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

This is Boris Karloff's second time in a movie with Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. They previously collaborated on Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet the Killer Boris Karloff (1949).

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Goofs

This movie is set in the 1890's, but the Dracula/Frankenstein dummies in the Wax Museuum are the Universal portrayals from the 1940's.

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Quotes

Tubby: Hey Slim? Slim? I gotta go home. I forgot something.
Slim: What did you forget?
Tubby: I forgot to stay there.

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Connections

Version of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1968)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Almost their last hurrah!

Admittedly inferior to their arguably best "Meet" film ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN five years earlier during their golden age, this was easily the best of their films in their declining years of the early to mid fifties.

The boys play a pair of NY cops on a work-experience exchange in Victorian London. They are soon on the trail of the diabolical MR HYDE (played on and off by Karloff) having already met Dr Jekyll in "polite society"

The story makes for some top comedic moments for Bud and Lou. The climactic chase after Lou is turned accidentally into a mouse is funny stuff. And thats all this is - funny stuff. A few reviewers here have gotten themselves into the psychology of the characters and seem miffed in the extreme at the liberties taken with R L Stevenson's original characters. Live with it...this was a highly watchable comedy and should be viewed upon the impact it made in 1953 NOT the new millennium.