USA, 1948
83m, 7139 feet/2176 metres
35mm film, black and white
mono, English
Reviewed at The EOFFTV Review
An American comedy horror film directed by Charles T. Barton. The on-screen title is Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein but it is more commonly known as Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. It is the first in a series of films where the duo meets the classic characters from the Universal horror film series. It was also the second and final time that Bela Lugosi played Dracula for Universal.
Plot Summary
Dracula is searching for a new brain for the Frankenstein monster and thinks he's found it in the shape of the dim-witted Wilbur Grey. Dracula is assisted by a mad female doctor and ultimately thwarted in his bid for world domination by werewolf Larry Talbot.
Credits
* = uncredited
Crew
Directed by: Charles T. Barton
Copyright MCMXLVIII [1948] by Universal Pictures Company, Inc.
Universal-International presents a Universal-International picture
Produced by: Robert Arthur
Original Screeenplay by: Robert Lees, Frederic I. Rinaldo, John Grant
Characters: Bram Stoker *, Mary Shelley *
Assistant Director: Joseph Kenny
Script Supervisor: B. Abbott *
Director of Photography: Charles Van Enger
Stills: Glen Adams *
Film Editor: Frank Gross
Music: Frank Skinner
Orchestrations: David Tamkin
Sound: Leslie I. Carey, Robert Pritchard
Sound System: Western Electric Recording
Gowns: Grace Houston
Make-Up: Bud Westmore
Make-Up Assistant: Jack Kevan *
Hair Stylist: Carmen Dirigo
Special Photography: David S. Horsley, Jerome Ash
Art Direction: Bernard Herzbrun, Hilyard Brown
Set Decorations: Russell A. Gausman, Oliver Emert
Cast
Bud Abbott (Chick [Young])
Lou Costello (Wilbur [Grey])
Lon Chaney (the wolfman, Lawrence Talbot)
Bela Lugosi (Dracula)
Glenn Strange (the [Frankenstein] monster)
Lenore Aubert (Sandra Mornay)
Jane Randolph (Joan Raymond)
Frank Ferguson (Mr McDougal)
Charles Bradstreet (Dr Stevens)
Vincent Price [the invisible man's voice] *
Alternative Titles
Abbott and Costello Meet the Ghosts – UK title
Abbott and Costello en Ontmoeten Frankenstein – Dutch title
Abbott et Costello contre Frankenstein – French title
Abbott et Costello et les Monstres – Belgian title
Abbott und Costello treffen Frankenstein – German title
The Brain of Frankenstein – shooting title
Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein
Il cervello di Frankenstein – Italian title
Deux nigauds contre Frankenstein – alternative French title
Meet the Ghosts – alternate UK title
Mein Gott, Frankenstein – German title
Links
Sequel to
Dracula (1931)
Frankenstein (1931)
The Mummy (1932)
The Wolf Man (1941)
Remakes
El castillo de los monstruos (1957)
Frankenstein, el vampiro y cia (1961)
Haram alek (1953)
Extracts included in
100 Years of Horror (1996)
AFI's 100 Years, 100 Laughs: America's Funniest Movies (2000)
The Case Against the 20% Federal Admissions Tax on Motion Picture Theatres (1953)
Coming Soon (1982)
Horrible Horror (1986)
Let's Go to the Movies (1949)
The Philadelphia Experiment (1984)
Precious Images (1986)
Terror in the Aisles (1984)
Universal Horror (1998)
The World of Abbott and Costello (1965)
References
Periodicals
- Absurd no.9 – credits, review
- Castle of Frankenstein no.6 p.4
- Classic Images no.325 (July 2002) p.49 – illustrated article (Bad girls of the B's by Ted Holland)
- Fangoria no.199 (January 2001) pp.70-71 – illustrated DVD review (DVD dungeon by Michael Gingold)
- Film Ireland no.102 (January/February 2005) pp.12-14 – illustrated article (A-Z of Cult Cinema: Video Trash and Treasure from the Vaults by Mark Venner)
- Filmfax no.57 (August/September 1996) pp.26-27 – illustrated review (On the video release by David J. Hogan)
- Midi-Minuit Fantastique no.4/5 (January 1963) p.152 – review
- Monthly Film Bulletin vol.1 no.189 (September 1949) – credits, review
- Scary Monsters no.114 (Fall 2019) p.63 – illustrated article (The wolf man's movie transformations by Ernie Magnotta)
- Today's Cinema vol.7 no.5833 (26 July 1949) p.7 – review
- TV Times 11-17 February 1989 p.35 – review
Books
