Pardon My Sarong : A pair of bus drivers accidentally steal their own bus. With the company issuing a warrant for their arrest, they tag along with a playboy on a boat trip that finds them on a tropical island, where a jewel thief has sinister plans for them.
Pardon my loving this film
I’ve seen Pardon My Sarong over 10 times now and have to consider it one of Bud & Lou’s best films, up there with Ride ’em cowboy, Meets Frankenstein, Hold that ghost etc. PMS is more distinctly episodic than most of their others and would present a Plot Coherency Issue with impatient first-comers, but if got through a sparkling atmospheric musical comedy lies within. The early ’40’s Universal Harmless Escapist Entertainment atmosphere helps a lot though, this must have been made straight after Hellzapoppin – wasn’t that front porch outside the maggickan’s cabaret show where Hugh Herbert’s Eat At Joe’s dickie blew up?
The boys are illicitly taking Robert Paige’s entertainment troupe from Chicago to LA in a bus – all those women in tow and he falls for one who is out to nobble him. Tip, Tap & Toe provide some amazing dance scenes (not quite a rhythmic brainstorm though), alongside the lilting Ink Spots. Detective William Demarest briefly tries to stop them but gives up the chase when they and the plot veer toward a South Seas island. Here “Lovely Luana” & “Vingo Jingo” are put over by a gorgeous Nan Wynn, while Leif Erickson plays a stinker and Lionel Atwill as usual plays a baddie because he was one.
There’s plenty of nicely contrived snappy routines for us aficionados: The old baseball story; Hiding from Demarest; “Back up! Go ahead!”; Sharing a pea for dinner etc. Not a lot for non-fans however – I think a better introduction to A&C for anyone interested would be Meets Frankenstein or maybe Time of their lives. And this one is definitely best watched sober!
