Abbott & Costello Meet The Killer, Boris Karloff (1949)

Compared to the high quality of the previous outings, this is another lesser Abbott & Costello movie (and easily one of the weakest movies that they starred in under the direction of the dependable Charles Barton) but, as I have said about a few of their other movies, it's still a fun viewing and worth watching if you're a fan of the duo.

Bud Abbott plays Casey Edwards, a hotel detective who ends up with a dead body in his hotel and a pretty decent amount of suspects (including, of course, Boris Karloff). Lou Costello is Freddie Phillips, the incompetent bellboy who ends up being the main suspect as pieces of evidence, and more bodies, start piling up around him.

While this doesn't have many of the really great routines that A & C were famous for it does have a few very good moments scattered here and there. One extended sequence involving some corpses that our leads don't want discovered in their vicinity is particularly enjoyable, mixing some good physical work with a number of fun verbal gags.

The script by Hugh Wedlock Jr, Howard Snyder and John Grant is okay but it's a shame that the whole thing couldn't have been given a bit more care around the important laughs. It's true that many A & C movies feel like little more than pantomimes put onscreen but this film seems to have been made without anyone involved remembering that it should also hang together as a whole movie. As such, it feels like it slightly outstays its welcome even at the brisk 84 minutes it runs for and there's very little of interest in the moments that focus on the murder mystery element of the film.

The direction is okay but the material is hampered by an instantly forgettable cast. Oh, our leads do their usual good work and Boris Karloff is enjoyable enough in the few scenes that he has but nobody else stands out. James Flavin, Lenore Aubert, Gar Moore, Donna Martell, Alan Mowbray, Mikel Conrad and others have their time onscreen but, while I won't exaggerate and say that I remember none of them, not a one of them makes any lasting impression.

Oh, and one last thing. Don't let the title mislead you.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Abbott-Costello-Meet-Killer-Jekyll/dp/B000H7ZZH4

Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

Bringing together two things I loved in my youth, Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein easily remains one of my favourite A & C outings. Of course, purists will balk at a number of factors. The fact that they don't actually MEET Frankenstein but, rather, Frankenstein's monster is one minor criticism often brought up but I must say that this is simply a minor error in an effort to truncate the title because throughout the film the monster is known as The Monster (or Junior, etc). It is never mislabelled as Frankenstein. The other criticism often levelled at this film, and a major one, is that it really was the end of the line for the classic Universal monsters and many fans of those great horror movies saw this as a real dignity-stripping fanfare for the villains they loved (Glenn Strange plays "The Monster" while Bela Lugosi returns to play Dracula and Lon Chaney Jr. once again embodies Larry Talbot/The Wolfman). This is a harder criticism to just shrug off and I think it comes down to personal taste. The monsters themselves aren't necessarily the butt of most of the jokes but they're certainly not the feared figures they once were. Personally, I love the clash between that world of cobwebs and creaking coffin lids and the patter of Abbott & Costello.

The plot sees our comedy duo getting themselves caught up in quite a monster mash between all of those I've already mentioned. I don't think I need to say any more though I will say that the plot has at least been created with a decent idea or two used to bring this motley crew together.

Director Charles Barton is at the helm once again and does a great job, once again. The performances are all quite enjoyable - as well as those icons of horror we also have decent support from Lenore Aubert, Jane Randolph, Frank Ferguson and Charles Bradstreet (there's even a fleeting cameo from Vincent Price) - and the movie wastes no time in setting up the action and wringing the laughs from it. Robert Lees, Frederic I. Rinaldo and John Grant are back on the writing duties and the premise of the movie allows them to create some real gems. This is the movie with the following, unforgettable exchange -

Larry Talbot: "You don't understand. Every night when the moon is full, I turn into a wolf."
Wilbur: "You and twenty million other guys."

I wish I could recommend this to everyone and know that they would like it as unconditionally as I do but I know that will never happen. In the meantime, I just hope that some people give it a viewing soon and find themselves laughing more often than not.

9/10.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Abbott-Costello-Meet-Frankenstein-Mummy/dp/B000GKHM28