duo Abbott and Costello.

## Plot

[edit]

The time is the 1890s, and the place is San Francisco. George Ball and Tom Watson are firemen who rescue 'Nugget' Joe McDermott from committing suicide by drowning. Joe wants to die because his girlfriend, Rosette no longer loves him. The boys keep an eye on him and Joe is thankful for it after receiving a telegram the next morning from Rosette claiming that she still loves him. George and Tom take their gold reward to the bank when they learn the police mistakenly believe Joe was murdered for his gold that night by the two men who actually rescued. They catch up to Joe on his boat for the Yukon and try to get him down to the police station only to see the ship depart San Francisco with all three of them on it.

Joe returns to Alaska, with George and Tom anxious to get him back to San Francisco to clear their names. Once they arrive, it is learned that many people want to kill Joe, as he was once the local sheriff who had many people hanged. They also find that a group of Joe's old friends also want him dead as they are the beneficiaries of his will. Rosette works at a casino whose owner, Jake Stillman, demands that she marry Joe, whom Jake also plans to kill once he is married to Rosette, so that he can gain the fortune in gold.

Rosette reveals Jake's intent to George and Tom, who hide Joe and Rosette by sending them out of town. Jake is not happy about this turn of events and sends his gang to deal with George and Tom, who manage to outwit them. In the ensuing melee, the gold falls into a deep crevice in the ice, and is lost. Everyone manages to overcome their greed for the sake of friendship, and Joe and Rosette marry.

## Cast

[edit]

* Bud Abbott as Tom Watson
* Lou Costello as George Bell
* Mitzi Green as Rosetta
* Tom Ewell as 'Nugget Joe' McDermott
* Bruce Cabot as Jake Stillman
* Emory Parnell as Sherman
* Jack Ingram as Henchman
* Rex Lease as Old Timer

## Production

[edit]

Lost in Alaska was filmed from December 3 through December 31, 1951, under the working title The Sourdoughs.[3]

## Legal problems

[edit]

Production on the film almost never began. One month before filming began, Abbott and Costello filed a lawsuit against Universal, which was selling 16mm clips (through Castle Films) taken from various Abbott and Costello films. They also sued Realart Pictures for re-releasing some of the team's older films without their consent.[citation needed]

However, they settled for $2 million and additional profits from several of their prior films. Two weeks after the settlement, they re-signed with Universal through 1955.[4]

## Home media

[edit]

This film has been released twice on DVD. The first time, on The Best of Abbott and Costello Volume Three, on August 3, 2004, and again on October 28, 2008 as part of Abbott and Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection.[citation needed]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Furmanek p 225-226
2. ^ 'Top Box-Office Hits of 1952', Variety, January 7, 1953
3. ^ Abbott & Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection
4. ^ Furmanek, Bob and Ron Palumbo (1991). Abbott and Costello in Hollywood. New York: Perigee Books. ISBN 0-399-51605-0

## External links

[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Lost in Alaska.

* Lost in Alaska at IMDb
* Lost in Alaska at the TCM Movie Database

* v
* t
* e

Abbott and Costello

* Bud Abbott
* Lou Costello

Films|

* One Night in the Tropics
* Buck Privates
* In the Navy
* Hold That Ghost
* Keep 'Em Flying
* Ride 'Em Cowboy
* Rio Rita
* Pardon My Sarong
* Who Done It?
* It Ain't Hay
* Hit the Ice
* In Society
* Lost in a Harem
* Here Come the Co-Eds
* The Naughty Nineties
* Abbott and Costello in Hollywood
* Little Giant
* The Time of Their Lives
* Buck Privates Come Home
* The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap
* The Noose Hangs High
* Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
* Mexican Hayride
* Africa Screams
* Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff
* Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion
* Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man
* Comin' Round the Mountain
* Jack and the Beanstalk
* Lost in Alaska
* Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd
* Abbott and Costello Go to Mars
* Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
* Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops
* Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy
* Dance with Me, Henry
* The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock (Costello only)
* The World of Abbott and Costello

Shorts|

* 10,000 Kids and a Cop

Television|

* The Abbott and Costello Show (episodes)
* The Abbott and Costello Cartoon Show

Radio|

* The Abbott and Costello Show

Bits|

* "Who's on First?"

Cartoons|

* Babbit and Catstello
* A Tale of Two Kitties
* The Mouse-Merized Cat
* Tale of Two Mice
* Hollywood Canine Canteen

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Jean Yarbrough

* The Devil Bat (1940)
* Caught in the Act (1941)
* South of Panama (1941)
* King of the Zombies (1941)
* The Gang's All Here (1941)
* Father Steps Out (1941)
* Let's Go Collegiate (1941)
* Top Sergeant Mulligan (1941)
* Man from Headquarters (1942)
* Freckles Comes Home (1942)
* Law of the Jungle (1942)
* So's Your Aunt Emma (1942)
* She's in the Army (1942)
* Lure of the Islands (1942)
* Police Bullets (1942)
* Silent Witness (1943)
* Good Morning, Judge (1943)
* Follow the Band (1943)
* Get Going (1943)
* Hi'ya, Sailor (1943)
* Week-End Pass (1944)
* Moon Over Las Vegas (1944)
* South of Dixie (1944)
* Twilight on the Prairie (1944)
* In Society (1944)
* Under Western Skies (1945)
* Here Come the Co-Eds (1945)
* The Naughty Nineties (1945)
* On Stage Everybody (1945)
* House of Horrors (1946)
* She-Wolf of London (1946)
* Inside Job (1946)
* Cuban Pete (1946)
* The Brute Man (1946)
* The Challenge (1948)
* Shed No Tears (1948)
* The Creeper (1948)
* Henry, the Rainmaker (1949)
* The Mutineers (1949)
* Leave It to Henry (1949)
* Angels in Disguise (1949)
* Holiday in Havana (1949)
* Master Minds (1949)
* Joe Palooka Meets Humphrey (1950)
* Square Dance Katy (1950)
* Father Makes Good (1950)
* Joe Palooka in Humphrey Takes a Chance (1950)
* Sideshow (1950)
* Triple Trouble (1950)
* Big Timber (1950)
* According to Mrs. Hoyle (1951)
* Casa Manana (1951)
* Jack and the Beanstalk (1952)
* Lost in Alaska (1952)
* Night Freight (1955)
* Crashing Las Vegas (1956)
* The Women of Pitcairn Island (1956)
* Hot Shots (1956)
* Footsteps in the Night (1957)
* Yaqui Drums (1956)
* Saintly Sinners (1962)
* Hillbillys in a Haunted House (1967)
* The Over-the-Hill Gang (1969)

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