There was a mixture of physical comedy and inserted gags that helped to give comic relief but all together it meant that you would be laughing either because of the stupidity of the whole thing or because you could not imagine comedy occurring down a crocodile infested river with these two. Abbott and Costello were better known for their rapid exchange of questions and answers that caused confusion, and there were others who also had a similar comic routine.
Abbott and company rivaled Bing Crosby and his side kick on their road trips and I believe one comic scenario must have been influenced by the other especially when there was a foreign adventure in the planning. The comedy team of Abbot and Costello made you laugh just as you would have with Bob Hope; one actor was totally serious and the other a comical bag of tricks and one line jokes.
When Africa screamed, the comic pair did their best to get involves in an exotic treasure hunt. Little did they know that they would be dead meat for the gangsters that wanted a map that only Abbott knew. Sometimes he would be lucid about it but the comical tension grew as the pair took their time in producing the guide. In the meantime they headed further into the jungle, and there was always a feeble attempt at escape and a sense of helplessness that added a serious touch to an otherwise ridiculous venue. How could they have gone on a trip where they had no real clue to getting any treasure? Otherwise why would Costello have drawn a map of his store’s location instead of the African hinterland?
But it was all part of the comedy and we all knew how the shorter comic was always reinterpreted things in his own way challenging the more pragmatical approach of his peer. He was the scapegoat too when it came to finding blame much as Bob Hope became the cause of an impending disaster on the “Road to Morocco,” or Laurel from Laurel and Hardy knew that he would be punished by his more austere counterpart when he erred in his judgement.
