Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

Two hapless frieght handlers find themselves encountering Dracula, the Frankenstein Monster and the Wolf Man.
Cast and Information
Directed By: Charles Barton
Written By: Robert Lees, Frederic I. Rinaldo
Starring: Lon Chaney Jr., Glenn Strange, Bela Lugosi, Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lénore Aubert
Genres: Comedy, Sci-fi, Fantasy, Horror
Franchises: Frankenstein (Universal), Abbott and Costello
AKA: Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein
Country: USA
Where to Stream
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Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein belongs to 25 collections
1. Psychotronic Film and Video Guides (collaborative: moderated by Gregzilla - 40 stars)
2. National Film Registry (collaborative: moderated by PeaceAnarchy - 30 stars)
3. Netflix Instant (collaborative: moderated by somnivore - 29 stars)
4. Films available in HD (collaborative: moderated by kubricksucks - 13 stars)
5. AFI 100 Years... 100 Laughs (collaborative: moderated by iceblox - 8 stars)
6. Universal Horror (collaborative: moderated by von krogh - 8 stars)
7. David Thomson's 1000 Films (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 7 stars)
8. Film Titles That Are Complete Sentences (collaborative: moderated by MacSwell - 7 stars)
9. List: Taschen (collaborative: moderated by KasperL - 6 stars)
10. Horror comedies (collaborative - 4 stars)
11. Capsules, guest reviews, list candidates... (366weirdmovies) (collaborative: moderated by sesito71 - 4 stars)
12. 100 Recommended Children's Movies (The New York Times Essential Library) (collaborative: moderated by BeeDub - 3 stars)
13. A History of Horror with Mark Gatiss (public: kylie - 3 stars)
14. The Overlook Film Encyclopedia: Horror 1940s (collaborative: moderated by RoyalB - 2 stars)
15. Frankenstein Movies (collaborative: moderated by TrixRabbi - 1 star)
16. Horror movies for kids (collaborative: moderated by BeeDub - 1 star)
17. Slapstick (collaborative)
18. Frankenstein's Monster (collaborative: moderated by iceblox)
19. Abbott and Costello (collaborative: moderated by Gregzilla)
20. Films Available on Archive.org (collaborative: moderated by Dunstan-xxx)
21. To Watch (public: normalchaos)
22. Owned Films (public: TheSaberfool)
23. Filmspotting Ratings Project: Week 31 (public: PeaceAnarchy)
24. New Beverly Cinema (public: xmoffx)
25. Top 100 (public: juntakinte99)
Browse the full list of collections
Stars | User | Rating | |
5 | ![]() |
Paxton | 72 71st |
Good laughs and all three major Universal monsters on display with Bela and Lon on hand for the fun. Frankenstein throwing the girl though. That is the highlight.
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hellsditch | 82 73rd |
A score no doubt HIGHLY inflated by nostalgia, as I remember my dad and I watching our worn out VHS copy on many, many rainy weekend days together. Some rare father/son bonding from my childhood. Anyway...my favorite A&C comedy, with the greatest Universal monsters played (mostly) by the actors that made the characters famous (sorry, Glenn Strange...Boris Karloff, you are missed). Lou and Chik's "I'll take Mary" business is still one of my favorite comedic routines ever.
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Dorkovsky | 5 59th |
When it came to sound comedies all the way through the fifties, I thought I despised them all (save the Marx bros). A&C, Laurel and Hardy, W.C. Fields, all grating as hell. So I although this has been given a mediocre score, I was actually pleasantly surprised that it was as enjoyable as it was. Hardly any cringe-worthy moments and even a number of genuinely funny ones.
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PeaceAnarchy | 79 57th |
A bit silly and repetitive but I had fun watching it.
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joseywales | 71 60th |
...and Vincent Price as "The Invisible Man"!
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INDYATMN | 55 6th |
Presumably fans of this loved it when they were young & still love it, because I'm not sure how Universal monster fans can enjoy something that makes them look so buffoonish and ineffective. I fast forwarded my way through this, but I saw enough to see Costello literally kicking the Wolf Man in the ass; Wolf Man repeatedly getting tangled up in branches; Dracula trying to hit Wolf Man w/ a chair; & Frankenstein tossing several barrels at the duo who are stuck on a boat & missing. Not for me.
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spleen | 83 80th |
It saddens me that in 30 years, kids will have the same sense of nostalgia for Harold and Kumar that I have for Abbott and Costello.
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TheSaberfool | 84 91st |
Abbott and Costello's best work, in my opinion. It's great fun seeing Lugosi and Chaney Jr. recreating their famous monster roles in this setting. Some of the humor is certainly dated at this point, but there's plenty of great slapstick and quality jokes as well. Besides, I grew up watching this stuff. Tons of memorable moments here and fairly hilarious throughout.
