Às Voltas com Fantasmas

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.