Abbott and Costello Go to Mars is a 1953 film by Abbott and Costello, and their tenth under Universal Studios after its reorganization into Universal-International.
Orville (Costello) is the oldest orphan at the Hideaway Orphans Home, and while running from the cops, hides in a truck that takes him to a laboratory where an experimental rocket ship is being prepared. There, he's made to work with grumpy handyman Lester (Abbott), only to accidentally launch the rocket with himself and Lester aboard. Initially landing in New Orleans (which they mistake for Mars), the pair are joined by Harry and Mugsy, a pair of escaped criminals who rob a New Orleans bank and then hijack the rocket, intending to take it to Mars for real. The quartet instead end up on Venus, which they are ultimately expelled from and sent back to Earth.
This film contains examples of:
- Accidental Passenger: While hiding from the cops, Orville ends up in the back of a car that then drives off, taking him to a laboratory where an experimental rocket is being tested, ultimately resulting in he and Lester being sent into space.
- The Ageless: The Venusians have somehow attained eternal life and youth. Their queen alone is over four hundred years old. However, after the antics that Orville and his companions get into, she kicks them out and then places a curse on her people that revokes the "eternal youth" part for any of them who ever kisses a man again.
- All Amazons Want Hercules: Orville falls in love with the Amazonian Queen of Venus, a love she reciprocates... until his inability to keep his hands off of her subjects, and his cohorts' foolish attempt at staging a palace revolt, gets them all shipped back to Earth. Insult is added to injury when the Queen looks at a hologram of the former King, who's one good-looking hunk, and both she and her court dismiss the dumpy Orville.
- Brick Joke: Earlier on, a man in New York saw the rocket ship and ran into a bar to cope with the sight. At the end of the film, as the rocket returns to Earth, the same man emerges from a rehab center for alcoholics, only to see the rocket again and and react by rushing into the same bar from before.
- Cassandra Truth: When a cop discovers the New Orleans bank has been robbed by men in space suits, with ray guns, he tries to report it to his superiors, only for them to assume he's drunk.
- Cheesy Moon: Referenced when, after he and Lester have blasted off, Orville says he doesn't want to go to the moon — "If I wanted green cheese I'd go to the delicatessen."
- Cold Equation:
- Threatened when the group are on their way to Venus and Mugsy threatens to dump Orville outside if he tries to cause any trouble.
- Spoofed in the end — when the men leave Venus, the spaceship has too much weight to take off, forcing them to leave behind... all the gorgeous space-babes that Orville is trying to sneak back to Earth.
- Covered in Gunge: The film ends with Lester and Orville taking part in a parade after their safe return to Earth. Queen Allura, who's watching remotely, responds by sending a spaceship to "Give him my regards", dropping a cake on Orville's head.
- Deadly Disc: The Venusian weapon of choice, as their guards fling items resembling metal plates. They use them to knock out Orville when they first see him.
- Down the Drain: While fleeing the police, Lester and Orville end up escaping into a storm drain and making their way out of town that way.
- Food Pills: It's mentioned that the Venusians rely on these, with Queen Allura calling regular food "outmoded".
- Gendercide: Downplayed — the Venusians exiled their men due to their bad behavior, including Queen Allura's husband cheating on her.
- Grand Theft Prototype: Done accidentally — Lester and Orville end up mistakenly launching an experimental rocket, sending them first to New Orleans and then to Venus.
- Lady Land: Venus is home to an all-female society, including the Queen and cabinet. The men are treated as interesting curiosities, but in the end are rejected in favor of mere holograms of the former beefcake King and previous cabinet.
- Lie Detector: One is made by the Venusians using an electric chair that can read minds.
- Mistaken for Aliens: Early on, Lester and Orville land in New Orleans during Mardi Gras, and the locals' large papier-mâché costumes convince them that they're on Mars.
- Mistaken Identity: Due to two thieves stealing a pair of suits from the rocket and using them to hold up a bank, Lester and Orville — who are wearing identical suits — are mistaken for the thieves and pursued by the police.
- No More for Me: Inverted — a man who's emerging from a bar witnesses the rocket flying through the Lincoln Tunnel, and quickly runs back into the bar to have another drink.
- Non-Indicative Name: Abbott and Costello Go to Mars actually sends the title characters to Venus, rather than Mars (though Mars was their original intended destination).
- Not So Remote: Early in the film, Lester and Orville's rocket crashes outside New Orleans during Mardi Gras. They assume they're on Mars and the people in costumes are aliens, but ultimately learn the truth after Harry and Mugsy hijack their ship.
- Not Where They Thought: Done twice.
- First, the boys land in New Orleans instead of Mars, but mistake it for another planet because it's Mardi Gras and everyone else is wearing bizarre costumes. They don't find out otherwise until the thieves Harry and Mugsy, who are in the process of hijacking their rocket, inform them otherwise.
- Second, after landing on Venus, Orville initially thinks they're in Los Angeles, due to the lack of visibility. He's soon corrected by the local Venusians.
- One-Gender Race: The Venusians are all female, having banished the males and claiming to have perfected immortality. One or two small girls are seen, so it's possible that some form of procreation goes on.
- The Paralyzer: The suits in the rocket come equipped with ray guns that shoot temporary "paralysis rays", which one of the two escaped thieves first uses on a rabbit, and then the people at the bank they rob.
- Rapid Aging: The Venusians have acquired immortality and eternal youth by unknown means. However, after being angered by the men's behavior and exiling them, Queen Allura places a curse on her citizens so they'll lose their youth if they kiss a man. When one woman then kisses Orville before he heads off-world, she rapidly assumes her true age, freaking him out.
- Slurpasaur: Shortly after landing on Venus, Orville gets chased by a "giant" monster played rather blatantly by a small breed of dog that's been made to look big.
- Solar System Neighbors: The rocket is designed to take its crew to either Mars or Venus, the two planets closest to Earth. The scientists end up deciding to send it to Mars, but once it actually blasts off the second time, the ship ends up on Venus instead.
- Space Episode: The title says it all, really, as the pair launch into space to visit Mars, only to end up on Venus by mistake.
