VeteranLight I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Numerootno A story that's too fascinating to pass by...

Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

weezeralfalfa This unusual comedy is a hybrid between an Abbott and Costello comedy, and a Ma and Pa Kettle comedy, lacking only Percy Kilbride as Pa. Marjorie Main(Ma) wants to remedy that deficiency by grabbing Costello as her new Pa(What a disaster that would be!). But, he's not willing to make that sacrifice, although thanks to a bogus murder conviction, he's responsible for the welfare of her family(7kids!) and any unpaid debts of the deceased, unless she marries again.Meanwhile, Lou is elected sheriff of Wagon Gap, Montana, mainly because everyone knows that if they should kill him and be convicted, they would be saddled with Lou's responsibilities to Marjorie's family. (Question: Why wouldn't such a person be responsible for Lou's non-existent family rather than Marjorie's? Presumably, because they would be responsible for both, since, at that time, Lou was responsible for both). Whereas, before Lou was being pushed around by everyone, now, as sheriff, he has the courage to be bold and bossy.A&C steal a buckboard and plan to head for California: their initial goal. But Marjorie had read their minds, and chased them on horseback. Eventually, Lou falls off the buckboard ,down a steep slope, landing on top of a gold-carrying stage in the process of being held up. He quickly grabs the reigns and speeds off, with Marjorie still chasing him. She recognizes some of the men as members of the gang led by saloon-owner Jake Frame, who eventually admits guilt for the murder A&C were sentenced for.Abbott tells the judge(George Cleveland) that Marjorie stands to become wealthy soon, as the railroad wants some of her property to run a line. Abbott told this fib to hopefully induce the judge to propose to Marjorie, which he does. But, he's turned down, as Marjorie still prefers the idiotic Lou. Word gets around about this development, and suddenly men are no longer afraid of killing Lou(Why)? Because if they kill him and become responsible for Marjorie's family, she could then take care of herself, and perhaps he could marry her and more fully share her wealth.)There follows a gun battle between A&C plus the honest citizens, vs. the outlaws. Lou and company eventually prevail(I thought Lou previously collected all the guns in town?). The judge again proposes to Marjorie, and she accepts, provided Lou is still not interested in her. He isn't. Abbott tells all that the story that Margaret will soon be rich via the railway is bogus. But... See the film to learn the rather obvious finale.Familiar-looking George Cleveland well played the non-too competent judge. He held the trial for A&C in the town saloon.....William Ching played Jim Simpson, who was the leader of the honest citizens of Wagon Gap, and boyfriend of Juanita(Audrey Young), the oldest of Marjorie's children.... Gordon Jones played Jake Frame, head of the criminal element and saloon owner... Marjorie makes this film special, usually upstaging the others around her. Her style of humor isn't easy to describe, and is quite different from A&C's.A&C engage in a routine based upon a slightly different version shown in "Here Come the Co-eds", which involved a live oyster in Lou's soup. Here, it's a frog, which keeps hopping back and forth between Lou's and Abbott's soup, with Abbott never seeing it, busy reading the paper. Quite funny.I heartily recommend this film for fans of A&C, as well as fans of Marjorie.

mike48128 Who has seen all 32+ Abbott and Costello Movies? Certainly not me, but this is one of my favorites. An almost bloodless "Western". Marjorie Main is the "wistful" widow no one wants to marry. Costello has to take care of her after he is mistakenly blamed as her outlaw husband's killer. Similar to her famous "Ma Kettle role", she is cantankerous and has seven kids. The first half of the film is all about Bud and Lou's farm life. The widow's German Shepard Dog keeps the boys in line! The old "Oyster in the soup" vaudeville gag is very well-done as "The Frog in the Soup". Lou does all the chores and mending and Bud sits around "on his brains" due to his fake heart condition. (How ironic, as Lou really had one.) The widow wants to marry Lou. So cliché, but it all works great as a comedy Western. Plenty of shootin' up the town and the saloon. Lou plays a "fearless" sheriff and is very good at it! One of the daughters is beautiful, so naturally she falls in love with "the good guy". She becomes a dance-hall girl. (Remember, this is a family film.) The widow saves the day with her own fancy shootin' and riding. (By the stuntman) In the end, the town's women take control and stop all the violence and bloodshed. Lou misses his chance of a lifetime when the railroad actually does make an offer to buy the widow's land and she marries the crooked judge! As they both leave for California in a buckboard, Lou throws away his rifle and that riles up the Indians. As Bud explains: "You never do anything right, do you?" Great fun.

