Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein (1948)

The movie opens with Lon Chaney Jr. reprising his role as Larry Talbot, aka the Wolf Man.  He is trying to get in touch with a freight office in Florida over the phone.  When he finally gets thru he pleads with the man on the other end of the phone to not deliver a couple of crates to a local museum.  Unfortunately the man at the other end of the line is Wilbur Grey (played by Lou Costello).  So starts one of the funniest movies of Abbott and Costello’s great partnership and one of the most reviled by many fans of the Universal Horror monsters.  The rest of the movie involves Dracula (played for the 2nd and last time by the great Bela Lugosi) trying to resurrect the Frankenstein Monster (played here by Glenn Strange).  But unlike old Victor Frankenstein Dracula has taken measures to not have an uncontrollable monster, but a more malleable creature he can command.  For that he needs Wilbur’s brain, and with the help of the lovely Dr. Mornay he is determined to get it.  The only thing standing in his way are the boys and Larry, who keeps turning into the Wolf Man at the most inopportune times. 

I honestly don’t know why some fans hate on this movie so much.  First of all by the time that 1948 rolled around the classic Universal Monsters had already sort of run their course with the studio.  At the same time Abbott and Costello were pretty big stars, so paring up the monsters in a comedy with them was a pretty big deal for the actors playing the creatures.  Regardless of any of this the movie really is one of the funniest of the Abbott and Costello movies.  The story is solid and has some great routines.  There is a funny bit at the museum with Lugosi slowly rising from his coffin that is a blast.  This along with a sight gag with Costello and Chaney as the Wolf Man in a hotel room and both the boys trying to get away from the Frankenstein Monster each of the monsters gets in on the fun.  Unlike some of their other movies that throw in a love interest for a supporting character or musical numbers this one keeps the focus on the comedy and a few scenes with the monsters.  This makes for a very entertaining and fast paced movie that delivers the laughs, without making them at the expense of the monsters.

Lets talk a bit about the performances.  Abbott and Costello are at the top of their game and are very funny.  But they aren’t who I wanted to really talk about. Lon Chaney Jr. turns in one of his better performances since the first Wolf Man movie.  He is very good as both Talbot and his furry alter ego.  He is turning in a dead serious performance, which somehow meshes perfectly with the comedy.  But my favorite performance is from Bela Lugosi, who turns in a great performance.  Lugosi’s reputation suffered a lot from the Poverty Row stuff he did during the depression, as well as his later association with Ed Wood, but the guy was a hell of an actor.  Here he not only plays Dracula just as creepy as he did the first time around, but manages to be a great straight man in a couple of scenes with Costello as well.    

If you are a fan of the Universal Monsters you really need to take the time to check out Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein.  It is far superior to many of the later sequels to the Frankenstein and Dracula franchises.  Plus there is a cameo (voice only obviously) from the Invisible Man, who has a very recognizable voice. 

3 ½ out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer

© Copyright 2010 John Shatzer