Abbott and Costello Meet…

Abbott and Costello were quite the duo, of course, and they sure got around, even into some of Universal’s best horror franchises.

Actually, I should rephrase that. They met pretty much everyone, and if anyone hasn’t seen the “Abbott and Costello Meet…” series, well, here’s a treat. I’ve seen three of the five and the other two are on my wishlist. Off we go…

Frankenstein (And Dracula. And the Wolf Man) (1948)

The first of these crossover outings has our guys working as clerks in a shipping company kinda like UPS or FedEx. While hard at work, well, Bud, who’s called Chick, is hard at work while Lou, whose character is called Wilbur, moons over his exotic girlfriend, Sandra (Leonora Aubert). Lon Chaney, Jr. as the Wolf Man comes all the way from Europe, disappointed that the cure he tried in House of Dracula obviously didn’t take. Bela Lugosi as Dracula also makes a pretty substantial appearance, looking slightly worse for wear, and does a pretty convincing imitation of a wax figure.

The Killer Boris Karloff (1949)

One of the two movies I haven’t seen yet, this tale has Boris Karloff as a rather scary hotel owner, which gives me Fawlty Towers vibes for some reason. Lenore Aubert makes a return appearance, only her character is named Angela.

The Invisible Man (1951)

In this outing our guys are detectives, and since they’re playing themselves they’re about as good at sleuthing as we can all imagine. Our unseen fellow in this case is boxer Tommy Nelson, who’s been falsely accused of murder. We get a fair amount of retconning in this installment, as Tommy is able to eat without his food being seen digesting in his stomach (Jack Griffin didn’t have that luxury), and he even has a brief Lady and the Tramp moment with Lou over a plate of spaghetti, only no one’s pushing meatballs with their noses.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953)

This is the other installment I haven’t seen, but I’m guessing it’s pretty crazy. Odds are good that our guys do lots of double and triple takes.

The Mummy (1955)

Remember that Beatles movie, Help!? Mummy‘s built along those lines, except the item in question is an amulet instead of a ring, and poor hapless Lou has no trouble taking it off. It ends up in the oddest places, too, like one of the hamburgers the guys have for dinner. This movie seemed crazier than usual and it was a little tough to tell where it was filmed. One minute things look exotic and Egyptian, and the next we’re in a club hearing a singer wax lyrical about St. Louis.

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Zoikes, that’s some screwball stuff. I will say this, though: Bingeing them like I did may not be the greatest idea, because after a movie or two a pattern forms. Lou always sees the title creature, freaks out, said entity vacates the scene, no one believes Lou even though things keep happening, and finally there’s a big reveal when Bud, and possibly everyone else, realizes Lou is telling the truth. After that, all bets are off. Shark-jumping, pratfalling, and general mayhem ensue, but that’s to be expected.

What made them work was they allowed audiences to see familiar characters with fresh eyes. In Abbott and Costello’s world, Universal’s creatures and villains weren’t just characters on the screen but complete unknowns or real-although-still-farfetched. Audiences must have had fun with these new angles on favorite stars.

No one did comedy like Abbott and Costello. No one did horror like Abbott and Costello, either. So yeah, if anyone would like some nuttiness, these movies are pretty fun rides.

Another post is coming out on Friday. Thanks for reading, everyone, and I hope to see you then…

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Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (DVD,Blu-ray, and Prime), Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (DVD and Blu-ray), Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (DVD and Blu-ray) are available to own from Amazon. Four of the five Monster movies can be purchased as a set as well.

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