MartinHafer Aside from ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN, this might just be one of Abbott and Costello's best films, though it represents a great departure from their earlier films. The early films followed a clear formula in which Bud and Lou did their comedy (often reprising old Vaudeville bits), there was a romance between two pretty but bland supporting characters and lot and lots of singing--and often in the form of huge and silly production numbers. As a result, the script was rather superficial and the story was driven by these three elements. However, by the time THE WISTFUL WIDOW OF WAGON GAP came along, a newer (and in my opinion, often better) style emerged. Gone (thank goodness) were the songs, the romantic subplot was de-emphasized and Bud and Lou now appeared in character-driven plots--and their old routines were all but gone. Getting rid of the routines was a good idea, as by this film, the team kept repeating themselves--doing many versions of "Who's on First", "7x13=21" and Bud (or someone else) cheating Lou as they count out money.This film is in many ways like combining a traditional Western with an Abbott and Costello comedy and this mix worked quite well. Much of this credit is due to the writing but I think a big part of this also was having Marjorie Main in a big supporting role. She was always a funny bit player in films and here she gets more to do (like she would in her "Ma and Pa Kettle" films). Plus, I appreciate just how game she was--as many of the jokes poked fun at her homely appearance. Poor lady! It all begins with Bud and Lou coming to a Western town. Soon after arriving, Lou is accused of killing a man, though it's obvious to the audience that Lou's shot probably had nothing to do with this. The townspeople want to string him up, but in court he is saved by an obscure law that calls for the surviving person in a shootout to assume the debts and take care of the victim's family! So now, Lou is spared a hanging, but is stuck with Main and seven kids! Main wants marriage--Lou just wants to work to take care of them and just hopes everything works out somehow.Later in the film, the plot takes a funny twist. You see, all the men in town really feel sorry for Lou, as Main and her brood aren't exactly much of a catch. When Lou realizes this is an insurance policy of sorts, he realizes no one will ever try to kill him. So, he volunteers to become sheriff and is almost fearless in his duties--after all, what does he have to lose?! Seeing this change is quite funny as is the entire film. In fact, it's nice that the film actually gets better as it goes and saves some of the best stuff for last.Overall, an excellent film and quite an improvement in the series. The only prior film that seemed to come close to THE WISTFUL WIDOW in quality and fun is WHO DONE IT!--and this, also, because it abandoned the singing and stuck with comedy.

bkoganbing Two traveling salesmen (guess who) arrive in the lawless frontier town of Wagon Gap where the outlaw boss Gordon Jones and citizen's committee head William Ching are in a power struggle. Poor inept Costello winds up getting framed for a murder and he and Abbott are both about to be hung when Ching discovers a law in Montana Territory about a man who causes the death of another is responsible for the deceased's debts and family. Costello takes the responsibility.He soon thinks capital punishment even the extralegal kind might be preferable to dealing with Marjorie Main and her squalling band of kids. Think of Costello inheriting the Kettle clan if Pa Kettle had met his demise at Costello's hands and you have some idea what Costello is going through.But quite by accident it's discovered that Costello has carte blanche in Wagon Gap because no one wants to see any harm come to him or else they might inherit Marjorie Main. Costello carries a picture of her and the clan close to his heart and it's more valuable than a Sherman Tank would have been. He has a very funny scene cooling down a town drunk played by Dewey Robinson after he's made sheriff.Marjorie Main with her own brand of rustic humor does not yield the film to Bud and Lou. You might also like the performance of George Cleveland as a judge not unlike Samuel S. Hinds in Destry Rides Again.In fact the whole film has a lot of similarity to Destry and no surprise there since this was originally supposed to be a more serious story that was to have starred James Stewart. When he passed on it, it was rewritten for Abbott and Costello.The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap should appeal to both fans of the Kettle family and those of Bud and Lou. Between them they accounted for a big portion of what counted as profits for Universal Studios.