''It Ain't Hay'' is a 1943 film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello.

Plot

Cab driver Wilbur Hoolihan accidentally kills a hack horse owned by King O'Hara and his daughter, Princess O’Hara, by feeding it candy. In hopes of raising enough money to replace it, he and his friend Grover Mockridge visit a crooked gambling parlor. They win enough money, but before they can purchase a new horse, a con man swindles Wilbur out of the cash. Some touts inform Wilbur and Grover that an old horse is available for free at one of the upstate tracks. They visit the track but mistakenly take the wrong horse, a champion by the name of Tea Biscuit, and present the horse to O'Hara. Tea Biscuit's owner, Col. Brainard, offers a reward for the return of the horse. By this time, O'Hara has taken a fare up to Saratoga. Wilbur and Grover, realizing their error, drive to Saratoga to find O'Hara. The three touts also realize that Wilbur and Grover took Tea Biscuit, and trail them hoping to recover the horse and collect the reward. Wilbur and Grover manage to find O'Hara and hide Tea Biscuit in their hotel room, but they are hounded by the house detective, Warner, who was tipped off by the touts. Fleeing Warner, Wilbur rides the horse but ends up at the track in time for a big race. The three touts and Warner converge on the track and confront Grover, who makes a deal with them to turn over the horse Wilbur riding for $100. Grover then uses that money to bet on Tea Biscuit. Before the race, Wilbur is thrown off Tea Biscuit and lands on Rhubarb, and Rhubarb's jockey saddles up Tea Biscuit. With a real jockey aboard, Tea Biscuit wins the race while Wilbur and Rhubarb come in last. Warner and the touts take Wilbur's horse, which they believe is Tea Biscuit, to Col. Brainard for the reward, but it is the wrong horse. Grover holds the only winning ticket on Tea Biscuit, and uses the windfall to buy O'Hara a replacement horse.

Cast

Bud Abbott William Alexander "Bud" Abbott (October 2, 1897 – April 24, 1974) was an American comedian, actor and producer. He was best known as the straight man half of the comedy duo Abbott and Costello. Early life Abbott was born in Asbury Park, New J ...

as Grover Mockridge *

Lou Costello Louis Francis Cristillo (March 6, 1906 – March 3, 1959), professionally known as Lou Costello, was an American comedian, actor and producer. He was best known for his double act with straight man Bud Abbott and their routine " Who's on First? ...

as Wilbur Hoolihan * Grace McDonald as Kitty McGloin *

Cecil Kellaway Cecil Lauriston Kellaway (22 August 1890 – 28 February 1973) was a South African character actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor twice, for '' The Luck of the Irish'' (1948) and '' Guess Who's Coming to Dinner ...

as King O'Hara *

Eugene Pallette Eugene William Pallette (July 8, 1889 – September 3, 1954) was an American actor who worked in both the silent and sound eras, performing in more than 240 productions between 1913 and 1946. After an early career as a slender leading man, ...

as Gregory Warner * Patsy O'Connor as Peggy / Princess O'Hara * Leighton Noble as Pvt. Joe Collins *

Shemp Howard Samuel Horwitz (March 11, 1895 – November 22, 1955), known professionally as Shemp Howard, was an American actor and comedian. He was called "Shemp" because "Sam" came out that way in his mother's thick Litvak accent. He is best known as the ...

as Umbrella Sam * Samuel S. Hinds as Col. Brainard *

Eddie Quillan Edward Quillan (March 31, 1907 – July 19, 1990) was an American film actor and singer whose career began as a child on the vaudeville stages and silent film and continued through the age of television in the 1980s. Vaudeville and silent fi ...

as Harry the Horse * Richard Lane as Slicker *

Andrew Tombes Andrew Tombes (29 June 1885 – 17 March 1976) was an American comedian and character actor. Biography The son of a grocer, originally from Ashtabula, Ohio, Tombes was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy. Early in his career, he worked as a v ...

as Big-Hearted Charlie *

Wade Boteler Wade Boteler (October 3, 1888 – May 7, 1943) was an American film actor and writer. He appeared in more than 430 films between 1919 and 1943. Biography He was born in Santa Ana, California, and died in Hollywood, California, from a heart ...

as Reilly * Selmer Jackson as Grant *

Mike Mazurki Mike Mazurki (December 25, 1907 – December 9, 1990) was a Ukrainian-American actor and professional wrestler who appeared in more than 142 films. His 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) presence and face had him typecast as often brainless athletes ...

as Bouncer (Uncredited) *

Herb Vigran Herbert Vigran (June 5, 1910 – November 29, 1986) was an American character actor in Hollywood from the 1930s to the 1980s. Over his 50-year career, he made over 350 television and film appearances. Early years Vigran was a native of Cin ...

as Man in the Back Room (Uncredited) * Pierre Watkin as Major Harper (Uncredited)

Production

''It Ain't Hay'' is based upon the

Damon Runyon Alfred Damon Runyon (October 4, 1880 – December 10, 1946) was an American newspaperman and short-story writer. He was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway in New York City that grew out of the Prohibition era. To N ...

story, ''Princess O'Hara'', which Universal first made into a film in 1935 with

Chester Morris John Chester Brooks Morris (February 16, 1901 – September 11, 1970) was an American stage, film, television, and radio actor. He had some prestigious film roles early in his career, and received an Academy Awards, Academy Award nomination ...

. Filming of this picture began on September 28, 1942, and lasted until November 11. Lou's brother Pat Costello was used as his stunt-double in the "headless horseman" sequence. It was during production, on November 6, that Lou's wife Anne gave birth to their son, Lou "Butch" Costello, Jr.Furmanek, Bob and Ron Palumbo (1991). ''Abbott and Costello in Hollywood''. New York: Perigee Books.

Fourth wall

There is a scene that breaks the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

: Wilbur and Grover are in their apartment when someone knocks at the door. Grover says, "Go answer the door, it might be Warner." Wilbur answers, "It won't do no good, we're signed up with Universal." Abbott and Costello had a long-term contract with

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

at the time. Also, in the beginning of the movie, someone asks Shemp Howard's character why he's carrying an umbrella when it isn't raining. He answers, "Who knows? I'm a Damon Runyan character."

Home media

''It Ain't Hay'' was released on DVD on October 28, 2008 as part of ''Abbott and Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection''. The film's studio-authorized DVD release had been delayed for many years due to legal issues with the estate of

References

External links

* * * {{Erle C. Kenton 1943 films 1943 comedy films Abbott and Costello films American black-and-white films Films directed by Erle C. Kenton American horse racing films Universal Pictures films Films based on short fiction American comedy films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films