Review of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) by Philip S — 24 Oct 2011

Dracula, The Wolf Man, and Frankenstein are Hollywood's most iconic movie monsters. Sure there are characters such as Leatherface, Pinhead, Michael Meyers, Freddy Kruegger, Jason, etc. that everyone knows. But before these crazies, Bela Lugosi, Lon Cheney, Jr., and Boris Karloff set the standard for horror. So it would go without saying that when at least two of the three joined comic legends Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, it would lead to a landmark comedy/horror hybrid, right? Not so fast. Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein is a funy movie in its own right. But it's not without its faults.

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein was just one of a handful of Halloween comedies in which the legendary comedy duo starred. But those flicks never gained as much acclaim as the duo's pairing with Lugosi and Cheney. It was that star power alone, that makes Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein a classic. Boris Karloff didn't join the group in this outing. He was replaced by Glenn Strange. Yes that's really his name. He also played the monster, alongside Cheney, in 1945's The House of Dracula. Strange did a good job in his portrayal of the monster in both movies. The problem with this one wasn't so much the actor or character. Rather, the problem was the story's execution. It goes back to suspension of disbelief. There's something not believeable about the movie's plot. The whole concept of Dracula re-animating Frankenstein was more than a little outlandish. To make matters worse, the story never explained away why exactly Dracula wanted to bring the monster back to life. It's hinted he just wanted to use the monster as his slave. Other than that, there's little other explanation of the plot. The original 1931 classic was far more believeable, by comparison. That's because audiences knew early on Dr. Frankenstein's reasoning for what he did.

Family and kid friendly Halloween movies are tough to come by today. Most Halloween movies are bloody, gory slasher style movies aimed mainly at a specific audience. The kid friendly movies that are out there today are hardly memorable. And while the star power of Lugosi and Cheney was the bigger part of what made the movie memorable, the family friendly comedy of Abbott and Costello didn't hurt either. While audiences had seen their brand of comedy plenty of times before, it's the kind of comedy taht compared to today's comedy, will never get old. All of this in mind, Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein may not be the best or most memorable of all the Halloween movies ever made. But it's one that families can watch together again and again every Halloween.