Tubby (Lou Costello) and Slim (Bud Abbott) are two bumbling American cops trying to prove their worth by tracking down the monster that has been terrorising the streets of London. Handsome reporter Bruce Adams (Craig Stevens) is also on the trail of the savage beast, but finds himself distracted by beautiful showgirl/suffragette Vicky Edwards (Helen Westcott), whose guardian is renowned scientist Dr. Henry Jekyll, who has been using a special serum to transform himself into the wicked Mr. Hyde in order to dispose of his enemies. Naughty Jekyll is secretly in love with Vicky and so Adams goes to the top of his hit list.
Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is perhaps the funniest of the Abbott and Costello monster movies: there's less of the duo's creaky old vaudevillian routines and more crazy knockabout silliness; Boris Karloff is perfect as the shifty doctor with designs on his sexy ward; the monster is great, Hyde being a hairy, grunting ape-like creature that is equal parts scary and funny; Westcott is totally gorgeous (what a pair of gams!); and Tubby (Costello) turns into a giant mouse (my favourite part of the whole film)!
Other standout moments include the monster running loose in a theatre, Tubby repeatedly sitting on a syringe, four characters sneaking around a chimney on a rooftop, Tubby being pursued by a waxwork statue of Frankenstein's monster, Tubby being transformed into a monster and hiding in a pram and jumping onto a 3-seated tandem, and a terrific finale in which several members of London's finest are also turned into snarling beasts. 7/10.
Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is perhaps the funniest of the Abbott and Costello monster movies: there's less of the duo's creaky old vaudevillian routines and more crazy knockabout silliness; Boris Karloff is perfect as the shifty doctor with designs on his sexy ward; the monster is great, Hyde being a hairy, grunting ape-like creature that is equal parts scary and funny; Westcott is totally gorgeous (what a pair of gams!); and Tubby (Costello) turns into a giant mouse (my favourite part of the whole film)!
Other standout moments include the monster running loose in a theatre, Tubby repeatedly sitting on a syringe, four characters sneaking around a chimney on a rooftop, Tubby being pursued by a waxwork statue of Frankenstein's monster, Tubby being transformed into a monster and hiding in a pram and jumping onto a 3-seated tandem, and a terrific finale in which several members of London's finest are also turned into snarling beasts. 7/10.