JB: Fans seem to be split on JITTERBUGS these days, some believing it is flat out boring, others consider it the best of a sorry lot. Well, I'll go one further. JITTERBUGS is a fun little movie, the only one of these 1940s films that comes close to the admittedly average standards of the films Abbott and Costello were making at the same time. The music is utterly forgettable but pleasant thanks to Vivian Blaine. Bob Bailey, as the love interest, comes off better than the usual Howdy Doody saps that normally play these roles. The production values are higher than usual and the script, if confusing and chock full of gangsters, is at least Nazi-free.       If I haven't mentioned Laurel and Hardy yet, it's because this film would probably played just as well if two other comedians had played the leads. There is very little L&H byplay here, just costume switches, role-playing, plot machinations, and straight reading of dialogue. But at least it is The Boys with a decent (not great, just decent) story to work with. Ollie posing as a Southern Colonel is delightful, and Stan's last appearance in drag is equally memorable. There is even a moment where Stan is introduced as "Potts", Ollie's valet, and for about three distressingly short seconds, we spend some time in the presence of yet another alternate Laurel characterization, someone utterly unlike "Stanley", "Lord Paddington" or "Phillip", yet with an obvious family resemblence.       There are a handful of good gags here (not great, just good) and a few lines of memorable dialogue ("You know, Ollie, I was just thinking", "What about?" "Nothing - I was just thinking."). And, of course, we have a funny invention, this time a "gas pill" which starts off being a phoney pill that supposedly turns water into gasoline, but later, we discover, makes people float in the air if they accidentally swallow one (it helps if they are also attached to highly visible piano wire to boot.)       I'm not saying that JITTERBUGS is anywhere near as good as even an average Hal Roach Feature, but you can watch it and not cry. That's a definite plus.

JL: JITTERBUGS, which I hadn't seen in so long, was like a new movie to me. It was interesting to see my wife's reaction -- she's seen all the Roaches by now, and it was her first time with a Fox-era film. She found it lackluster, thought that Stan and Ollie didn't even act like themselves any more, and couldn't believe it when I told her that it was regarded as the best of their last films. What shocked me about it was that I thought Stan gave an awful performance -- the only time I've seen him when it looked like he wasn't even trying. He delivers his lines with all the force and conviction of your average somnambulist.