Movie Review:Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

The comedy stars Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Bela Lugosi, Glenn Strange, Lenore Aubert, Jane Randolph and Lon Chaney, Jr.

One memory I have of my childhood was my brother and I sneaking out to the living room after our parents went to bed and watching late night movies. And, part of the reason for me remembering it so vividly was the fact this was one of the films I was introduced to.

I’m a huge fan of classic horror films and one of the things that really appeals to me when it comes to this movie is how many film legends are in the cast. Lugosi and Chaney are two of the most recognizable horror movies names and the fact they were cast to play the monsters that made them famous, Dracula and the Wolf Man, just makes this movie a whole lot better, especially since this is also the only other time Lugosi played the famous vampire.

As far as the comedy aspect of this movie goes, most Abbott and Costello movies do have a tendency to repeat the same basic jokes. And, in all honesty, this movie really isn’t much different. However, the fact the jokes are executed very well does manage to still make them funnier than expected and, even after seeing this movie close to a dozen times, I still find myself laughing at it.

My only real complaint about this movie is the fact they got Strange to play Frankenstein’s Monster rather than Boris Karloff. While Strange isn’t terrible and had plenty of experience playing the monster in previous films, it would have still been nice to have all three major monster movie players commit to this movie, though, admittedly, the monster really doesn’t have much of a role in the movie until the very end (something that is actually a very common theme in many films with Frankenstein’s Monster).

Even after seeing this movie as many times as I have, I still think it is one of the better horror comedies made. It’s a classic film that is worth taking the time to watch if you haven’t seen it before.

My Grade: A