| Abbott
& Costello Meet Frankenstein
^
|
Technically, Abbott and Costello were “before my
time,” meaning I had to stumble upon their movies on my own. This was a gift from a sister
who, for whatever reason, had the pick of the Universal Studios video catalogue. So I got piles
of them from her for special occasions. I’ve kept about half of them. Surprising to me was my
decision to keep this one. Why? Because it’s much funnier than I expected. Bud and Lou play
typically inept baggage clerks. They’re put in charge of some very large shipping crates to be
delivered to a wax museum. In the crates are “wax” figures of Frankenstein’s monster and
Dracula. Since this would be a boring movie if the figures really WERE wax, we get Bela
Lugosi himself reprising his most famous role. He brings the monster back to life
with small electric shocks. Too bad they couldn’t get Karloff back into the monster makeup.
Instead it was Glenn Strange, who had pretty much ended up owning the role by the
50’s, anyway. Of course Lou is the only one who sees Dracula rising from his coffin, and
of course no one believes him. A typical comedy scene but done well enough. For reasons
that baffle both the audience and Bud, Lou has a beautiful, devoted girlfriend, a doctor who ends
up as Dracula’s thrall. But that’s okay; there are plenty of gypsy girls to swoon over Lou, too.
Adding to the fun is Lon Chaney, Jr. as Lawrence
Talbot (who might actually not be drunk out
of his skull in this film), there to warn
The Boys about the danger everyone is in, and to occasionally grow a lot of hair during full moons.
Chaney plays his part perfectly deadpan, which is a plus in most comedies, and has a few good
scenes as the Wolfman trying to get at an oblivious Lou. The entire film is more like The House of
Frankenstein with Abbott and Costello tossed in, but who’s quibbling? Besides, that full title
wouldn’t fit on the poster. Bela Lugosi actually seems to be enjoying himself here, which either means
that he was, or is a damned better actor than most think. Vincent Price even has an unbilled cameo,
but don’t look for him; you won’t see him, heh heh.
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