Protraph Lack of good storyline.

Lumsdal Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Prismark10 The moral of Jack and the Beanstalk is: If your son is an idiot, do not send him out on his own to conduct important commercial transactions!As a young child I liked Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. Still only a child but now a few years older I concluded they were really not that funny.The version of the film I saw was of a poor picture quality, it certainly needs to be restored. Lou is babysitting a kid, reads him a bedtime story and falls asleep. He dreams of the Jack and the Beanstalk story where he plays Jack, the gruff policeman is the giant and Bud is the butcher.The adventure transforms from monochrome into Technicolour but the thin story is padded out by wretched song and dance numbers. Lou does his knockabout comedy, Bud is not in it a lot. There are few good jokes but it is infernal stuff.

mike48128 Released through Warner Bros.in 1952 and sadly in public domain which means bad picture and sound. (Optical soundtrack "buzz" and red pencil edit marks.) Lou Costello runs away with this one and actually sings quite well. One of only two A&C movies made in color. Uses a "Wizard of Oz" b&w (or sepia-tone depending on your version) intro and ending gimmick which doesn't seem necessary. Some of the special effects are clever, but most look cheap (fake sky backdrop, cartoon beanstalk) but they can get away with it because this is a fairy tale. Surprisingly good "castle" set because WB's "Joan of Arc" just used it! The songs are mostly forgettable (and boring) except for "Jack and the Beanstalk", I Fear Nothing" and "He Never Looked Better in His Life". Really bad dancing. (The blonde on the right has two left feet) but a good-natured, earnest production that is fun to watch in spite of it all. Made in three weeks and looks it. Buddy Baer plays the giant and looks just like Max Baer from "Mama's Little Pirate". He doesn't seem quite tall enough to be a giant. The maid and the princess so are well-endowed they almost look like pin-ups! (The maid is 6 Ft.2-she is a giant!) The golden goose is replaced by a golden hen and the talking harp is annoying. (Mel Blanc does the animal voices.) Typical A&C slapstick: exploding eggs, chases, Lou gets slapped around, yells for "Mr. Dinglepuss"(Abbott) and runs into things. "Henry" the "girl" cow wears rouge and lipstick! Short and sweet (78 min.) One of the first movies I remember seeing on a big screen, so it has a lot of nostalgic charm for me. From reading the various reviews,there are only bad copies of this film out there, made from tired "masters" that look more like work prints. (Turning down the resolution-sharpness helps "reduce" the flaws on my copy.) Good for younger children. Mild comic violence.

wes-connors In need of work, straight man Bud Abbott (as Jack) and comic partner Lou Costello (as Dinkel) get the latter a job babysitting self-described "problem child" David Stollery (as Donald). Young Stollery winds up reading Mr. Costello's favorite novel (see if you can guess the title), which puts Costello to sleep, dreaming he and Mr. Abbott are reliving the story of "Jack and the Beanstalk" (you guessed it).The sepia-tone switches to color for the bulk of the production. Apparently, this was an attempt at something different for the duo, a colorful children's fantasy. It fails, but this is where you get to see Abbott & Costello in color, silent film superstar William Farnum (as the King) make his last performance a bit part, boxer Max Baer's brother Buddy, and Stollery before Disney's "Spin and Marty".** Jack and the Beanstalk (4/4/52) Jean Yarbrough ~ Lou Costello, Bud Abbott, Buddy Baer, William Farnum

Brian T. Whitlock (GOWBTW) The duo of Abbott and Costello lives on in this version of a story-time classic. In "Jack and the Beanstalk", there's everything to see, music, magic, and comedy rolled into one. Costello play plays Jack after he listens to the story being told by a young boy one time. We know Jack was a poor boy who sells his cow "Dolly" for 5 magic beans. Well, he plants those 5 beans, and they were indeed, magic. He climbs to the sky, sees a big castle there, and he would sing a song, unknown he would encounter the giant(Buddy Baer). Not only him, he would dance with the woman who was also a giant. She would clobber Jack with her elbows during the dance. That was funny! You got the playing harp who knows how to put the giant as ease. The goose who lays golden eggs. And my favorite, the way Jack gets rid of the giant. He gets the ax, and started chopping down on the beanstalk. Another funny is where the ax got stuck during the chop, and the final celebration happens when the people dance around the imprint where the giant fell. A lot of fun, and fun for the whole family as well. Very recommended! 5 stars!