Deux nigauds contre Frankenstein

A full moon is on the rise in foggy London when Lawrence Talbot places a panicked phone call to the States. He is the only one who knows that a great evil is on its way to America. Count Dracula and the Frankenstein Monster have been shipped to a wax museum, and when the sun sets, Dracula will rise and summon his superhuman servant. Talbot knows he must warn someone...anyone...but unfortunately, it's Lou Costello who answers the phone. The movie is then off and running. Dracula needs a new brain for his monster, a brain so simple and dumb that the monster will obey Dracula's every command. Dracula's lethal henchwoman, Doctor Sandra Mornay, soon finds the perfect subject. Guess who? Now it's up to Bud Abbott and Lon Chaney Jr. to save Lou and stop Dracula before Lou literally loses his mind!

This is my absolute favorite Abbott & Costello film, sweet and witty but also dark and spooky, with plenty of nice, Gothic sets filled with full moons, flapping bats, cobwebs and lab equipment. Lon Chaney Jr. as the lycanthropic Lawrence Talbot, Bela Lugosi in his final appearance as Dracula and Glenn Strange as the Monster all play their roles perfectly straight as Bud and Lou stumble around them. The dark and seductive Lenore Aubert makes her second appearance as a Bud and Lou Bad Girl, slinking her way through the entire movie like a black panther, trying to lead poor Lou astray. Best moments include a wax museum in a lightening storm, a costume ball on a moonlit night and an uncredited Vincent Price who shows up - sort of - at films end. Bud and Lou turn in flawless performances yet again; Bud the Straight Guy always ready with a stinging one- liner and Lou the Bumbling Fool, falling all over himself, yet both of them always uniting at the films climax to stop the Bad Guys.

Fans of Bud and Lou and fans of the Universal Creature Features should not miss this film. It is both a spoof and an homage to the legendary Monsters of film. 10 stars.

There are two schools of thought regarding 'Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein'. The first holds that the movie represents the nadir of the Universal Monsters cycle, with three once-great monsters reduced to playing second-fiddle to a couple of Laurel and Hardy wannabes. The alternative view, which I hold, is that this movie is a classic comedy-horror, perhaps the best example of that hybrid sub-genre until John Landis' 'An American Werewolf In London' emerged in 1981.

'A&CMF' warrants classic status because it is probably the best Universal horror film since 'The Wolf Man' (1941); certainly it has a much stronger narrative thread, not to mention a better reason for the three monsters coming together, than either 'House Of Frankenstein'(1944) or 'House Of Dracula'(1945). The problem with those two movies is that Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster and The Wolf Man's coming together seemed purely coincidental, with Dracula not even encountering the other two in 'House Of Frankenstein' (which feels like two short films cobbled together, with only Boris Karloff's Dr. Neimann & J. Carroll Naish's hunchback providing a link between them) and 'House Of Dracula' only featuring a few scenes with more than one monster. 'Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein', by having The Wolf Man pursuing Dracula and the Monster, and also having Dracula plan to put Lou Costello's brain into the Frankenstein Monster (with the help of the duplicitous Dr. Mornay) provides an extremely satisfactory reason for the various characters coming together.

As for the acting, it has often been pointed out that this film works because the monster actors (Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr & Glenn Strange) play it straight, and this is very true, with Chaney's tortured soul act contrasting well with Lou Costello's one-liners (especially the famous 'you and twenty million other guys' joke). Lugosi, playing Dracula for only the second time, is wonderfully grandiose and even Glenn Strange, who is basically only required to lumber about, does what he does well, and he has a lot more to do than in the 'House of' movies. Abbott and Costello are very funny, using fewer verbal routines than normal, but doing some highly entertaining slapstick gags, and the supporting cast do very well, notably Frank Ferguson as the blustering McDougal, barely controlling his exasperation at Lou Costello's incompetence. Lenore Aubert as Dr. Sandra Mornay does well, and it's interesting to see a female mad scientist, particularly taking into account when this film was made. Charles Bradstreet and Jane Randolph have less to do in their parts, but neither of them drags the film down

All in all, 'A&CMF' is a movie that deserves a much greater reputation than it has acquired in some circles, and is probably the high point of the Abbott and Costello filmography

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.

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.