By the late Forties, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were superstars. And sprinkled among their usual pictures for Universal were independent films that not only gave them more control, but a bigger share of the profits.

In Africa Screams (1949), Bud & Lou find themselves on an African safari. And in one of their funniest films. Over the course of the picture, they encounter lions, a giant ape, uncut diamonds, a crocodile, crooks, cannibals and a great cast that includes Hillary Brooke and Joe Besser, who'd both end up in the Abbott & Costello TV show; lion-tamer Clyde Beatty; famed explorer Frank Buck; boxers Max and Buddy Baer; and Shemp Howard, who took time off from The Three Stooges to play a very near-sighted big game hunter.

Jack And The Beanstalk (1952) gave Fifties audiences their first look at the boys in color. Managing to work Bud & Lou into a faithful musical adaptation of the fairy tale, the script places less emphasis on the team's burlesque roots and focuses on their appeal to children. As Jack, Costello gets to show off his pantomime skills. And, naturally, Abbott is the butcher that cons Jack out of the cow.