Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

Director:

Charles Barton

Writers:

Robert Lees (screenplay) &
Frederic I. Rinaldo (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

15 June 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

It's a grand new Idea for FUN !

Plot:

Two hapless freight handlers find themselves encountering Dracula, the Frankenstein Monster and the Wolf Man.

Plot Keywords:

Dracula | Monster | Frankenstein's Monster | Full Moon | Universal Monsters

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Bud Abbott	...	Chick
Lou Costello	...	Wilbur
Lon Chaney Jr.	...	Larwrence Talbot (as Lon Chaney)
Bela Lugosi	...	Dracula
Glenn Strange	...	Monster
Lenore Aubert	...	Sandra Mornay
Jane Randolph	...	Joan Raymond
Frank Ferguson	...	Mr. McDougal
Charles Bradstreet	...	Dr. Stevens
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bobby Barber	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Harry Brown	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Joe Kirk	...	Man at Costume Party in Fez (uncredited)
Howard Negley	...	Harris - Insurance Man (uncredited)
Vincent Price	...	The Invisible Man (voice) (uncredited)
Carl Sklover	...	Man at Costume Party (uncredited)
Helen Spring	...	Woman at Baggage Counter (uncredited)
Paul Stader	...	Sergeant (uncredited)
Clarence Straight	...	Man in Armor (uncredited)

Directed by
Charles Barton		(as Charles T. Barton)

Writing credits
Robert Lees		(screenplay) &
Frederic I. Rinaldo		(screenplay) &
John Grant		(screenplay)
Mary Shelley		characters (uncredited)
Bram Stoker		characters (uncredited)

Produced by
Robert Arthur	....	producer

Original Music by
Frank Skinner

Cinematography by
Charles Van Enger

Film Editing by
Frank Gross

Art Direction by
Hilyard M. Brown		(as Hilyard Brown)
Bernard Herzbrun

Set Decoration by
Oliver Emert
Russell A. Gausman

Costume Design by
Grace Houston		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Carmen Dirigo	....	hair stylist
Bud Westmore	....	makeup artist
Jack Kevan	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Emile LaVigne	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Henry Spitz	....	production manager (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Joseph E. Kenney	....	assistant director (as Joseph E. Kenny)

Sound Department
Leslie I. Carey	....	sound
Robert Pritchard	....	sound

Special Effects by
Jerome Ash	....	special photography
David S. Horsley	....	special photography
Fred Knoth	....	special effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Eddie Parker	....	stunts (uncredited)
Helen Thurston	....	stunt double: Lenore Aubert (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Glen Adams	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Robert Pierce	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Animation Department
Walter Lantz	....	director: animation sequence (uncredited)

Music Department
David Tamkin	....	orchestrator

Other crew
Norman Abbott	....	dialogue director (uncredited)
Betty A. Griffin	....	script supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Universal International Pictures (UI)

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1948) (USA) (theatrical)
• Universal Film (1948) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Nova Film (1949) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Doperfilme (1950) (Portugal) (theatrical)
• Realart Pictures Inc. (1956) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (????) (USA) (DVD)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (????) (Venezuela) (VHS)
• Universal Home Entertainment (????) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" - USA (alternative title)
"Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein" - USA (poster title)

Runtime:

83 min | Argentina:90 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Finland:(Banned) (1949) | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #13109) | Canada:G (Quebec) | USA:TV-PG | Netherlands:14 (original rating) (1949) | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Stage 15, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Trivia:

Bobby Barber was employed for the film as a "court jester". It was his job to keep the energy level up through a series of practical jokes and purposefully blown takes. Often when Lou Costello expected Lon Chaney Jr. to come through the door, Barber would run in wearing a hat and cape and immediately run back out. Bela Lugosi enjoyed Barber's antics as long he was not the victim. On one particular occasion while filming a scene in which the solemn and sinister Dracula descends a staircase he was followed by Barber, who imitated his every move. After the cast and crew burst into laughter Lugosi glared at Barber and yelled in his thick Hungarian accent, "We should not be playing while we are working!" and then stormed off the set.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Obvious mannequin when the monster walks into the flames on the pier.

Quotes:

Chick Young:Professor, do you understand women?
Prof. Stevens:I don't even try. I'm gonna get me a drink.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater (2004) (VG)

Scarily Funny!

There are two schools of thought regarding 'Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein'. The first holds that the movie represents the nadir of the Universal Monsters cycle, with three once-great monsters reduced to playing second-fiddle to a couple of Laurel and Hardy wannabes. The alternative view, which I hold, is that this movie is a classic comedy-horror, perhaps the best example of that hybrid sub-genre until John Landis' 'An American Werewolf In London' emerged in 1981.

'A&CMF' warrants classic status because it is probably the best Universal horror film since 'The Wolf Man' (1941); certainly it has a much stronger narrative thread, not to mention a better reason for the three monsters coming together, than either 'House Of Frankenstein'(1944) or 'House Of Dracula'(1945). The problem with those two movies is that Dracula, Frankenstein's Monster and The Wolf Man's coming together seemed purely coincidental, with Dracula not even encountering the other two in 'House Of Frankenstein' (which feels like two short films cobbled together, with only Boris Karloff's Dr. Neimann & J. Carroll Naish's hunchback providing a link between them) and 'House Of Dracula' only featuring a few scenes with more than one monster. 'Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein', by having The Wolf Man pursuing Dracula and the Monster, and also having Dracula plan to put Lou Costello's brain into the Frankenstein Monster (with the help of the duplicitous Dr. Mornay) provides an extremely satisfactory reason for the various characters coming together.

As for the acting, it has often been pointed out that this film works because the monster actors (Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr & Glenn Strange) play it straight, and this is very true, with Chaney's tortured soul act contrasting well with Lou Costello's one-liners (especially the famous 'you and twenty million other guys' joke). Lugosi, playing Dracula for only the second time, is wonderfully grandiose and even Glenn Strange, who is basically only required to lumber about, does what he does well, and he has a lot more to do than in the 'House of' movies. Abbott and Costello are very funny, using fewer verbal routines than normal, but doing some highly entertaining slapstick gags, and the supporting cast do very well, notably Frank Ferguson as the blustering McDougal, barely controlling his exasperation at Lou Costello's incompetence. Lenore Aubert as Dr. Sandra Mornay does well, and it's interesting to see a female mad scientist, particularly taking into account when this film was made. Charles Bradstreet and Jane Randolph have less to do in their parts, but neither of them drags the film down

All in all, 'A&CMF' is a movie that deserves a much greater reputation than it has acquired in some circles, and is probably the high point of the Abbott and Costello filmography