Deux nigauds contre Frankenstein

Made during A & C's golden era, this was not only the first and best of the "meets" series but arguably their best film.

Everything worked, the routines, the premise, the sets, the chills and the direction. Bud and Lou are a couple of bumbling railroad porters who end up delivering crates containing Dracula, Frankenstein and the Wolf Man to a certain gothic edifice. In better physical condition than by the time ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET DR JEKYLL AND MR HYDE rolled around in '53, it shows in their timing and delivery - Lou especially is spot on throughout.

Some great lines too. Dracula to Lou, addressing him lovingly, "What we need is young blood.....AND brains!"

Many believe this is the quintessential Bud and Lou film to survive! I'd be inclined to agree.

When Abbott and Costello were good, there was no one to touch them. Here they were at maybe their best, working with a great script and their best-by-a-mile concept. I prefer "Time Of Their Lives" as a film, but this is their finest hour or so as comedians.

As someone who grew up watching A&C Sundays at 11:30 AM in the NY area back when Cheech and Chong were the comedy team of the moment, it's great to revisit this one and see how well it all stands up. It's also nice to think, with all the personal sadness and cinematic dreck he was forced to go through, that Bela Lugosi managed to bat 1.000 in playing his greatest role, as he only played the Count in two film classics, this and "Dracula."

Playing the monsters straight probably was the best idea the filmmakers had, but there's other good stuff here. These guys were not resting on their laurels. The scenes with Chaney, the final chase, the dames (two for Lou, none for Bud), the music, all of it well-thought-out and very effective. Would the film have been better with Karloff than Strange as the Monster? Probably not, as the Monster is the least interesting character of the monster trio by necessity of plot (he's weak and needs to be continuously charged up by Drac, necessitating the immediate operation on Lou.) Karloff would have detracted from Lugosi's role more than adding anything of his own. Besides, Strange is very good.

Too bad Vincent Price couldn't make it when Bud and Lou went up against the Invisible Man for real two years later.

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!

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.

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.