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Film: Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy
Year: 1955
Director: Charles Lamont
Writer: John Grant
Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello and Marie Windsor
Review:
This film takes place in the Middle East. We have two Americans, played by Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. They are stuck here and trying to find a way back to America. They go to a club to hang out and they hear a doctor, who is played by Kurt Katch, talking about discovering a mummy. The mummy is Klaris, played by Eddie Parker. Abbott overhears that he is looking for some guys to help on the shipping of the mummy to the United States. He thinks this is their chance to get home. We also get that there is a couple groups of people trying to get their hands on this mummy as well.
Abbott and Costello go to the Katch’s house. He is killed before they get there, but when they come in, they do not see his body. We get a few funny scenes of Abbott telling Costello to search for the doctor and for the mummy. Costello keeps seeing the dead doctor in different places. He yells and runs away every time. The body is moved so Abbott thinks he is going crazy.
Abbott finally tells Costello to wait in the office. The doctor is once again in his chair and the tape recorder he was using before he died begins to play. Costello believes he is talking directly to him and when he screams this time, Abbott comes in and sees that he really is dead. Abbott tells Costello to take pictures of the dead doctor and they send them to the police.
They go to a café after they send the pictures off and when a boy comes around with newspapers, Abbott buys one. He sees that he is the prime suspect in the doctor’s murder. They need to lay low and find who really did it. They go back to the doctor’s house. When they go there, a woman played by Marie Windsor, is looking for the treasure that the mummy’s temple is said to have. She needs to find a medallion that he has that tells where to find the temple.
Abbott and Costello find the medallion by accident and then decide to sell it. Windsor comes to him and tells him that if they come to the Café Baghdad, she will buy it.
In between some of this action, we see that there is a group of people who worship Klaris. Their leader is played by Richard Deacon. He wants to preserve the treasure that is hidden there. They want the mummy back in the temple along with the medallion that he had.
Abbott and Costello learn that anyone who has the medallion dies, so they have a funny scene of them trying to give it back and forth to each other. Abbott finally hides it in the coffee that they order. Costello pours it on his hamburger and then eats it. Windsor comes to get him and tries to buy it. He tells her that she cannot have it, because he ate it. She takes him to a doctor and sees that it truly is inside of him. Deacon shows up at the doctor’s office and tells her that can read the hieroglyphics. He tells her how to find the temple. They all go together.
Deacon breaks away and tells his people that they will get the medallion back and then they will kill Windsor, Abbott and Costello. Spies tell him that she brought two of her henchmen out as well. Windsor wants the treasure and plans on killing Abbott and Costello as well as Deacon. All the while, the mummy is around trying to protect his temple and the treasure.
Will Abbott and Costello find a way to make sure they survive this? Will Windsor find the treasure? Will Deacon protect the secrets and legend of Klaris?
This is another Abbott and Costello meets a Universal monster. This one has very little interaction or even screen time for the mummy until almost the end. With that said, I feel like the story is more about the medallion that is found and Abbott and Costello trying to survive this ordeal and get back home. The comedy of Abbott and Costello is in this one and I really enjoyed it. There is not much of the horror aspect of this one though.
I think the supporting cast was good. Windsor plays a great femme fatale; Deacon plays a great character that will do everything possible to protect the secrets of Klaris. I think that even Parker played a great mummy in this, even though all he does is yell and shamble around. There is also a funny scene in this where Abbott and another actor pretend to be Klaris as well.
I would recommend this one if you are an Abbott and Costello fan. They do their usual wordplay and slapstick comedy. Despite this film being from the 50s, they still could make me laugh. The horror aspect of this one is less than some of the others, but the concept behind it kept me entertained. If you have an issue with the era, or that it is in black and white, then I would avoid it. If not, it definitely is entertaining.
My Rating: 6 out of 10