Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein

Perennially snakebit, Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney) can't even make a dire phone-call to clueless Wilbur Gray (Lou Costello) without that pesky full moon getting in the way. Of course, this opening scene is all just a nice excuse for the new Universal makeup wizard, Bud Westmore, to show off his new, streamlined Wolf Man transformations. It looks good enough, though it seems whatever Lon Chaney may have gained in comfort from Bud's less time-consuming makeup, he had to trade-off any facial mobility as his face looks fixed in the same expression throughout the film.

Bud and Lou's misadventures unloading McDougal's crates is a great mix of laughs & chills where we get to see a variation of the "moving candle" bit, Dracula reviving the monster, and for the first time in any Universal picture the camera doesn't move or cut away as the vampire exits from his coffin. And Glenn Strange, looking rather gruesome in Westmore's best makeup work, seems creakier than ever before as the monster.

I have to mention one of my personal favorite Bud/Lou moments when they make their first trip to the island with Joan Raymond: Lou tells Bud in reference to Joan "she's mine too" then proceeds to dab his mouth with Bud's necktie.

While the mere presence of Abbott and Costello in this picture may turn the stomachs of many "horror purists", it's obvious that great care was taken by the filmmakers not to ridicule the monsters. Without the two comics, you would still have a standard Universal horror film. With them, it remains a movie that shows more skill & thought was put into it than the last "serious" monster film "House of Dracula" and I am personally glad that Universal didn't let the monsters die with that misfire.

Stupid? Yes. Corny? Yes. Hokey? Yes. Entertaining? Definitely. Lots of good laughs? You said it!

To be honest, I am not a big fan of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello but this is a funny movie, considered their best by most critics and, for once, I agree with them. I mean, where else can you see The Wolf Man, Frankenstein and Dracula all together in the same film? Not only that, we get two of the original actors who actually played those roles: Lon Chaney (wolf man) and Bela Lugosi (Dracula).

The special-effects are terrible but, hey, the film is close to 60 years old. If you are going to see only one A-C film, this is the one you want to get.

This is probably the best horror comedy ever made.While it doesn't make fun of the monsters it does have some fun with them.Just love the Frankenstein monster's initial reaction to Lou Costello.

Lugosi truly shows how wrong Universal was to treat him so badly over the years.He gives a wonderful perfomance with nice comedic touches.Chaney is excellent in "his baby" the Wolf Man.Strange is given a bit more to do as the monster rather than just lie around until the last five minutes.

Great fun for everybody!

This is the film that really sparked my interest in horror films. IT is a comedy laced with horriffic elements. It is a wonderful blend of the absurd(Abbott and Costello) with the scary(Frankenstein's monster, Dracula, and the Wolfman). There is so much good about this film that it is hard to begin. Let's start with the two main characters, A & C. This is probably their best film outing both in their comic timing and their ability to play off each other so convincingly. Lou plays the chubby scared Wilbur and Bud plays the cynical, straight-man Chick. They move about almost effortlessly in their roles and Lou has some of the truly funniest scenes in filmdon. Two come to mind immediately: the scene where Lou reads about the monsters in the wax museum and the coffin lid opens and moves the candle several times is priceless as is the scene where Lou in confronted with the monsters in a hidden panel in a dungeon. Bud is just as good playing the straight role, a necessary but often thankless part. The other members of the cast are just as good, and Bela gives a tour-de force performance as Dracula once again. The film is moody and atmospheric, credit certainly going to Charles Barton the director. Lon Chaney, often overlooked, gives a good performance as the tragic lycanthrope Lawrence Talbot. Partiality aside, this certainly ranks up there as one of the best horror-comedy films ever made. High praise for a sub-genre with so few gems.

I have to agree with Nathan L.Erdel of Muncie,IN, on his user comments, this is indeed a comedy classic. The comedy duo of Abbott and Costello were at the height of their popularity during the late thirties and the forties and their particular style of verbal and slapstick comedy do not wear well with the passage of time and the sophistication of the modern day audiences. However, this film is the exception, from beginning to end it is almost flawless and provides a constant stream of laughs and thrills that even the viewers of today would be sure to enjoy. The writers and director and all the cast deserve congratulation for a brilliant effort produced on a low Universal budget. The film harnesses the particular comedy talents of Bud and Lou perfectly for the first and only time. Although the success of the film led the duo to try to replicate the style by having them meet more outlandish characters, never again were they able to repeat the heights and they gradually went into decline. But at least this film is left for us to enjoy and savour. From first to last the action, the thrills and the laughs combine flawlessly. Bud is the perfect foil to Lou's slapstick,as always. Lon Chaney,Bela Lugosi and Glen Strange all reprise their roles as The Wolfman,Dracula and Frankenstein to wonderful effect to provide the thrills as they chase the duo endlessly trying to get Lou's brain transferred into Frankenstein. Abbott and Costello provided some fine verbal comedy scenes in other early films and these also stand the test of time, but Meet Frankenstein was the only instance when their particular brand of comedy was successfully spread over an entire film.