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Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein

Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Charles T. Barton's Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
Review: Abbott and Costello also meet the Wolfman and Dracula in this amusing horror comedy.

Chick (Bud Abbott) and Wilbur (Lou Costello) are freight handlers at a delivery company. McDougal (Frank Ferguson) drops by to get his new crates for his house of horrors. They contain the bodies of Frankenstein's monster (Glenn Strange) and Dracula (Bela Lugosi). A Lawrence Talbot (Lon Chaney, Jr.) calls from London to try to stop the delivery, but Chick and Wilbur agree to take the crates to McDougal's.

Chubby Wilbur also has a beautiful girlfriend, the exotic Sandra (Lenore Aubert). Chick and Wilbur take the crates in, but the monsters come alive and escape. McDougal calls in insurance investigator Joan (Jane Randolph), who also takes a shine to Wilbur. Talbot arrives from Europe, during the full moon, and promptly turns into a werewolf.

Sandra works for Dr. Stevens (Charles Bradstreet), whose presence in this film is the weakest part of the story. As Dracula begins putting different cast members under his control, we find out Sandra is working with the undead in order to get Wilbur's brain for the Monster. A funny climax ensues, as the three monsters finally meet in Dracula's castle, as Chick and Wilbur try to escape.

Despite the goofy nature of the film, it is funnier than a ton of junk out there today. Lou Costello is a riot, and Bud Abbott proves he was the best straight man who ever lived. Lugosi is not given that much to do, but the makeup effects on all three monsters is wonderful. The late 1940's special effects are silly fun. The direction is a little standard, but the likable comedy team makes up for the film's short comings. A final "cameo appearance" is the last scene is truly classic.

Abbott and Costello made a lot of these types of films, but this one might be the best. I highly recommend it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: What a Cast! What Laughs
Review: When you team Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr., Glen Strange, Sidney Fields and a cameo by Vincent Price with Abbott & Costello how can you go wrong. This movie has its scary moments but is extremely hilarious. Probably the best A&C movie ever made.

The scene where Costello is reading the legends of the monsters while the candle is moving on top of the coffin is pure "classic."

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: CONFOUNDED AND AMAZED!!
Review: It's beginning to look a bit like Halloween, so I pop this into the DVD player and decide to watch a bit of my history and laugh. Low and behold, the teenagers (who are usually roaming around the house and kitchen with phones attached to each ear) begin watching it with me. So, as I scoot on down the couch to make room, I spy a little one with his eyes glued to the TV. Even the five-year old was watching this movie. Maybe Abbot and Costello's charm that began when I was a child was still working. Well, I spent the entire movie making popcorn and brownies for the kids. When I asked the teenagers why they liked the movie, they just said "it was kinda cool". The little one laughed at some parts and was scared at the others (wolfman changing), but he survived a spooky movie, and was pleased with himself. This one is definitely a keeper.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: IT MADE FRANKENSTEIN LAUGH
Review: IF YOU WANT TO SEE ONE OF THE FUNNIEST MOVIES EVER MADE THEN THIS ONE'S FOR YOU. THE EXECUTIVES AT UNIVERSAL WERE SCRATCHING THEIR HEADS DECIDING WHAT NEXT FOR "ABBOTT AND COSTELLO" THEN SOMEONE REALIZED THAT THEY HAD ACCESS TO THE MOVIES BEST MONSTERS. DRACULA, FRANKENSTEIN, THE WOLFMAN AND THE INVISIBLE MAN. A STORY WAS CONCEIVED AND OFF THEY WENT DOING WHAT THEY DO BEST. IN ONE OF THE FUNNIEST OUT-TAKES, DRACULA, IS COMING DOWN THE STAIRS TO MEET COSTELLO FOR THE FIRST TIME. WHAT HE DOESN'T REALIZE IS THAT, ABBOTT AND COSTELLO HANGER ON, BOBBY BARBER, IS RIGHT BEHIND DRACULA HOLDING A SCARY MASK OVER HIS FACE. DRACULA DOESN'T UNDERSTAND WHY EVERYONE IS BUSTING UP LAUGHING UNTIL HE LOOKS OVER HIS SHOULDER AND BARBER SCARES HIM. THEY HAD A LOT OF FUN ON THE SET AND YOU'LL HAVE GREAT FUN WATCHING ONE OF THE BEST FLOWING AND DIRECTED MOVIES EVER DONE. MARTIN SCORCESE SAYS THAT IS ONE OF THE BEST DIRECTED MOVIES EVER DONE. I THINK SO TOO, BUT CASINO AND GOODFELLAS MIGHT TIE FOR SECOND. LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK AND I'LL TELL ANOTHER STORY FROM THE SET. HAPPY HAUNTING. BEST LINE BY COSTELLO TO ABBOTT AS THE FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER OBEYS HIS COMMAND TO GET BACK. "HE THINKS I'M DRACULA"!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: great flick, great blooper
Review: I prefer the abbott & costello TV shows to their movies except for this one. Scary as a kid watching it all those years ago as our heroes did the best they could against all those monsters.
In a bedroon scene, the Count bites Sandra in the neck and we see it as a reflection in her dresser mirror. Of course, as we know, a vampire does not have a reflection. Reflect on that!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Abbot and Costello are a winning duo
Review: I always loved watching Abbot and Costello during my childhood because they were such a rediculous pair of opposites who seem to make a situation funny. The great thing about this movie is that it combines this comedy with some of the great classic horror villians and the actors who played them, including The Wolfman (Lon Chaney), Dracula (Bela Lugosi), and Frankenstein (Glenn Strange).