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juntakinte99 | 83 69th |
Horror & comedy both depend on the audience getting into the premise as well as things the characters are oblivious to. This film is a master fusion of doing both in the same scene--or sometime the same shot. Like when you're scared that Costello will get killed by the Wolf Man, but laugh at the big guy for stealing an orange. It loses some points for plot holes (why are they in a hotel, what happens to the monsters). But if you turn your mind off to those, you get some good suspense and jokes.
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Yiannos | 68 65th |
Abbott and Costello weren't particularly distinguished, but they had their moments, and this was one of them. The title is a tad misleading--Abbott and Costello meet Dracula, Frankenstein and The Wolf Man (in that order) doesn't have quite the same ring to it--and the jokes aren't especially clever, although it was fairly genre literate for its time. It is, however, likeably goofy, and it is also a complete delight to see Lugosi reprise Dracula in this context, right before his terminal decline.
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Jasongirl67 | 50 31st |
Good for some laughs and kiddo friendly
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chadisdanger | 72 30th |
Exactly what you'd expect, but you'd probably expect something really fun so no harm done. This kind of thing would become more common later on but it's nice to see the Universal monsters all together, even if Karloff isn't involved.
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2 | DougieD | 90 81st |
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A hilarious horror comedy that is both funny and creepy. Abbott and Costello have great chemistry as goofy clowns you can root for.
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MedCityFlix (Med City Movie Guy) | 75 59th |
I am a sucker for this one.
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FoxyRussian | 86 62nd |
A funny comedy featuring all the big names in classic horror. Abbott and Costello do a great job at being hilarious bumbling idiots. Maybe a little to much build up at the party scene for not enough pay-off but great comedy anyways.
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Jimmy Suede | 75 58th |
I find Abbott and Costello mildly amusing more than outright funny, but this is a good movie that isn't carried just by their humor. It's plain fun to see the monsters together, especially seeing Lugosi again. The best was when he stuck it to the smug Sandra (think you can flout Dracula, wench?). Yes, it was a goofy comedy, by there were good sets and cinematography and a coherent story. I truly appreciate a movie that doesn't simply depend on the gimmicks.
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nobamba | 70 76th |
Universal monsters' Avengers assemble! Except framed by a couple of comedians. I couldn't tell if this was meant to be a serious horror film or a light parody, but it just works, like other Abbott/Costello films. Fav scenes: morons balancing on shipping containers; Costello asking both women out and trying to explain it to Abbott.
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x-human | 82 76th |
The real treat is how when you watch it again different things make you laugh. What's always fun though is the macabre interplay between Lou and Lenore Aubert. Lon Chaney also plays a better straight man than Bud!
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wayofthegun | 70 41st |
The comedy seems outplayed these days, but it's fun seeing the Universal monsters in this setting together.
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TheDiceman | 55 49th |
A classic Abbott and Costello comedy.
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nilkynarfy | 80 78th |
dudeitsfuckingfunny
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Stain | 80 68th |
Surprisingly good. Must be seen on the big screen to be really funny
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1 | WoozyB | 75 45th |
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It's mostly set-up for only a little bit of payoff. The monsters are classics, even if I don't care for the Hollywood versions of them.
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1 | Mechatigger | 86 74th |
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Horror-film parody. The antics tend to be side-splitting.
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1 | synthono | 81 52nd |
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But they don't even meet Frankenstein!
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billkerwin | 79 38th |
You'd be surprised. A lot better than you'd think.
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ribcage | 81 79th |
This has ENERGY. It has COMEDY. It’s not scary or moody, but with Lugosi, Chaney and hell, even Glenn Strange’s tragedy-less cartoon version of Frank the ESSENCE of these Monsters can be found, you can see and feel the reason we love them here. This is the send-off the monsters deserve. When ambiance and plot have been lost to this series long ago, it just took making them hilarious to make them enjoyable again.
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Trooth | 69 49th |
Frankenstein throws a woman out the window and she fucking dies. I think the movie expects you to forget and/or not notice, but nah man, she's super dead.
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adamj1982 | 75 69th |
These low score have to be from A) people who didn't see this as a kid or B) have no kids to watch this with.. A Halloween classic
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1 | PUNQ | 80 99th |
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Monstrous parody!
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mrarn | 42 37th |
Universal Monsters play straight man for Lou Costello's shtick. If you like his humor, then you'll enjoy the movie more than I did.
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1 | Zipster | 75 30th |
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It's the players from different worlds on screen together, doing exactly what they normally do despite their incongruity that makes it a special jaunt to revisit once in awhile.
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Average Percentile 54.36% from 413 Ratings | ![]() |