1948 American horror comedy film directed by Charles Barton
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Charles Barton
Screenplay by
Robert Lees
Frederic I. Rinaldo
John Grant[1]
Produced by
Robert Arthur[1]
Starring
Bud Abbott
Lou Costello
Lon Chaney Jr.
Bela Lugosi
Glenn Strange
Lenore Aubert
Jane Randolph
Cinematography
Charles Van Enger[1]
Edited by
Frank Gross[1]
Music by
Frank Skinner
Production companies
Universal-International Pictures Co., Inc.[1]
Distributed by
Universal Pictures
Release date
June 1948 (1948-06)
Running time
82 minutes[2]
Country
United States[1]
Language
English[1]
Budget
$792,270[3][4]
Box office
$3.2 million[5]
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein[a] is a 1948 American horror comedy film directed by Charles Barton. The film features Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi) who has become partners with Dr. Sandra Mornay (Lenore Aubert), as Dracula requires a "simple, pliable" brain to reactivate Frankenstein's monster (Glenn Strange). Dracula discovers that the "ideal" brain belongs to Wilbur Grey (Lou Costello) who is wooed by Mornay to the operating table, despite the warnings of Lawrence Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.).
The film was developed and began being made against the wishes of Abbott and Costello, with Costello specifically not liking the script. The film was made under difficulty according to director Barton who found Abbott and Costello often absent or not working on the set. On the film's release, it was one of Universal-Internationals' biggest films of the year and led to several follow-up films involving Abbott and Costello meeting other horror film actors and creatures. The film was well received by trade papers and West Coast American critics on its release but received poor reviews in New York. In 2001, the United States Library of Congress deemed this film "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry and later placed in at number 56 on the list of the American Film Institute's "100 Funniest American Movies".
^ abcdefg"Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
^Mank 1981, p. 151.
^Furmanek & Palumbo 1991, p. 168.
^"U Prod Meet". Variety. August 11, 1948. p. 22. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
^Furmanek & Palumbo 1991, p. 175.
^Rhodes & Kaffenberger 2016, 2223.
^Rhodes & Kaffenberger 2016, 2236.
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