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Film: Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
Year: 1948
Director: Charles Barton
Writer: Robert Lees, Frederic I. Rinaldo and John Grant
Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello and Lon Chaney Jr.
Review:
This film begins in London. Inside of a hotel room making a call is the wolf-man, played by Lon Chaney Jr. He is making a call to the states and it is answered by Lou Costello. Along with his friend, played by Bud Abbott, they work a baggage claim. Chaney tells Costello not to let two boxes make it to the house of horrors in town because inside are the coffin of Dracula as well as the remains of Frankenstein’s monster.
He is ignored and the boxes are delivered. We meet both of the female leads inside, one is really an insurance investigator who followed the boxes because they were insured for so much, she is played by Jane Randolph. The other is Costello’s girlfriend, who is played by Lenore Aubert.
Abbott and Costello go to the house of horrors to deliver the boxes and prove they aren’t damaged, but while this happens, Costello finds out that both Dracula, who is played by Bela Lugosi, and Frankenstein’s monster, who is played by Glenn Strange, are both very much alive and escape.
Lugosi then meets up with Aubert, who we realize wants to take Costello’s brain and put it inside the monster to make him completely obedient. Chaney arrives that day to help them put a stop to Lugosi. Can they do it before he realizes his horrible plans? Can Chaney keep it together and help them before the full moon turns him into the terrible monster he is? Will anyone believe Costello?
This film is interesting in that, it is a comedy. Costello is hilarious to me and he plays very well off of Abbott, which was their bit and I can see why it was successful. On top of that though, it does carry a good storyline that was popular in the 1940s horror.
The only problem I had with Universal was they decide to bring all their popular monsters together and make complicated stories. In the end though, in the end it doesn’t really seem to work for me. The lower running time means that these big actors do not get enough time on screen and that hurts the film.
If you like the old horror films, I would give this one a viewing. It does blend that style of horror very well with humor which is fun to see. There are quite a few parts that had me laughing. If you’re not into the slapstick/play on words comedy of Abbott and Costello, I would avoid this one. If both of these things sound like something you’d be interested in, I would definitely recommend it. It isn’t the best, but it is enjoyable.
My Rating: 6 out of 10