Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
In all honesty, I should have put off watching “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” until after I watched all of the Universal horror films that came before it. That said, I have seen all of the major ones, so it’s safe for me to watch this one now. At the time, the Universal monster franchises had run the course from being scary to being silly- having Bud Abbott and Lou Costello being the driving engine for the comedy makes a lot of sense. One of the things that makes this film special is how it respects the horror these characters can elicit, while putting them in situations where they are a source of great humor, simply by how Abbott and Costello react to them. The horror comedy genre begins here, and it’s a delight.
Does it make sense that Dracula (Bela Lugosi), Frankenstein’s Monster (played here Glenn Strange), and The Wolf Man (Lon Chaney Jr.) belong in the same universe, with fates tied to one another? Not really, but I’d argue that the story by Robert Lees, Frederic I. Rinaldo and John Grant does a better job of justifying it than “Van Helsing” did. Here, Mr. McDougal (Frank Ferguson) runs a House of Horrors museum in town, and two of his latest acquisitions for it have arrived. Chick Young (Abbott) and Wilbur Grey (Costello) are baggage handlers whom are responsible for getting the crates to the museum. Before they do so, however, Wilbur gets a call from Lawrence Talbot (Chaney Jr.) saying that he’ll be there as soon as he can, and not to deliver those packages. He knows what’s inside.
The premise with the monsters in this film is that Dracula is controlling Frankenstein’s Monster, and wants to get a new brain in him, and Talbot is trying to stop him. Unfortunately, this is all taking place during a full moon, which makes it even harder for Talbot to get the message across to Wilbur and Chick. Truth be told, I am not overly familiar with Abbott and Costello beyond “Who’s on First?” Part of what makes this film work so well is that Wilbur is the one seeing Dracula and Frankenstein alive and kicking, and Chick is like everyone else, disbelieving of Wilbur. The humor in this film is deeply silly, and old fashioned, but damn if it isn’t still effective. For older viewers, this isn’t going to be a scary film at all, but the laughs are constant, and entertaining. I think my favorite moment is Wilbur in Talbot’s hotel room, after he’s turned into the Wolf Man, and Wilbur doesn’t see him in the bathroom.
There’s not a lot to say about this film that hundreds of other people haven’t already said. Yes, the make up effects on Chaney Jr. are deeply silly, but seeing Lugosi and Chaney Jr. get in on the enjoyment of this film is one of its great pleasures. The sneaking around, the madcap fighting that comes into play at the end, and of course the surprise cameo at the end, “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” is a meeting well worth taking in, regardless of when you see it.
