What I’m watching: the legacy of one of the greatest comedy teams, Abbott and Costello in “Abbott and Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection.”

Shout Factory has released an amazing 28 film collection: all of the movies Bud Abbott and Lou Costello made during their 15 year at Universal Pictures in the 1940 and ‘50s.

Abbott and Costello was one of the most successful comedy teams in cinema history and that’s saying a lot for the first 60 years or so of movie history, comedy teams were common and popular.

The very best included the Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy and Martin and Lewis, but there were many more including the Ritz Brothers, the Bowery Boys, Wheeler and Woolsey, Patsy Kelly and Thelma Todd and Clark and McCullough. It was a common practice to put two performers together. Sometimes one was designated as the straight man, while other teams had members who all sought for a laugh.

For the most part the movie comedy team has become a thing of the past, with the most recent successes being Cheech and Chong and Monty Python’s Flying Circus. There is a difference between forming a team as compared to two performers being featured together in several films, such as Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.

If you’re under a certain age you may not be aware of the team, but let’s look at some statistics. In their 21 years as a team, they made 36 movies, appeared on radio from 1938 to 1949 in 460 broadcasts, and produced 52 episodes of their own television show, besides appearing on other shows.

Simply put, they were among the very most successful comedy teams in American pop culture history.

Abbott and Costello were already veteran performers when they teamed up in burlesque in 1935. Abbott was the straight man while Costello was the comic. During their burlesque years they perfected their timing in a number of set routines.

After national radio exposure in 1938, they were offered their first film in 1940 at Universal Pictures as the comic relief for “One Night in the Tropics.” Their success in that film led to a contract and in 1941 their first starring film was released, “Buck Privates.”

That film was a huge hit and their career as film stars was underway.

Generally, they played working class guys who found themselves trying to better their situation. The burlesque routines they perfected were carried over and adapted for their films.

Abbott, as the straight man, was the guy who set up the situations for Costello. There was a lot of word play in their comedy, as well as slapstick and pratfalls. Costello, who has been a boxer in his youth, did many of his own stunts.

Costello’s character was that of a man-child. He’s not stupid, but easily misunderstands things, while Abbott was his more sensible, but often disapproving, friend.

They carried the comedy bits they performed in burlesque into their films and the booklet that accompanies this essential set lists each of these time-proven routines each film has.

Undoubtedly the routine for which they are best known is “Who’s on First,” an incredible word play routine about a baseball team whose players have unusual names. It’s one of my favorite comedy moments and one I can watch over and over.

Of course some of their films were batter than others. I like “Buck Privates” a great deal as it’s an effective military comedy. “Hold That Ghost” is also very funny and is the first of their films presenting the boys in a spooky situation. “The Time of their Lives” provides a change in format with Abbott and Costello in parts that don’t team them up. It’s interesting to note how effective Abbott is in a part that is not his usual straight man role.

“Who’s on First” can be seen in their film “The Naughty Nineties” in which the boys are members of the cast and crew on a riverboat in the 1890s.

Of course, the film that made me love them when I was a kid stills hold up very well today: “Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein.” I love this film and how it managed to present the classic Universal monsters in a way that was still suspenseful and funny.

The set features a disc full of extras including a new documentary about the team. There are also several blooper reels and other documentaries.

If you are into classic film comedy, this set is essential for your viewing.