Abbot and Costello are baggage handlers (Chick and Wilbur) who embark on a mission to the house of horrors to deliver a package filled with the "remains" of Frankenstein and Dracula. However, when they get there, the hilarity begins. Wilbur, as he always does, encounters many frights that get him nervous and he tries to explain these to his sidekick only to get a frown from Chick, who has a rational explanation for everything. There are plenty of times when Wilbur has his witty lines, a response to Chick's skepticism of there actually being a monster alive in the museum. The wolfman encounters the two men and tries to get them to believe that Dracula is there and will cause destruction. Predictably, Wilbur is the only one who believes this is true, but must try to convince his partner, without being scared to death, that this is true as well.

What made this movie fun was the blend of both comedy and horror that is lacking in most of the movies today. This is obviously mostly a comedy, but there are some great scenes where we see Costello encounter a monster and wonder what his response will be. Certainly an entertaining movie, and Abbot and Costello provide there usual antics and great lines:

Abbott: "You're making enough noise to wake the dead!"
Costello: "He's already up."

I suggest that if you haven't seen this movie you give it a try. It is one of those classics at your video store that often gets overlooked.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Best Horror/Comedy EVER!
Review: Bud and Lou's first rendezvous with the Classic Monsters of Universal, if not counting 1941's HOLD THAT GHOST, is a bonanza to be cherished even after it's initial release over 50 years ago. The screenplay of Count Dracula plotting to use Lou's dimwitted brain for the Monster is clever, funny, original, and scary. Lenore Aubert makes a great vampire villainous, and Lugosi's Dracula, Chaney's Wolfman, and Glenn Strange's Frankenstein Monster all help keep the film suspenseful and funny. The chase scenes, the "You and 20 million other guys" joke, and the forest chases, are still uproarious to this day.

The DVD is truly amazing, and Gregory Mank's commentary, and the Documentary "Abbott and Costello Meet the Monsters" are fantastic treats for the eye and ears. Yes, that's Vincent Price's voice for the Invisible Man. Look out for the lit cigarette. This is simply the BEST! A true classic!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The best horror comedy in the universe!
Review: Like Vincent Price's House on Haunted Hill, this dvd is simply fun to watch over again from time to time. It's a wonderful example of how one can have both comedy and serious horror simultaneousy in a movie, yet they don't conflict or sabotage each other. Imagine that Jarjar! Great writing, good acting, great comedy, great mood and atmosphere, and delightfully eerie scenery all make for a dvd that I never tire of viewing. Thanks Bud, Lou and the rest of you! VERY very well done!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Another Abbott and Costello Classic not to be missed
Review: Dracula needs a brain that will follow every command to put into the Frankenstein monster, that brain turns out to be Wilbur's (Costello) brain. Dracula and Frankenstein come over seas and end up in Abbott and Costello's delivery office, where they have to deliver the packages to MacDougall's House of Horrors. There both Dracula and Frankenstein escape and are on the loose.

It is then when the Wolfman, Laurence Taulbert, tries to convince Abbott and Costello that they need to stop Dracula before he revives Frankenstein. Do they stop Dracula and the Frankenstein monster? Only time will tell, but you cannot miss this hilarious movie.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The greatest comedy team's greatest movie!
Review: Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were the greatest comedy team ever, and this is their best film. Bud and Lou play a couple of movers who unwittingly get hired to transport two exhibits to a wax museum -- Dracula and the Frankenstein monster. Unfortunately, their charges aren't statues at all -- they've got the real thing! They wind up encountering a werewolf who has chased the monsters all the way from the old country in the hopes of exterminating them before they wreak more havoc. The boys are in real danger, however, because Dracula needs a new brain for the monster... and the brain he wants is Lou's!

This movie is really special for two reasons. First -- it's just really, really funny. Second, it was the first big movie to ever really blend elements of horror into a comedy, and it's still done it better than practically anyone. Without this movie there would never have been a "Beetlejuice" or a "Ghostbusters" or a "Scary Movie." Okay... so we can hold the last one against them.

The other thing that makes this movie great is the chance to see all the classic Universal Studios monsters together, and played by the men who made them great -- Dracula is portrayed by Bela Lugosi and the wolfman is the incredible Lon Chaney Jr. The only person absent is Boris Karloff as the Frankenstein monster, but Glenn Strange does a great job. Karloff must have felt left out, because the very next year he teamed up with the boys in "Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff." Also recommended are "Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man" (1951), "Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1953) and "Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy" (1955) -- all of which are great, but none of which are quite on-par with the first.

This DVD also has a commentary by a film historian (which I admit, I haven't watched yet) and a short documentary about the movie and the affect it had on Bud and Lou's career, as well as the entire comedy/horror genre. If you love these guys as much as I do, this is a must-see.


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