Universal's answer to the popular Bob Hope and Bing Crosby "Road" pictures from Paramount, PARDON MY SARONG is a loose and virtually plotless concoction held together by musical numbers and Abbott and Costello routines. The Ink Spots do two songs, including their 1940 hit "Do I Worry?", the boys do several lesser-performed routines including one known as "The Baseball Story" that has nothing to do with "Who's on First", and eventually everyone (well, not the Ink Spots) wind up on a tropical island filled with natives who crown Lou their new hero.
The film's two best scenes are the boys, disguised as musicians, tussling with detective William Demarest, and a variation on the "Tree of Truth" routine where coconuts fall on Lou's head every time he tells a lie. In the magician scene, Bud Abbott actually gets to be funny on his own for a few moments, using a nonsensical language to confuse the not-too-bright detective. The kick in the "Tree of Life" routine is when Lou tries to tell story after story to a beautiful young native girl, and Abbott has to keep stopping him because every one of them leads to the same dirty "traveling salesman" joke!
Lionel Atwill shows up as a villain late in the film to
pretend that there is a story going on, but don't worry, there's not. - JB