Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953)

Two bumbling American cops hunt for the mysterious Mr. Hyde in London, England.

Director:

Charles Lamont

Writers:

Lee Loeb (screenplay), John Grant (screenplay)

Stars:

Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Boris Karloff

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Bud Abbott	...	Slim
Lou Costello	...	Tubby
Boris Karloff	...	Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Hyde
Craig Stevens	...	Bruce Adams
Helen Westcott	...	Vicky Edwards
Reginald Denny	...	Inspector
John Dierkes	...	Batley

Storyline

Slim and Tubby are American cops in London to study police tactics. They wind up in jail and are bailed out by Dr. Jekyll. Jekyll has been murdering fellow doctors who laugh at his experiments. He has more murders in mind. At one point the serum that turns Jekyll into the murderous Hyde gets injected into Tubby.

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Plot Keywords:

looking at oneself in a mirror | shared universe | jekyll | abbott and costello | murder | 

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Taglines:

The Laughs Are Twice as MONSTER-OUS as Ever Before!

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 August 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Hyde

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

76 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Unlike other versions of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, this time Jekyll is pretty evil in his own right. He seems to have no qualms about deliberately becoming Mr. Hyde so he can commit a murder.

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Goofs

When Costello was standing by the mannequin of George Washington, the mannequin blinked.

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Quotes

Slim: Now look! You can't make two persons out of one. If there's a monster, there's a monster. If there's a Dr. Jekyll, there's a Dr. Jekyll. But one can't be the other.
Tubby: Now listen Slim. All I know is that I locked up the monster and when I came back, Dr. Jekyll was there. You know I'm no magician.

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Connections

Version of Jekyll & Hyde (1995)

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Soundtracks

Till We Women Get to Vote
(uncredited)
Performed by Helen Westcott

User Reviews

Laughs, Lunacy, and Karloff

Abbott and Costello started with Frankenstein in 1948, and then proceeded to meet all the great monsters. In this film, the cowardly, hilarious duo team up with the King of Horror, Boris Karloff, as the misguided, evil Dr. Jekyll and his counterpart as the malicious, psychotic Mr. Hyde. This is the next best horror-comedy film for the duo after Frankenstein. It has wonderful sets, funny moments, and fantastic makeup as various individuals turn into Hyde-like beasts and Lou turns into a giant mouse. Karloff somehow remains his ever so serious self, amidst the slapstick humour. You can all most look in his eyes and see him thinking he is above this, but he turns in a very nice performance nonetheless.