Comedy/Fantasy/Horror
1 hour and 23 minutes
Rating: Passed
Written by: Robert Lees, Frederic I. Rinaldo, and John Grant
Directed by: Charles Barton
Produced by: Robert Arthur
Cast:
Bud Abbott
Lou Costello
Lon Chaney, Jr.
Béla Lugosi
Glenn Strange
Jeepers! The creepers are after Bud and Lou!
The 1940s saw the Universal Monsters movie canon taken to its ultimate limits. With the success of all of the original monster flicks, Universal utilized the growing popularity of motion-pictures as well as the aforementioned success to build an empire off of various sequels, spinoffs, and ripoffs of these movies. While the decade was waning however, interest in the Universal Monsters seemed to be dimming. In another attempt - or gimmick if you prefer - to stir the crowds' interest, Universal decided that it might be best to add a little bit of the comedic flair to these horror films, á la the stylings of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello - the most slaptsticky duo in show business.
The film utilizes the same ideas of previous movies in the Universal Monsters canon, in particular House of Dracula, meaning that the producers thought it best to give the audience not one, not two, but three monsters in one movie. Getting Béla Lugosi to return triumphantly as Count Dracula - his second appearance as Bram Stoker's famous vampire - and of course Lon Chaney, Jr. as the Wolf Man, proved to be a major benefit to the film overall. Only Boris Karloff is missing, but given the little amount of screen time dedicated to Frankenstein's monster, his lack of presence isn't as sorely missed as one would ultimately imagine it to be. The story follows Abbott and Costello as they team up with Chaney to stop Lugosi from reanimating the monster with Costello's "dumbed down" brain. Pretty straight forward given that it's essentially the plot of Frankenstein but funnier and with more monsters.
The story's simplicity allows for the film's comedic elements to really shine forward. When it's all said and done, it is the comedy of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein that really carries the film. Abbott and Costello themselves offer enough yucks to surely make anyone scared of Lugosi's evil, peering eyes feel comfortable yet again. But herein lies the biggest issue about all of this. Because the movie is a comedy, it begs the question of was this the moment of Universal jumping the shark with these monster movies. With no more room to explore the horror genre (let's face it, House of Dracula was an absolute dud), they decide to start over as a comedy. When Count Dracula and Frankenstein's monster became so mainstreamed that they were opened up to this kind of parody, the question of "Why even bother anymore?" has certainly got to be asked. Yes, the humor is fun and does make the movie all the more enjoyable than a lot of its predecessors in the Universal Monsters canon, but in the end this movie signifies the beginning of the end of something wonderful that Universal had created and built an empire off of.
All of that aside, it is enormously wonderful to see Béla Lugosi play Count Dracula yet again. Here he is a little more talkative than you might expect, and one gets the feeling that Lugosi was either enjoying the slapstick nature of the film a little too much or that he was blazed out of his mind during the entire shoot off of morphine or probably both, because he clearly isn't taking his performance as seriously as his previous roles. Gone is the intimidating Lugosi of Tod Browning's Dracula, gone is the horrifying performer that was present in White Zombie or Black Dragons. Here we only see Lugosi going through the motions knowing that he will be praised simply for his Hungarian accent and leering eyes. After all, when we think of Dracula, most of us do think of Lugosi - even if we don't know who the man is.
The real standout is Lon Chaney, Jr. as the Wolf Man. Here, just like in House of Dracula, Chaney's Wolf Man gets to play the film's hero. The final moments of this movie - despite being laugh out loud hysterical - are truly thrilling and it is a major joy to see the Wolf Man go toe-to-toe with Count Dracula. It is a little upsetting that more isn't discussed surrounding this character's sacrifice in the film's denouement, but since this is a comedy and not a serious movie this makes it a little more forgivable. Chaney - like his father before him - shows that he is capable of not just mastering truly physically driven performances, but that he can win you over just as easily from dialogue heavy scenes. He was truly an under appreciated talent just like many of the men who made a name for themselves within the Monsters canon - Lugosi included.
It ought to be noted that the film's special effects work is equally as impressive and praiseworthy as its comedic elements. Chaney's makeup - done by Chaney himself, who like his father preferred things done that way - is as authentic and creepy as it was within the original film, The Wolf Man. Lugosi similarly is cast in the palest of tones, truly looking like Stoker's living dead Count. There are several moments where Dracula transforms to and from a bat done through various animation work, but the animation moves seamlessly and is fun to see - especially since the original Dracula hardly included anything in the way of transformation sequences.
While it may not be as memorable as its predecessors, and it certainly is far from groundbreaking in the way that those movies were, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is a wonderful comedy that manages to charm its way past all of its shortcomings with terrifically funny moments and engaging performances thanks largely to the veterans of this genre, Lugosi and Chaney. Its only major - and without a doubt its biggest - flaw being what it symbolized for these films overall regarding their future and their legacy.
7/10
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