Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein can be viewed as the ultimate scare comedy. This is because the horror and the comedy are mixed together so perfectly. One of the greatest strengths that director Charles Barton gave to the Abbott and Costello movies he directed was that he always played the serious scenes straight in a way that would not distract from the comedy but instead enhance it. The creepy scenes in this film, while they would never keep me up at night are genuinely creepy. Sandra's (Lenore Aubert) attempt to suck Lou's blood is really suspenseful. We become genuinely worried about Lou. However in typical Abbott and Costello fashion afterwards we get a great joke with Lou telling Bud, "You can have Sandra but make sure you have plenty of bandages." A scene were we see Dracula (Bela Lugosi) take a victim, is not only creepy but masterfully shot by cinematographer Charles Van Enger. The climax of this film is absolutely incredible. As all the monsters get turned on Bud and Lou, we get both scares and laughs in equal measures. I remember as a kid this scene used to give me the chills. There are actually two shocking death scenes that are quite intense. On the other hand there is some very funny slapstick of the boys being chased by Frankenstein's monster (Glen Strange). On the other hand again, Dracula enticing Lou to come over to him instead of escaping creeped me out as a kid (interestingly this scene planed to have a joke in it where Lou would sit on a rock refusing to go and Dracula would move the rock with Lou on it, but the film was already to far over budget). The reason that scene works is that Lugosi was still powerful in the role of Dracula and gave a very eerie presence to this slapstick comedy. The exit of the Frankenstein monster from this movie is one of the most striking images in the film and always stays well in my mind after I watch it. This brief moment (even though it is in a comedy) is a masterpiece of horror filmmaking. After this masterful climax though in typical Abbott and Costello fashion is a really funny ending joke (which features a vocal cameo from Vincent Price).    

The script went through multiple incarnations. The first was written by Oscar Brodney and was basically a simple story outline. Bertram Milhauser then expanded upon this creating a much more detailed story. This version reused a plot element involving microfilm from the movie Sherlock Holmes in Washington, for which Milhauser was one of the writers. This script was scrapped and brand new one was written by Robert Lees and Fredric Rinaldo, who had previously written Hold That Ghost with Abbott and Costello. Upon seeing this script Lou Costello hated it. Lou said to producer Robert Arthur, "My [five year old] daughter could write a better script than this. You aren't serious about making this are you?" Arthur was and convinced Lou through both money and the hiring of Charles Barton (Lou's favorite director).


A working title for this film was The Brain of Frankenstein but that title was felt to sound too much like a straight horror movie, making the studio change the title to Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. The mummy was at one time planned to be one of the monsters featured but the idea was dropped. However as many of us know Abbott and Costello would later meet the mummy in a later film.


During the making of this film (as for all the Abbott and Costello films) there was much practical joking going on. Bud and Lou always kept this up to relive tension and to keep spirits up during the boring periods of movie making. This practical jokes included the throwing of pies, exploding cigars and spraying of seltzer bottles. Much of these practical jokes were at the expense of a man named Bobby Barker. Barker was hired on most Abbott and Costello movies simply for this purpose. We actually get to see him on camera in this film as he gets the line "Seen 'em. I don't even know them." Not everybody enjoyed these hijinks as much as Bud and Lou did. Bela Lugosi, did not find this very amusing. He took his part in this film seriously and felt that they should not be joking around on the set. This did not diminish in any way how happy Lugosi was to be working on this film, he loved the character of Dracula and was so happy to be playing the character again. This passion for the character shows perfectly in this film as he gives a masterful performance that is just as good as the one he gave in the brilliant 1931 horror classic. Interestingly Lugosi almost did not get the part. The part almost went to Ian Keith, who also almost got the part of the count in the 1931 movie Lugosi starred in. Sadly Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein was the second and last time Lugosi played the character, but with just with these two films he left more of an impression than anyone else in the role ever could.
With Lon Chaney Jr. reprising his role as the Wolf Man and Bela Lugosi returning as Dracula, one would think that Boris Karloff would return as the Frankenstein monster. This was not the case. Karloff loved the character and did not want to see him be kidded. He appeared in an advertisement for the movie, featuring him waiting in line to buy a ticket. He agreed to do this as long as he never saw the movie. This is a shame he felt this way, but Glenn Strange does more than a capable job of playing the character here. As we will see in later posts Karloff would in fact appear in two Abbott and Costello movies later.


This movie was much more expensive than the average Abbott and Costello film costing $800,000.


This film was a huge success, being one of the duo's best moneymakers and one of the most critically praised movies staring the two comics. Many film fans today consider this the boys' best film, and it has influenced people you would never except. Quentin Tarantino has stated that this movie taught him how to blend genres. This was also one of Elvis Presley's favorite movies. The film still works masterfully today.

To read about how this movie and other Halloween films of the era were advertised in 1948 click here. To read a short 1948 article about the popularity of this film click here. To see a great advertisement for this film that was put up outside a theater click here. To read about how contagious the laughter caused by this film could be click here. 

Below is an original advertisement for the film in Showman's Trade Review.





Below is an original theatrical trailer.

-Michael J. Ruhland