Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

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

Director:

Charles Barton (as Charles T. Barton)

Writers:

Robert Lees (original screenplay), Frederic I. Rinaldo (original screenplay)

Stars:

Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lon Chaney Jr.

3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Bud Abbott	...	Chick
Lou Costello	...	Wilbur
Lon Chaney Jr.	...	Lawrence 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

Storyline

The world of freight handlers Wilbur Grey and Chick Young is turned upside down when the remains of Frankenstein's monster and Dracula arrive from Europe to be used in a house of horrors. Dracula awakens and escapes with the weakened monster, who he plans to re-energize with a new brain. Larry Talbot (the Wolfman) arrives from London in an attempt to thwart Dracula. Dracula's reluctant aide is the beautiful Dr. Sandra Mornay. Her reluctance is dispatched by Dracula's bite. Dracula and Sandra abduct Wilbur for his brain and recharge the monster in preparation for the operation. Chick and Talbot attempt to find and free Wilbur, but when the full moon rises all hell breaks loose with the Wolfman, Dracula, and Frankenstein all running rampant.

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Plot Keywords:

spoof | crate | warning | full moon | supernatural power | 

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Taglines:

More howls than you can shake a shiver at!!!

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Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 June 1948 (USA)

Also Known As:

Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein

Filming Locations:

Benedict Castle, Riverside, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$800,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$3,200,000, 31 December 1948

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Universal contract players Dorothy Hart and Ella Raines were originally cast as "Joan Raymond". Hart was dropped in favor of Raines, who asked to be released because she felt that her part would be overshadowed by the monsters. The part was then given to Jane Randolph.

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Goofs

Talbot , Wilbur and Chick arrive at the Masquerade Ball and you can plainly see it's already evening (with full moon in the sky), which means that Larry Talbot should have changed into the Wolfman already.

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Quotes

Dr. Sandra Mornay: Don't you know what's going to happen now?
Wilbur Grey: I'll bite.
Dr. Sandra Mornay: Oh, no. I will.

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Crazy Credits

Charles Bradstreet is credited as Dr. Stevens, but his character is never once called "Doctor." He is always referred to as Professor Stevens.

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Connections

Referenced in Have Mercy (1953)

User Reviews

Monsterfest: Bud and Lou style

Perennially snakebit, Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney) can't even make a dire phone-call to clueless Wilbur Gray (Lou Costello) without that pesky full moon getting in the way. Of course, this opening scene is all just a nice excuse for the new Universal makeup wizard, Bud Westmore, to show off his new, streamlined Wolf Man transformations. It looks good enough, though it seems whatever Lon Chaney may have gained in comfort from Bud's less time-consuming makeup, he had to trade-off any facial mobility as his face looks fixed in the same expression throughout the film.

Bud and Lou's misadventures unloading McDougal's crates is a great mix of laughs & chills where we get to see a variation of the "moving candle" bit, Dracula reviving the monster, and for the first time in any Universal picture the camera doesn't move or cut away as the vampire exits from his coffin. And Glenn Strange, looking rather gruesome in Westmore's best makeup work, seems creakier than ever before as the monster.

I have to mention one of my personal favorite Bud/Lou moments when they make their first trip to the island with Joan Raymond: Lou tells Bud in reference to Joan "she's mine too" then proceeds to dab his mouth with Bud's necktie.

While the mere presence of Abbott and Costello in this picture may turn the stomachs of many "horror purists", it's obvious that great care was taken by the filmmakers not to ridicule the monsters. Without the two comics, you would still have a standard Universal horror film. With them, it remains a movie that shows more skill & thought was put into it than the last "serious" monster film "House of Dracula" and I am personally glad that Universal didn't let the monsters die with that misfire.