Deux nigauds contre l'homme invisible

could possibly be the second best movie a&c made besides frankenstein

Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man- ***

Here we are again, drawn into yet another Abbott and Costello movie. This time, the special effects out due the original Invisible man, and the humor from Abbott and Costello is at its best. This is one of the better films by them, most of the others are slow and somewhat boring. Here, its exciting and funny at the same time.

This is when Abbott and Costello are actually enjoyable to watch. Sure they overuse a lot of the same jokes, but at least there's some new ones too. I've never been a big admirer of Abbott and Costello, however there are a couple of their films that I really do love. I especially like their short skits, because they usually tend to be funnier. Here are some of my other favorites: Who's on First? Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein -Micah Knapp

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.

In "Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man", detectives Bud Alexander (Bud Abbott) and Lou Francis (Lou Costello) have to protect a man framed for murder. This becomes proportionally easier once the man gives himself an invisibility serum. Some of the best scenes are when Lou watches him disappear, when a cop sees (or, rather, doesn't see) the man driving a car, and even a scene where Lou accidentally puts a bunch of people to sleep. The end scene is also a shocker.

These movies sometimes seem like they were just excuses for everyone to goof off. If so, then they did well. This one was also helped by the fact that it didn't have any songs, which sometimes weakened A & C's movies. Really funny.

I guess that I'll have to see this again, now that I know that Fred Mertz appeared in it.

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.