This film finds Abbott and Costello following their pal into the Army Air Corps. He is in pilot training, the two comedians become ground crewmen. Along the way, Bud and Lou fall for Martha Raye and they BOTH get her, as she plays dual roles in the film--identical twin sisters.

This is the third of Abbott and Costello's service films they made at the beginning of their film careers. Of the three, this is definitely the least appealing and represented a step backwards of sorts for the duo. Like their other early films, the comedians are forced into an awkward role--comic relief and not the main characters (though they do get top billing).

This main character is Dick Foran and he plays a very, very familiar sort of guy--one that is a bit of a cliché. Like so many of William Haines' films in the silent era, Foran plays a know-it-all hot-shot who comes on very strong and doesn't listen to others. Why---because he feels he is already so great he doesn't need to fit in to the team (in this case, the US Army Air Corps). Haines did this sort of film a bazillion times and Jimmy Cagney did a similar role in CAPTAINS OF THE CLOUDS. And, like Cagney and Haines, by the end of the film, Foran is humbler and ready to play by the rules. This is just all too predictable and takes much of the film's focus away from Abbott and Costello--a major problem with the production.

Another problem in this otherwise amiable film is the extensive use of stunts as well as rear-projection. While this might have worked once or perhaps twice, it was used too often in the film--and made the humor very physical as well as a bit lame (particularly the torpedo scene--uggh!).

All in all, a film that poorly used the talents of this team--with too much Foran, too many stunts and once again too much singing. Very watchable but also not at all among their best work.

By the way, if the diner skit where Bud tells Lou not to order anything since they don't have enough money, this is a re-tread of the Laurel and Hardy skit from MEN O'WAR (1929). The only real difference is that Bud plays more of a jerk in this version and Stanley was a heck of a lot dumber in the original!

Blackie (Bud Abbott) and Heathcliff (Lou Costello) are the ground crew for barn storming pilot Jinx Roberts. They join the Air Corps as ground crewman where the fall for twin USO hostesses (Martha Raye).

The guys are still fun but they are stuck in a propaganda film for the military. I don't care about the Jinx story. So the movie is split into two. I enjoy the boys but when they're not on the screen, the movie stalls out. I also enjoy Martha Raye playing the duo role. She's great with the guys. I like half of this movie.

Out of Universal Pictures comes Keep 'Em Flying starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello with support from Martha Raye, Dick Foran and Carol Bruce. It's directed by Arthur Lubin with music by Charles Previn and was filmed on location at the Cal-Aero school in Ontario, California. Plot sees the bumbling duo and their stunt pilot pal Jinx Roberts (Foran) join the Army Air Force after getting fired from their positions at a carnival & air show. High jinx and love interests will of course follow.

The fifth film outing for Abbott and Costello, and their third featuring the armed forces after Buck Privates & In The Navy, Keep 'Em Flying is one of their better feature length productions. Tho somewhat surprisingly rather thick on plot, the piece is all the better for some narrative substance in that it lets us savour the slaphappy antics of the intrepid duo when their routines come alive. Action sequences to savour here include a runaway torpedo, a spooky carnival fun house and a short sharp shock treatment of Lou falling over his ankle grabbing pants. While there's quality in a dialogue driven skit that the boys perform in a Café-where we are introduced to the bright and bubbly Raye; playing twin sisters who each end up dating the boys. There's also some nice tunes penned by Don Raye & Gene de Paul, with the stand out being "Pig Foot Pete" that was famously nominated for an Academy Award but for the wrong movie (Hellzapoppin').

Funny, daft and even romantic, Keep 'Em Flying soars high enough to entertain the masses. 8/10