ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE KILLER BORIS KARLOFF

(1949)
With Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Boris Karloff, Lenore Aubert, Gar Moore, Donna Martell, Alan Mowbray
Black and White
Directed by Charles Barton
Reviewed by JB

     Despite what is probably the worst title ever for an A&C film, ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE KILLER BORIS KARLOFF is an above-average entry for the boys. In this one, Lou is a bellhop and Bud is the house detective, and both get involved in trying to solve not one, not two but three murders.  The humor in the film is a little darker than what you find in an ordinary A&C romp, with the dead bodies turning up in all sorts of place, and Bud and Lou constantly trying to hide them someplace else.  There is even one gloriously creep scene where the boys pretend to be playing bridge, with two of the dead men as their partners.  It is all very confusing, but the boys, especially Lou, are in great form.

     Boris Karloff was a late addition to the cast, and the title of the film is obviously an attempt at getting audiences to think that this one was going to be another classic like MEET FRANKENSTEIN.  It's not, but it is a good "scare" comedy, if not up to the standards of MEET FRANKENSTEIN or HOLD THAT GHOST. 3

Abbott and Costello    The Age of Comedy