Pardon My Sarong is a 1942 musical comedy film directed by Erle C. Kenton, starring Abbott and Costello, Virginia Bruce, Robert Paige, and Lionel Atwill, with a special appearance by The Ink Spots. The film was 1942’s number two grosser for Universal, and is remembered as one of Abbott and Costello’s sillier pictures.
Wealthy young playboy Tommy Layton (Paige) hires Algy Shaw (Abbott) and Wellington Pfug (Costello), drivers of a city bus, to drive him and his retinue from Chicago to Los Angeles so he can enter in a yacht race to Hawaii. Since this was never cleared with their supervisors, Algy and Wellington effectively steal their own bus, and are pursued to Los Angeles by a private investigator. The drivers inadvertently escape by driving the bus into the harbor, and are rescued by Tommy. Meanwhile, after a tense meeting, Tommy finds that his crew has been fired without his knowledge by a competitor, Joan Marshall (Bruce). Tommy press-gangs Joan into his new crew, and also takes on Algy and Wellington, who are now effectively on the run from the law. While out at sea, Joan sabotages the compass of Tommy's yacht, which sends them off-course. A massive typhoon makes things even worse, and the foursome soon find themselves hopelessly lost in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. After some time, they come across the small, uncharted island of Mantua. The island is home to a native tribe, as well as the enigmatic Dr. Varnoff (Atwill), who has plans of his own for everyone.
The film was Universal’s answer to Paramount’s popular Road to ... movies coming out at the time, with their own comedy duo in place of Bing Crosby and Bob Hope. It’s generally regarded as a silly, lighthearted romp, even if various rather outdated tropes are in full effect here.
This film provides examples of:
- Appease the Volcano God: The "Moola" is regarded as a great hero to the island of Mantua. If it looks like the volcano is about to erupt, they send the Moola into their mountain temple to the forbidden side of the island, to confront their volcano god, Vingo. If they succeed, they're lauded as heroes, and get to marry the princess. If they fail, they're the latest in a long line to fail. Except it turns out Dr. Varnoff's men simply kidnap the "failures" from inside the temple, stripping them of the islanders' secret cache of valuable gems they're given before they go.
- Batter Up!: The “Baseball Story” routine near the beginning. Algy and Wellington, low on cash, try to scam a gas station attendant into giving them free fuel for the bus by distracting him with a story about yesterday’s game, then driving off while he’s not paying attention. Unfortunately, the attendant got the exact same scam and story from the LAST people who came through, and threatens Wellington with a bat if he doesn’t pay up.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Joan and Tommy have this in the beginning of the film, and it turns into something more later on.
- Bungled Suicide: When stuck in the middle of the ocean without any food, Algy convinces Wellington to shoot himself rather than starve to death. Naturally, Wellington pulls the trigger and misses.
- Call-Back: Wellington refers to an egg-beater as an outboard motor near the beginning when disguised as a magician. Towards the end of the film, he calls an outboard motor an egg-beater.
- Calling Me a Logarithm: Played with. When Wellington calls Whaba a stinker, he gets out of getting punched by claiming a "Stinker" is a great man in the English language. Whaba gleefully admits to being the biggest Stinker on the whole island, and coming from a long line of Stinkers.
- Cannibal Tribe: The islanders are initially feared to be this, especially after Algy and Wellington come across a small shrine decorated with skulls. Turns out it was a shrine to their fallen warriors and the natives aren't cannibals.
- Chekhov's Volcano: Subverted. Varnoff’s Mooks use fireworks to fake an imminent volcanic eruption at one point, but the volcano itself seems to be long-dormant, and never erupts.
- The Chief's Daughter: Princess Luana is a textbook example. When Wellington is believed to be the legendary hero, she seems thrilled to be able to marry him. That said, it's hinted it's mostly to be able to get away from Whaba.
- The Chosen Zero: For ringing a huge bell in the city's center, Wellington is seen by the tribe as the "Moola", a hero of legend. Wellington is also the usual short, fat, silly Lou Costello character.
- Coconut Meets Cranium: A few times, in different circumstances - The "Tree of Truth" clobbers anyone who tells a lie under it with one. Later, Wellington uses his elastic suspenders to catapult several coconuts at Dr. Varnoff's goons from high in another tree.
- Delayed Reaction: Whaba hammers Wellington over the head when they first meet. Wellington smirks, says it didn't hurt a bit, turns around, and collapses.
- Hollywood Natives: A textbook example, though they're mostly a bit more affable and sympathetic than most.
- Hostile Weather: A massive typhoon hits the yacht, damaging it badly enough to send them all adrift in the Pacific.
- Lie Detector: The "Tree of Truth", where Coconut Meets Cranium if you tell a lie under said tree. Wellington repeatedly tries to tell Traveling Salesman jokes, with Algy constantly interrupting him and telling him that these stories are inappropriate. When Luana asks him what the man in the story wanted when he went to the farmhouse, Wellington replies "He wanted a glass of milk", causing dozens of coconuts to fall on him.
- Literal-Minded: Algy and the detective confuse the hell out of Wellington when they keep telling him to "go ahead and back up". It ends with him reversing a bus into the Pacific Ocean.
