Review of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) by James F — 07 Sep 2011

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, The Wolfman, Count Dracula, the Invisible Man, Big Foot, The Exorcist, and Lassie. Those Last 3 I made up, but the things that makes this one stand out from all other Abbott and Costello movies is that A) they have 4 Monsters, and B) They are the original monsters, which is the main reason why this little diddy topped the box office that year.

One little problem I have with this movie, and every Abbott and Costello movie, is that it always seems to me like Abbott's always setting it up, and Costello's always delivering the punchline. Costello always had a lot more material than Abbott.And Abbott was always just there so we could see the contraction between a normal human being and Costello. Every comedy duo is this way, and trio I might add. Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne were less guilty of this, but still it felt like Harry always got the most of the slapstick. And in the 3 stooges, Curly was the fat stupid one, Moe was the angry leader, and Larry was just there. Moe and Curly would often deliver their punchline and/or slapstick gag, and Larry would follow behind with the exact same thing that had already been done, but that's the comedy rule of 3s I suppose, isn't it. Still, I can't help but feel that it is my destiny to create the perfectly matched, completely equal comedy duo. This is something to think about.

All in all, this movie was rather funny, but not ha-ha funny. It got a lot more intense and funny during the second half, so stick it through definetely, and as Always Frankenstein Roasts to death - big surprise, right! But the final joke with the invisible man was a good note to end off on.

In conclusion, the only things that would've made this movie better was that if Abbott got in on the fun a little more, and the duo became a little more balanced, and if they somehow got Lassie or John Wayne or Superman - who were, of course, the next 3 biggest stars in hollywood at the time.