- The Abbott and Costello Book by Jim Mulholland pp.31, 140-144, 229
- Abbott and Costello on the Home Front: A Critical Study of the Wartime Films by Scott Allen Nollen p.194 – illustrated credits
- The Abbott & Costello Story by Stephen Cox and John Lofflin pp.222-223
- The Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Horror (2nd edition) by Phil Hardy (ed.) p.94 – credits, review
- Aurum Film Encyclopedia: Science Fiction by Phil Hardy (ed) p.116 – illustrated credits, review
- Censored Screams: The British Ban on Hollywood Horror in the Thirties by Tom Johnson p.180 – note
- Cinematic Vampires by John L. Flynn pp.71-73
- Classic Horror Films and the Literature That Inspired Them by Ron Backer pp.25; 88 – notes
- Classic Movie Monsters by Donald F. Glut pp.xi, 19, 27-30, 34,36, 39,147, 185,260, 272 – notes
- Count Dracula Goes to the Movies: Stoker's Novel Adapted (3rd Edition) by Lyndon W. Joslin pp.187-189 – illustrated credits, review
- Creature Features Movie Guide Strikes Again by John Stanley p.10 – credits, review
- A Critical Guide to Horror Film Series by Ken Hanke pp.46-47; 49 – review
- Cult Flicks and Trash Pics p.1 – credits, review
- Dracula in the Dark: The Dracula Film Adaptations by James Craig Holte pp.44-45 – note
- Dracula in Visual Media: Film, Television, Comic Book and Electronic Game Appearances, 1921-201 by John Edgar Browning and Caroline Joan (Kay) Picart pp.41-42 – illustrated credits, review
- The Encyclopedia of Fantastic Film p.1 – credits
- Encyclopedia of Science Fiction Films from 1897 to the Present by C.J. Henderson p.2 – credits, synopsis
- Fantastic Cinema Subject Guide p.210 – credits, review
- The Films of Vincent Price by Iain F. McAsh pp.10; 38 – note; credits
- Hoffman's Guide to SF, Horror and Fantasy Movies 1991-1992 p.14 – credits, review
- Horror and Science Fiction Films: A Checklist by Donald C. Willis p.14 – credits
- Horror and Science Fiction Films II by Donald C. Willis p.1 – credits
- The Horror Factory: The Horror Films of Universal 1931-1955 by Bruce Dettman and Michael Bedford pp.154-159; 170 – article, review; credits
- Horror Film Handbook by Alan Frank p.10 – credits, review
- Horror Films by Subgenre: A Viewer's Guide by Chris Vander Kaay and Kathleen Fernandez-Vander Kaay pp.57-58 – review
- Horror, Science Fiction and Fantasy Film Television Credits II by Harris M. Lentz p.731 – credits
- The Horror Spoofs of Abbott and Costello: A Critical Assessment of the Comedy Team's Monster Films by Jeffrey S. Miller pp.2-3, 18, 22. 23-24, 29-64, 65, 68, 69, 71, 72, 75, 76, 78, 82-83, 84, 90, 93, 98, 100, 101, 102, 118, 120, 123, 127, 134, 141, 146, 150-151, 152, 162, 164, 168, 169, 187, 188, 190, 191, 192, 194, 196, 208, 209, 210, 211, 216, 218
- Horrors from Screen to Scream by Ed Naha pp.1-2 – illustrated note
- The Illustrated Vampire Movie Guide by Stephen Jones p.27 – credits, review
- Merchant of Menace: The Life and Films of Vincent Price by Denis Meikle p.45 – note
- The Monster Movies of Universal Studios by James L. Neibaur pp.151-164 – illustrated credits, article
- A Pictorial History of Horror Movies by Denis Gifford p.142 – illustrated note
- The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film by Michael Weldon p.2 – credits, review
- Reference Guide to Fantastic Films by Walt Lee p.1 – credits
- Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror Film Sequels, Series, and Remakes by Kim R. Holston and Tom Winchester p.135, 192-194 – illustrated credits, review
- Science Fiction Film Source Book by David Wingrove p.20 – credits, review
- Universal Studios Monsters: A Legacy of Horror by Michael Mallory pp.202-204 – illustrated article
- The Vampire in Science Fiction Film and Literature by Paul Meehan pp.4, 101-103, 172
- Video Source Book 13th Edition (1992) vol.1 p.2 – video data, credits
- Vincent Price: The Art of Fear by Denis Meikle p.19 – note
- Vincent Price Unmasked by James Robert Parish and Steven Whitney pp.68; 176-177 – note; credits
- Vintage Science Fiction Films, 1896-194 by Michael Benson p.131 – review
- The Werewolf Filmography by Bryan Senn p.21-23 – illustrated credits, review