- Lost at Sea: After the yacht’s compass is sabotaged by Joan, the yacht gets hammed by a typhoon that damages the ship and outgoing radio, leaving everyone adrift out at sea.
- Mid-Battle Tea Break: When the bad guys are chasing Wellington up a flight of stairs, they all stop to catch their breath before resuming the chase.
- Mighty Whitey: Not as blatant as some examples, but the heroes and villains of the film - in fact, almost everyone who takes the initiative to drive the plot - are all white outsiders, while the natives are either naive, passive agents of their traditions, or the violent, obnoxious Whaba.
- Mineral Macguffin: The Sacred Ruby of Mantua, the tribe's greatest treasure. Dr. Varnoff wants it, and he plans to use Wellington to get it. The chief claims that anyone who wears it cannot die, so long as they wear it on their person. Some of Dr. Varnoff’s men mention they’re already set to become fantastically wealthy with the gems they’ve already stolen, and would just as soon leave, but Varnoff is determined to get the ruby.
- Misplaced Wildlife: The film never even tries to explain what lions and zebras are doing in the rainforest of a small Pacific island.
- Mistaken for Badass: Immature and accident-prone Wellington rings a massive bell in the middle of the native village, which makes the natives decide he’s a legendary hero destined to save their tribe in their time of need. He later lives up to the legend.
- Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: Dr. Varnoff, a rare example of one who isn’t really a Mad Scientist – he’s simply the leader of a group of thugs who’re scamming the islanders into unwittingly giving up their most valuable treasures.
- The Native Rival: Whaba, a big, thuggish man who originally planned to marry Princess Luana. He's bigger, stronger, and scarier than Wellington, but is also a violent Jerk Jock, and Luana seems afraid of him.
- Nobody Here but Us Statues: While fleeing from Varnoff’s thugs in the temple, Algy and Wellington hide among a group of ancient statues. The absurdity is exaggerated in that they keep switching poses while the thugs’ backs are turned.
- Nubile Savage: The island's people are mostly male and female versions.
- Poisoned Chalice Switcheroo: Whaba tries to poison Wellington during his wedding feast, and their drinks are switched several times. It ends with Whaba getting the spiked drink and passing out.
- Primitive Clubs: The islanders use elaborately-painted ceremonial clubs as their primary weapons, and the clubs are used by several characters to deliver a Tap on the Head at appropriate moments.
- Private Detective: The bus company sends one after Algy and Wellington after they steal their own bus. He’s basically the Hero Antagonist of the first act of the film, but is forced to quit after the boys escape on the yacht.
- Scared of What's Behind You: Wellington finally turns to fight Dr. Varnoff's goons, and thinks he's scared them off... until he realizes there's a pride of lions sneaking up on him.
- Stage Magician: While fleeing the detective sent by the bus company, Algy and Wellington take refuge backstage at a nightclub and end up in a magician’s dressing room. They disguise themselves as the magician, and try to escape using his props and tricks…it nearly works, and they actually succeed in destroying their arrest warrant under the guise of a magic trick, until the detective catches on.
- Sweet Seal: Sharky, a seal (actually a female California Sea Lion) who hangs out in the L.A. harbor and becomes the Team Pet on the yacht and on the island. At the end, she becomes a Chekhov's Gunman and helps Wellington with him riding her out to Dr. Varnoff's escaping boat.
- Swordfish Sabre: While pursuing Dr. Varnoff’s speedboat near the end, Wellington finds himself “water-skiing” behind the boat on a small wooden raft attached by a rope. A swordfish swims up, and cuts the raft in two (with a strangely saw-shaped rostrum), before jabbing him in the rear and sending him lunging into the boat.
- The Television Talks Back: While starving on the yacht, Wellington hears a restaurant commercial over the radio. After an elaborate description of the food being served, including a spaghetti dish, he groans “With meatballs?” The radio confirms “Yes, with meatballs!”, leaving Wellington to do a Wild Take.
- Temple of Doom: The island’s supposedly-haunted temple to Vingo the volcano god is built into the side of the mountain. Whenever the volcano starts acting up, the island’s hero – the Moola – will be sent in to confront Vingo. The last five Moolas to go in never returned. Subverted when it turns out that while the temple is usually harmless, Dr. Varnoff’s men are waiting inside to grab the Moola and steal the island’s sacred gems he’s sent inside with.
- Threatening Shark: Several of them are seen around the yacht at one point, scaring Wellington as he gets dunked by the yacht’s boom.
- Tropical Island Adventure: The last two-thirds of the film take place on an uncharted Pacific Island, complete with an ancient temple, Hollywood Natives, several African animals for some reason, and a big volcano.
- Vehicular Sabotage: Joan sabotages the compass to send Tommy off-course, giving her brother a better chance of winning the yacht race. It nearly dooms them all when a typhoon hits.
- Vine Swing: How Wellington gets rid of Dr. Varnoff's goons - he tries swinging across a river, and ends up knocking them all in.
- You No Take Candle: The natives were taught English by Dr. Varnoff, but they're still pretty new to it... until it's time for a musical number.
- Your Other Left: A variation where a cop boards the bus that Bud and Lou have stolen, and tells them to back up, to which Bud tells Lou that he should go ahead and do it. Lou replies, "How can I back up and go ahead?"
