After all the earlier, failed attempts to kill Frankenstein’s monster with floods, fire, boiling sulfur, and suchlike, Abbott and Costello finally did him in. And by that I mean they reduced him to a foil for their comedy routine, which is as thorough a demise as can be imagined. It’s said that the movie essentially emasculated Frankenstein as a horror icon. And the rest of the Universal’s run with its classic monsters henceforth took a comic turn (Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951), Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955)…)
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is actually another another of those multi-monster movies, as it includes not just Frankenstein’s monster but also Dracula, the Wolfman, and (as a gag at the end) the Invisible Man. And notably, this movie uses the actual, famous actors that earlier played the monsters for Universal: Lon Chaney, Jr. as the Wolfman, Glenn Strange as Frankenstein’s monster, and Bela Lugosi as Dracula. In fact, this is the only time that Lugosi reprised his role as Dracula after the 1931 original. (Of course, Lugosi would portray other vampires along the way.)
So, this should be a winner, right? At least one person thought not. He called it “crap,” and declared “My little girl could write something better than this!” That person was Lou Costello. I’m not making this up. Let’s look at the plot and you’ll see what I mean.
The Plot: Bud Abbott and Lou Costello are railroad freight handlers, and they are delivering some large boxes to a wax museum/house of horrors. It turns out the boxes contain a very real Dracula and Frankenstein’s monster. Long minutes pass while we sit through endless repetitions of the gag of Lou glimpsing the monsters and trying convince a disbelieving Bud of what he saw. We soon learn that Dracula is scheming with a pretty doctor named Sandra to give the monster a new brain from a docile, compliant, dimwitted man, so that Dracula can better manage the brute and get him to do his bidding. And Sandra has found just the donor for the brain: Lou Costello. (Insert riotous humor here). And she’s gone so far as to date Lou in order to lure him into the trap. Meanwhile, Larry Talbot (aka the Wolfman whenever the moon is full) has somehow tracked Dracula from Europe, and tries to warn Bud and Lou. Of course, his efforts are repeatedly confounded as he keeps turning into a werewolf.
A whole bunch of stuff happens along the way, but it’s almost all just setups for a joke or pratfall by Bud and Lou. In the end, the monsters (and the scheming Sandra) are all killed off. Not that the viewer really cares.
The Monster: Frankenstein’s monster is again portrayed by Glenn Strange, who is quickly becoming associated with the role as Karloff has moved on to other things. However, by the time of this movie, Universal (now called “Universal International” due to a merger) was cutting costs and staff. One of the people to go was Jack Pierce, who’d been the makeup artist behind Frankenstein’s monster. Without Pierce to do makeup, Universal instead has Glenn Strange wear a rubber mask over most of his face. It’s less convincing than the careful (but time-consuming) application of makeup.
The Atmosphere: Well, it’s a comedy, so you don’t really expect a lot of creepiness. But between the merry background music, the minimalist sets, Lou’s incessant mugging, and Bud’s cranky, Moe Howard-like grumbling, it’s hard to get in the spooky spirit. Even the monsters are enervated, as they have to slow down their actions to sync with the endless gags involving Abbott and Costello’s cluelessness.
The one standout here, though, is Bela Lugosi. It’s good to see him in the Dracula role. His silky, urbane demeanor clearly is hiding something diabolical, and that’s a little scary, even with Abbott and Costello in the scene. What’s more, Lugosi seems to be enjoying himself, and that’s a little infectious. In fact, the only time during this movie that I cracked a smile was when Lugosi takes an appraising look at Costello and says, with a condescending smirk, “What we need is young blood…and brains.”
Speaking of actors enjoying themselves, there a fun moment when Costello is unwittingly sitting in the lap of Frankenstein’s monster (Glenn Strange). Costello ad libs a dozen lines and tics as he slowly realizes where he is. You can see Strange slightly break character as he tries to suppress a smile.
General Comments: Clearly audience sensibilities have changed since the 1940s, and vaudeville schtick just doesn’t appeal as it once did. But it’s still hard for me to understand why 1940s audiences liked this movie. It’s little more than a clunky and awkward series of set pieces. What’s more, it can’t seem to make up its mind whether it wants to be scary or funny. And in my mind, it accomplishes neither. It’s also a little sad to see Frankenstein’s monster pressed into this demeaning role. It’s the cinematic equivalent of weeknight performances in Branson, MO.
So, with this movie, Universal has essentially given up on Frankenstein. It moves on to other things, and audiences seek different fare. And then, about a decade later, a British studio put out its first color picture, and it unexpectedly revives the Frankenstein genre! We’ll check out Curse of Frankenstein tomorrow! (It’s available on YouTube, for three bucks.)
FRANKELLANEOUS: Loyal reader Brian W. shared information about his Uncle Dick Smith (1922-2014). It seems Uncle Dick was a renowned, talented movie make-up artist. He’s worked on various films that you’ll recognize, including The Godfather and The Exorcist. While he didn’t work on any of the Frankenstein movies, he did have an abiding, professional appreciation for Jack Pierce’s work, and he even tells an anecdote about doing himself up in the Frankenstein makeup and then going out to watch a Frankenstein movie. Brian also sent this link to a wonderful Frankenstein blog called Frankensteinia, that in 2010 featured Uncle Dick’s makeup book.
Chasing Phantoms 