Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955)

Bud and Lou find themselves pursued by an Egyptian cult for a special medallion linked to a walking mummy.

Director:

Charles Lamont

Writers:

Lee Loeb (story), John Grant (screenplay)

Stars:

Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Marie Windsor

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Bud Abbott	...	Pete Patterson
Lou Costello	...	Freddie Franklin
Marie Windsor	...	Madame Rontru
Michael Ansara	...	Charlie
Dan Seymour	...	Josef
Richard Deacon	...	Semu
Kurt Katch	...	Dr. Gustav Zoomer
Richard Karlan	...	Hetsut
Mel Welles	...	Iben
George Khoury	...	Habid
Eddie Parker	...	Klaris, the Mummy (as Edwin Parker)
Mazzone-Abbott Dancers	...	Dance Troupe (as The Mazzone-Abbott Dancers)
Chandra Kaly and His Dancers	...	Dance Troupe
Peggy King	...	Vocalist
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Paul Marion	...	Native (scenes deleted)

Storyline

In Egypt Peter and Freddie find the archaeologist Dr. Zoomer murdered before they can return to America. A medallion leads them to a crypt where a revived mummy provides the terror.

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Plot Keywords:

medallion | mummy | crypt | archaeologist | egypt | 

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Taglines:

It has been said that a man's best friend is his mummy...

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Horror

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

23 June 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

Meet the Mummy

Box Office

Budget:

$738,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In Universal's previous mummy films, the mummy was called "Kharis". In this film, the name of the mummy has been changed from "Kharis" to "Klaris."

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Goofs

When Abbott and Costello are eating the hamburgers and trying to distract each other by pointing out beautiful women in order to slip the other the cursed medallion, they call each other by their real names, not their characters' names.

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Quotes

Lou Costello aka Freddie Franklin: Ask Klaris, he's the one that got us into this.
Bud Abbott aka Peter Patterson: And he's going to get us out of it.

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Crazy Credits

In the final credits, the boys are listed with fake character names. Throughout the movie, they use their real names.

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Connections

Spoofs The Mummy's Tomb (1942)

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Soundtracks

"You Came A Long Way From St. Louis"
Written by Bob Russell and John Benson Brooks
Sung by Peggy King

User Reviews

A Fond Farewell

When the murder of an archaeologist puts a valuable medallion into their hands, Abbott and Costello waste little time in trying to sell it--only to find themselves pursued by police, a slinky adventuress, an Egyptian high priest, and the mummy himself. The concept is amusing, but the real charm of any Abbott and Costello film is the charismatic comic interplay between the stars. Unfortunately, the 1955 MEET THE MUMMY finds the two at a creative low ebb.

Featuring such notable character actors as Richard Deacon and Marie Windsor, the film is competently made and very easy to watch, but to say it lacks the inspiration of Abbott and Costello's best work would be a tremendous understatement. At most, MEET THE MUMMY is mildly amusing in a broadly slapstick sort of way, good for an occasional chuckle at best. It would be their last film at Universal and their next-to-last screen appearance together, so it might be best regarded as a fond farewell.

Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer