Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951)

Director:

Charles Lamont

Writers:

Hugh Wedlock Jr. (story) and
Howard Snyder (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

7 March 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi | Sport

Tagline:

AS PRIVATE EYES...they're getting an Eyeful!

Plot:

Two bumbling private eyes help a man wrongly accused of murder who has become invisible to help clear his name.

Plot Keywords:

Invisibility | Detective | Manager | Reference To William Shakespeare | Prizefighter

Cast

Bud Abbott	...	Bud Alexander
Lou Costello	...	Lou Francis
Nancy Guild	...	Helen Gray
Arthur Franz	...	Tommy Nelson
Adele Jergens	...	Boots Marsden
Sheldon Leonard	...	Boots Morgan
William Frawley	...	Det. Roberts
Gavin Muir	...	Dr. Philip Gray
Sam Balter	...	Radio Announcer
John Daheim	...	Rocky Hanlon (as John Day)
Paul Maxey	...	Dr. James C. Turner, Police Psychiatrist
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Walter F. Appler	...	Professor Dugan (uncredited)
Howard Banks	...	Officer (uncredited)
Bobby Barber	...	Sneaky (uncredited)
Richard Bartell	...	Bald Man (uncredited)
John Breen	...	Trainer in Gym (uncredited)
Milt Bronson	...	Ring Announcer (uncredited)
Ralph Brooks	...	Man at Bar (uncredited)
Tom Coleman	...	Dugan Detective School Graduate (uncredited)
Russ Conway	...	Newspaperman (uncredited)
Frank Dae	...	Col. Duffie (uncredited)
Roy Darmour	...	Man (uncredited)
Sayre Dearing	...	Reporter (uncredited)
Ralph Dunn	...	Motorcycle Cop (uncredited)
Edward Gargan	...	Milt (uncredited)
Harold Goodwin	...	Bartender (uncredited)
Dick Gordon	...	Man (uncredited)
Kit Guard	...	Fighter on Rowing Machine (uncredited)
Chuck Hamilton	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Stuart Holmes	...	Ringsider with Cigar (uncredited)
Kenner G. Kemp	...	Policeman (uncredited)
Donald Kerr	...	Fight Spectator Behind Boots (uncredited)
Perc Launders	...	Cop (uncredited)
George J. Lewis	...	Torpedo Al (uncredited)
Rory Mallinson	...	Tough Guy at Bar (uncredited)
Ralph Montgomery	...	Photographer (uncredited)
William H. O'Brien	...	Fight Crowd Extra (uncredited)
Franklin Parker	...	Photographer (uncredited)
Jack Perry	...	Rocky's Handler (uncredited)
Syd Saylor	...	Waiter (uncredited)
Edith Sheets	...	Nurse (uncredited)
Jack Shutta	...	Attendant (uncredited)
Carl Sklover	...	Lou's Handler (uncredited)
Billy Snyder	...	Newspaperman (uncredited)
Brick Sullivan	...	Dugan Detective School Graduate (uncredited)
Frankie Van	...	Referee (uncredited)
Herb Vigran	...	Stillwell (uncredited)
Billy Wayne	...	Rooney - Rocky's Manager (uncredited)

Directed by
Charles Lamont

Writing credits
Hugh Wedlock Jr.		(story) and
Howard Snyder		(story)
Robert Lees		(screenplay) and
Frederic I. Rinaldo		(screenplay) and
John Grant		(screenplay)
H.G. Wells		story "The Invisible Man"

Produced by
Howard Christie	....	producer

Cinematography by
George Robinson

Film Editing by
Virgil W. Vogel		(as Virgil Vogel)

Art Direction by
Bernard Herzbrun
Richard H. Riedel		(as Richard Riedel)

Set Decoration by
John P. Austin		(as John Austin)
Russell A. Gausman

Makeup Department
Joan St. Oegger	....	hair stylist
Bud Westmore	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ronald R. Rondell	....	assistant director (as Ronnie Rondell)

Art Department
Ed Keyes	....	property master

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

Special Effects by
David S. Horsley	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Roswell A. Hoffmann	....	optical cinematography

Music Department
Joseph Gershenson	....	musical director
Daniele Amfitheatrof	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Joseph Gershenson	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Johnny Green	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
William Lava	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Milton Rosen	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Miklós Rózsa	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Hans J. Salter	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Walter Scharf	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Frank Skinner	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)
Eric Zeisl	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Universal International Pictures (UI)

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1951) (USA) (theatrical)
• Universal (1951) (France) (theatrical) (as Universal Films S.A.)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)
• Universal Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Home Entertainment (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Home Entertainment (USA) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

82 min | Argentina:86 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:K-12 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #15003) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review)

Filming Locations:

Colonial Street, Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Trivia:

This was originally intended to be a straight film in the Invisible Man series. After the huge grosses from Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), the script was rewritten to make it another thrill comedy with Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. As it happened, Abbott and Costello met an invisible man in the earlier film, too, but it was a different character.

Goofs:

Plot holes: Since Lou never completes counting out the bribe money that he has found in the box of flowers, Bud could not know that it totals $15,000.

Quotes:

Det. Roberts:[Tommy Nelson is gone] How did he get out?
Lou Francis:Installments.
Det. Roberts:Installments?
Lou Francis:Yeah, he did a Gypsy Rose Lee, come here!
[they find Tommy's clothes lying about]
Lou Francis:That, that's all that's left of him.
Det. Roberts:Evidently Nelson changed clothes... what was he wearing when you last saw him?
Lou Francis:Air... nothing but air... and then he asked me how he looked.
Det. Roberts:Wearing air? What are you talking about?
Lou Francis:I went to shake his hand, his hand was gone, I looked up to speak to him, his head was gone. Then he took off his shirt, his body was gone, he took off his pants, his legs were gone! Then he spoke to me, I was gone.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Svengoolie: Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man" (2006)

One Way of Looking at the "A&C Meet..." Series

To me, this is arguably the best of the "A&C Meet…" series. The boys get mixed up with a prizefighter accused of murder who escapes the cops and gangsters by turning invisible with the help of an experimental serum. Naturally, this leads to an array of amusing hijinks.

The comic potential here is greater than in other A&C monster entries (…Meet Frankenstein; … Meet the Mummy; etc.) because the menace here has the power of invisibility. That means the menace can challenge the boys in public without the public knowing it. On the other hand, the other monsters can't mix in public without being seen which narrows the comic potential to haunted houses or other non-public spaces.

For example, take the punching bag scene. It looks like Lou (Costello) has lightning speed rocking the bag when in reality it's the invisible boxer Tommy (Franz) who's doing it. There're a number of set-ups like this where the public is astonished by Lou's apparent powers, while actor Costello milks the comic potential.

That's not to say the other monster entries are not funny to varying degrees. But the monsters are restricted in these movies to scaring everyone in over-the-top fashion, whereas being invisible greatly expands the possibilities, such as the nightclub scene with the poor flummoxed waiter (Syd Saylor) who can't figure out who's doing what.

Anyway, the movie's consistently amusing and inventive. However, I wish we saw more of that great flashy blonde Adele Jergens (Marsden) and that great phony gangster Sheldon Leonard (Morgan). Seeing them together here resembles a match made in some cheap nightclub heaven. All in all, this is one of my A&C favorites among their many comedies.