Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lon Chaney, Bela Lugosi, Glenn Strange
Category: Classic
Plot Tags: Universal Monsters, comedy/scary
Original release: June 1948
Format viewed: Alamo Drafthouse - Kids club screening
Directed by: Charles Barton
Written by: Robert Lees, John Grant
Distributed by: Universal Studios
I was very confused to learn this film was released to theatres in June, 1948. Did studios not take advantage of theme specific movies and place them on/around the holiday? A lot of Christmas films releasing in July? Anyway, thought that was odd. I got to see this (with Conlin, of course) at the monthly kids club screening at Alamo Drafthouse. I think the last time I saw it was at least 20+ years ago and might've been around the same age Conlin is now. Be that as it may or not may, this film is fun silliness.
The story centers around two men (Abbott and Costello) working at a railway baggage department. They receive a call from London from a man (Lon Cheney) calling to warn them that two packages they are going to receive should not be delivered to their owner - a museum of the weird type guy who is VERY interested in making sure the contents are undisturbed. He goes so far as to have an agent from the insurance company there to inspect the boxes. Before he can explain why, Cheney transforms into the wolfman and the line goes dead. They go on about their business. They deliver the packages to the museum and have a series of hilarious 'one guy can see something but the other guy never sees it' type bits with Dracula (Lugosi). That is one thing to keep in mind, movies like this draw their humor from the vaudeville type setups and punchline jokes from well before talking films. The audience is always in on the joke, but people in the scenes really aren't. The story progresses and our two heroes are drawn into this odd plot hatched by this doctor lady and Dracula (again, for no real understandable reason).
What makes this one a fun, silly little 70 minute diversion is the sheer goofiness of the script. On paper, the concept of Dracula shipping himself to America along with Frankenstein's monster to revive him and replace his brain with a pliable one (two guesses as to who that might be) is very flimsy. They never really explain his motivation for doing any of this beyond working with this doctor lady who is in on it (for some reason). Beyond that framework of a plot, they basically drift from one setpiece to the next with a lot of mugging for the camera. Unlike Will Farrell type-mugging though, Abbott and Costello seem to make it classy. The sideplot of two women all smitten with Costello is very amusing and the puns fly fast and goofy. It is always a joy to watch Lon Chaney and Bela Lugosi in anything, so that is an added bonus - really, this one works well because it absolutely doesn't take itself seriously but has the presence of mind to care about the end product. Fun all around and appropriate for all ages.
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