Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is directed by Charles Lamont and loosely based on the novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde written by Robert Louis Stevenson. It stars Bud Abbott, Lou Costello and Boris Karloff. Plot finds Bud and Lou as two coppers in old time London who become involved with the hunt for a monstrous killer. A hunt that brings them into contact with the mysterious Dr. Jekyll.

It would be the fourth from last movie the popular comedy duo would make together, and the latest to see them paired with a famous monster from 30's cinema. Although it's a touch weak in the comedy stakes, and it does kind of feel like they are winding down after such a fruitful career, the film holds up well as a polished picture. The writers have varied the Jekyll & Hyde legend by actually having Jekyll himself be evil, wonderfully essayed by Karloff, and a couple of sequences are genuinely laugh out loud funny: think mouse head, think hypodermic needle; while the involvement of the Suffragettes in the story gives it some historical interest. It's also good on atmosphere, be it the moody streets of London, or Costello alone in a wax museum, Lamont and photographer George Robinson give it a creepy veneer before the anarchy breaks out.

Unlikely to encourage new fans to their work, but a safe addition for those who enjoy the majority of their output. 7/10

While not quite in the same league as A&C MEET FRANKENSTEIN (the top fright flick in the duo's career), ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE does manage to have the stars cavorting in Victorian London while trying to unmask the respectable Dr. Jekyll (BORIS KARLOFF in a delightfully underplayed role) as the mad killer Hyde.

HELEN WESTCOTT and CRAIG STEVENS play the romantic leads in standard fashion but the suffragette sub-plot is really an unnecessary distraction to the overall plot. Some of the sight gags are funny but toward the last segment of the story they're overplayed for whatever laughs can be drawn from the over-the-top situations.

Best segments of the well staged and handsomely mounted film are the scenes involving a wax museum which give the film some of its creepiest moments. The first chimney top chase is well done too and even more effective than the silly final chase which depends so heavily on the comic timing it gets from Stevens, Karloff, Abbott and Costello.

All told, it's got enough plot elements to keep your attention riveted on the story--everything from a sinister laboratory to hidden passages and bookcases that hide Jekyll's sinister experiments. The gaslit Victorian era with fogbound streets is well realized on Universal's studio sets.

Not the best of the A&C comedies, but certainly among the better mirth and fright films they did in the late '40s and early '50s. CRAIG STEVENS plays his role straight, as does Westcott, and together they and Karloff give the story whatever gravitas it has in the realm of boosting the suspenseful elements.

Whenever I see this I see it through Rose-tinted Spectacles: because I first saw it as a kid nostalgia kicks in and all faults are forgiven. There's quite a few of A&C's in that list, The Lost World (1960) springs to my mind as a different another. It certainly helps because in places this is laughably bad, but of course those bits were likely thrown in just for the kids! On the other hand there are some effective atmospheric moments, the set pieces usually work and the overall production values were good. You know the story - good cop bad cop. The classic 4-round-the-chimney routine still holds up, and the very last gag in the film should leave you smiling - unless you have watched this movie all the way through against your will.

Over here, it's fashionable and even de rigueur for film critics (and buffs) to denigrate the entire A&C canon as anything from utterly worthless to as unfunny as death (no kidding!) along with Britain's wartime box office no.1, George Formby. Without watching a single film sometimes. Pity the blinkered high brows as not being quite complete human beings, at always having to view such harmless fun in an Artistic light. Or maybe pity ordinary people who hate A&C but feel they have to force themselves to sit through this and then unload their bile.

Sure, times change (from innocent to cynical) - Jekyll/Karloff passionately says to Vicky that he'd loved her since she was a child - putting a whole new psychological slant on his persona. Has that been cut out yet? And any comedic aspect of animal experimentation has thankfully gone of course - hasn't it? A&C haven't changed, these are typical late performances from them, only with not so many memorable lines.

If you can see this simply as knockabout Jekyll and Hyde with 2 bumbling American policemen in London and nothing more you'll do OK like me.

I found this to be Abbott and Costello's last great movie. It's most underrated. The music and sets create a good Victorian atmosphere. Bud and Lou aren't at their funniest but they are highly enjoyable. Karloff is good too. Kids should love this movie though A+C aren't given much screen time in the first quarter of an hour, but the story is well set by then. Great stuff.

Two bumbling American cops (Tubby and Slim) hunt for the mysterious Mr. Hyde (Eddie Parker) in London, England.

For whatever reason, the more popular Abbott and Costello horror films seem to be with them meeting Frankenstein, the Mummy or "the killer". But this one is really exceptional, with great makeup and transformation scenes and plenty of humor. It also happens to be one of the few that could arguably called scary.

I have credit Eddie Parker as Hyde because he should be recognized. With all due respect to Boris Karloff, Parker made the role with his jumping around and acting the part of the monster. Parker was such a huge figure in Hollywood, but no one has ever heard of him. (Somebody please write a book about him.)