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 | abbott and costello | dr. jekyll and mr. hyde characters | nine word title | 

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Taglines:

All New ! All Wild ! All Fun !

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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

Vicky Edwards: Oh... which address do you prefer?
Bruce Adams: Yours. Otherwise how can I mail you what I write about your suffragette movement?
Vicky Edwards: Are you sure it's the cause you're interested in?
Bruce Adams: Oh! Naturally!

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Connections

Version of Jekyll and Hyde... Together Again (1982)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Boris Karloff Version.

Abbott & Costello play Slim & Tubby, two American policemen in London in order to study their local police tactics. They get a big chance when a series of murders break out with respected doctors being the victims. It turns out to be the work of Henry Jekyll(played nicely by Boris Karloff) who is frustrated and vengeful against the men who laughed at his research and theories. He developed the serum that turned him into Mr. Hyde, who is more athletic and stronger than Jekyll. Hyde becomes the object of a manhunt, with the expected comedic results. Despite the decline in quality of their films, this is an unexpected bright spot, being both funny and scary, and directed with energy and enthusiasm. I agree it would have been better if Karloff had the chance to do an entirely serious adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson novel, but this will have to do!