Jack and the Beanstalk (1952)
A dim-witted young man hired to babysit falls asleep over a storybook and dreams himself into the tale as Jack, who trades the family cow for a handful of magic beans. He and his friend climb the towering stalk to a castle in the clouds and set out to free a princess and a prince held by its giant.
One of Abbott and Costello’s few independent productions, Jack and the Beanstalk frames its nursery-tale story with sepia-toned bookends that open into color once Costello enters the dream, an obvious nod to The Wizard of Oz. It was the team’s first feature in color and has long since lapsed into the public domain as a television perennial.
Background
Jack and the Beanstalk was one of Abbott and Costello’s few independent productions, directed by Jean Yarbrough, and it was the team’s first feature in color. Released in 1952, the film is often described as a nod to The Wizard of Oz in its framing, with sepia-toned bookends that open into color once Costello enters the dream. Bud Abbott and Lou Costello star, with William Farnum and Buddy Baer in supporting roles. Baer plays the giant, a figure who gives the comedy a physical foil for Costello’s nervous, dim-witted character.
What to watch for
Costello plays a young man hired to babysit who falls asleep over a storybook and dreams himself into the tale as Jack. Watch for the bookend structure, in which the shift to color marks the entry into the dream, and for the way the comedy keeps the team’s familiar routines running inside a fairy-tale setting. The climb up the towering stalk to the castle in the clouds gives the film its most visual sequence, and the rescue of the princess and prince closes the story.
