Deux nigauds contre l'homme invisible

To me, this is arguably the best of the "A&C Meet…" series. The boys get mixed up with a prizefighter accused of murder who escapes the cops and gangsters by turning invisible with the help of an experimental serum. Naturally, this leads to an array of amusing hijinks.

The comic potential here is greater than in other A&C monster entries (…Meet Frankenstein; … Meet the Mummy; etc.) because the menace here has the power of invisibility. That means the menace can challenge the boys in public without the public knowing it. On the other hand, the other monsters can't mix in public without being seen which narrows the comic potential to haunted houses or other non-public spaces.

For example, take the punching bag scene. It looks like Lou (Costello) has lightning speed rocking the bag when in reality it's the invisible boxer Tommy (Franz) who's doing it. There're a number of set-ups like this where the public is astonished by Lou's apparent powers, while actor Costello milks the comic potential.

That's not to say the other monster entries are not funny to varying degrees. But the monsters are restricted in these movies to scaring everyone in over-the-top fashion, whereas being invisible greatly expands the possibilities, such as the nightclub scene with the poor flummoxed waiter (Syd Saylor) who can't figure out who's doing what.

Anyway, the movie's consistently amusing and inventive. However, I wish we saw more of that great flashy blonde Adele Jergens (Marsden) and that great phony gangster Sheldon Leonard (Morgan). Seeing them together here resembles a match made in some cheap nightclub heaven. All in all, this is one of my A&C favorites among their many comedies.

Personally, I LOVED this one. Up there in A & C's top 3 (I'll let YOU figure out the other two) What made this so good...other than the great "invisible" effects (done by John Fulton who was responsible for those in Universal's original THE INVISIBLE MAN), were the boys themselves who almost moved away from slapstick to semi-straight roles here. Bud and Lou play a couple of newly credentialled detectives assigned to a murder case, the suspect being a boxer (Franz is great here) Lou's sequence in the boxing ring...with the assistance of his "invisible assistant" is a side splitter. The effects if anything, top the original film. Their attempts to prove his innocence make for a very entertaining hour and twenty two minutes.

Most A & C fans recall this one fondly.

This entry in the Universal series of A&C comedies ranks with the top half-dozen of their films. The notion of having the pair meet one of Universal's most famous "creatures" is a good one--and somehow, despite some wildly overdone slapstick--it works.

The pair play bumbling detectives who attempt to prove an innocent man (Arthur Franz) has been framed for murder. The special effects are particularly good and were done by the same man, John Fulton, who did the original camera effects for 'The Invisible Man'. A highlight of the film has Costello in the fighting ring being helped by his invisible client.

Nice work by Arthur Franz as the man who takes the serum, Nancy Guild as the feminine interest, Adele Jergens and Sheldon Leonard. Fans of A&C will rank this one among their best.

Our intrepid bumbling duo deliver the goods in one of the better offerings on their considerable CV. Here they are freshly qualified Private Investigators thrust into a murder investigation with an invisible man. That alone should tell you that the fun flows at a very decent clip, so with that I just need to say that some of the sequences here are comedy gold. Like a scene at a restaurant that is excellent, or Costello pretending to work the ball in the gym, and a final reel of a boxing match that really gets the laughter flowing. Watching these guys act as if with a real invisible man is wonderful, and of course the effects team also deserve praise for doing such a damn fine job with the invisible man of the piece.

Not quite as good as...Meet Frankenstein, but it's darn near close. 8/10

I only watched this once, but that's my loss. I should see this again. Although not a big fan of these guys, I thought this was their funniest film, along with Abbot & Costello Meet Frankenstein. Although the latter is considered their best and most popular movie, my vote just might go to this one.

This film was simply a lot of laughs from start to finish and the special-effects with the invisible man are good, too - even over 50 years later! The boxing scenes at the end of the movie are incredibly hokey but they are humorous as the "invisible man" helps Costello in the ring.

Sometimes silly, sometimes stupid but generally fast-moving, this film is highly- recommended for those looking for an innocent, old-time comedy with a surprising amount of laughs.