Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Undoubtedly their finest hour, 11 Jun 2004
The best bit about this film is the presence of horror legends Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney Jr reprising their famous roles in this entertaining mix of genres. Bungling incompetants Chic (Abott) and Wilbur (Costello) ham their way through as ever, but there are some really funny little moments, most notably when the duo explore Sandra's island castle and during Chaney's regular metamorphases into the wolfman, when he appears anything but a dangerous killer! Horror purists may hate the fact that their favourites are cast alongside the comedy duo, but fans of both genres are in for a real treat. And at just over 70 minutes, modern film makers could learn a thing or two about fast-paced comedy capers.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hilarious comedy meets classic horror!!!, 21 Oct 2001
By A Customer
In this movie we see the return of Universal Studio's finest monsters : Frankenstein (played by Glen Strange), Dracula (with Lugosi reprising his classic role), and the Wolfman (once again played by Lon Chaney, Jr.). Added to this, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello take us on a hilarious ride of horror madness.Dracula wishes to swap the Frankenstein Monster's brain, so that he may control it, whilst the Wolfman's alter ego - Larry Talbot - tries to stop him. Abbott refuses to believe in the monsters - until he's chased by them, and Costello is a scream, as its his brain Dracula is after. This movie was the 'climax' of the Universal Studio monster movies - as far as Frankenstein, Dracular and the Wolfman were concerned - and it's great that these three classic horror figures met their demise in such a fun movie. Indeed, being a 'classic', this movie let Abbott and Costello to meet up with such other monsters as Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde, the Mummy, and the Invisible Man. But of all these, 'Meet Frankenstein' is the finest. A great release on video by Universal.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Far and away the best Abbott & Costello Horror-Comedy, 9 Nov 2004
Lou Costello was always the master of strangulated, speechless terror, so putting Abbott & Costello in a movie with the Wolfman, Dracula and the Frankenstein Monster was inspired. Getting Lon Chaney, Jr., Bela Lugosi and Glenn Strange to play the Terror Trio was just icing on the cake. This time around Bud and Lou play Chick Young and Wilbur Gray, a pair of railroad baggage clerks in LaMiranda, Florida, who have to deliver two large crates to MacDougal's House of Horrors. Inside are Dracula and the Frankenstein Monster, but of course they escape. To make things worse, Wilbur's beautiful girlfriend, Sandra Mornay (Lenore Aubert), is really a mad scientist who wants to put Wilbur's brain in the Monster. Fortunately, Lawrence Talbot (Chaney) has arrived from Europe on the trail of the monsters. It is rather amazing how long this film goes with Wilbur being the only one to spot the monsters. The comedy in this movie is something of a departure for the comedy team, because it relies more on situational humor and not as much on the "Who's On First" word play. The scene pantomime scene with Lou on the Monster's lap is great, as is the final chase scene with the boys encountering one monster after another. "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" is the first and the best of the boy's comic team-ups, which does not deserve the reputation it has in some quarters for having made the Universal monsters creatures of ridicule. That might be true of later Abbott & Costello monster comedies, but the charge would be truer of "House of Dracula" than this film, which has the same respect for the monsters as does "Young Frankentstein." Trivia Note: While filming the scene where the Monster throws Sandra through the lab window, Strange was knocked over and broke his ankle. Chaney, who had played the Monster in "Ghost of Frankenstein," volunteered to step in and once again don the makeup and he is the one who re-shot the scene that appears in the movie.
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