Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein

Top ten. Desert Island Disc. Universal's best-ever monster rally. Bud and Lou are at the top of their game, even Mrs Costello Snr said so. You get Bela Lugosi as Dracula for only the second and final time in his career. Lugosi is a joy; he plays Dracula as more suave, more sinister, and more disarmingly fatherly, than his continental goof-ball 1931 interpretation. Lon Chaney Jr on the other hand plays Larry Talbot as a TOTAL goof-ball, finally gone around the bend from the stress of his monstrous double-life; muttering dire warnings about imminent moon-rises that he then totally fails to heed; making anonymous life-or-death demands of clueless Lou via transatlantic phone call; fronting up to his nemesis Dracula at last, after pursuing him across continents, only to wilt shamefacedly before the Count's minor-league mind-games. Glen Strange looks great in the new streamlined makeup (alas for Jack Pierce, however) and has a thousand per cent more to do as the Frankenstein Monster, than in both his earlier 'cameo' appearances in the 'HOUSE OF' movies put together. The score is marvelous and director Barton keeps things moving at a cracking good pace. And what a straight man is Bud Abbott! He even gets to play a few lines with genuine drama here, once he realises Lou really isn't delusional. Highly recommended for Universal Monster fans, A&C fans, and movie fans in general.