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Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein  Hot
Reviews DVD Reviews
Written by Staff Writer   
Sunday, 16 January 2005


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Grade

Content Grade: B+
Sound Grade: B
Extras Grade: n/a
Picture Grade: A-

Specs

http://www.universalstudios.com/home Directed by Charles Barton Universal/MSRP-$24.95 Fullscreen(1.33:1)/-Subtitles in English, French Dolby Digital Sound Mono 83 minutes-Black and White-1948

Review

http://www.universalstudios.com/home Universal has released this disc along with some other classic monster films  and if the others are like this one, we are in for a treat. This film was a phenomenal success at the box office from Universal, and was, believe it or not, the only other time Bela Lugosi played the count after his 1931 chiller, Dracula. Abbott and Costello successfully blend their slapstick comedy with the great monsters of Wolfman (Lon Chaney, Jr.), Frankenstein's monster (Glenn Strange) and Dracula (Bela Lugosi) for what would become a classic of its own.
Bud and Lou are delivery men in South Florida where they are to deliver two trunks fro a House of Horrors exhibition. Inside the crates are Dracula and Frankenstein's monster, who are plotting with Lou's girl friend to transfer Lou's brain inside the monster. The Wolfman knows of the plot and flies to Florida to stop the operation. The film is filled with famous Costello sight gags, my favorite being when he fools the monster into thinking he is the count. Bud is there to slap Lou around as always, but also some pratfalls of his own in the course of the picture. Lou has some particularly funny scenes with the Wolfman, who try as he may, can't get his claws around Lou's neck. The climactic scene in the operating room is filled with chase scenes and brings all the monsters together for the finale.

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Picture and Sound

A great print was used for the fullscreen transfer and besides a few specks of dust and very few flaws, the film is in great shape with sharp, rich detail, and excellent contrast. Lighting was particularly important for the darker scenes and Universal did a wonderful job of preserving the film over the years. The animated menu brings out the humor of the film, using ghost characters and neck bolts as cursors for the menu selections. Bud and Lou are appropriately animated with big heads and parts of the soundtrack play through the menu. Dolby mono two channel is used and the sound is as good as it can be for a 1948 film. Dialog is clearly understood and we don't miss any of Lou's mutterings. The amplification level is boosted a bit so you don't have to crank up the receiver to enjoy the jokes. A little distortion is heard from the music, but has more to do with recording techniques of 1948, as lots of blaring horns are used for the scary soundtrack. The front channel speakers are used effectively for this disc.

Extras

http://www.universalstudios.com/home This disc includes a small documentary-Abbott and Costello Meet The Monsters produced by Universal, with interviews with Lou Costello's daughter and Bela Lugosi's son. We also hear from comedy historians who give a short biography of Abbott and Costello. They paint a very rosy picture of the team, and don't delve into the partner feuds at all. The featurette includes outtakes from the film which are very interesting, including Glenn Strange cracking up as the monster, with Lou sitting on his lap, and another scene where a buddy of Lou's walks down the stairs after Lugosi, cutting everyone up-except Lugosi. Bela was all business while working and didn't appreciate his scenes being interrupted. The disc also includes a number of production stills and movie posters from the film, set up to play as an automatic slide show, with background music playing from the film . There is also commentary from a film historian on a separate audio track. As usual, Universal has packed the disc with goodies.

Summary

While Abbott and Costello might not be everyone's favorite comedy team, this film shows them at their best, doing what they do best. Costello gets choked up and behaves like a child as he sees all the monsters, while Bud, the non-believer, doubts his every word. The joining of the comedy team and the classic monsters was a stroke of box-office genius and the film is considered a classic monster flick, as light hearted as it is. Children of all ages will enjoy this comedy for Abbott and Costello and for the monsters. Loaded with extras, the disc is a great value.

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