Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.
Our heroes are in a pickle now!

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein[1] is a 1948 horror comedy. It is a Crossover between Universal's Monster Mash horror films and Abbott and Costello series of comedies.

Detaching itself from the continuity of the previous Universal Horror films, this movie centers around the cowardly Wilbur (Costello) and his no-nonsense buddy Chick (Abbot) who work as baggage clerks. One day they receive an order to take two boxes which just have come from London to the States to the McDougal's House of Horrors. The boxes contain the remains of Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi) and Frankenstein's Monster (Glenn Strange), who are in fact alive and soon escape the place.

Dracula arranged this little charade to come abroad in hopes that he'll restore his weakened servant. In short, to get a new brain for the Monster. He is working with a scientist Sandra Mornay to accomplish this task, and she has found the perfect candidate for the "donation": Wilbur.

But that's not all; Larry Talbott (Lon Chaney Jr.), The Wolf Man himself, joins our heroes to stop Dracula. Too bad that he happens to turn into a werewolf at most inappropriate times...

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein was added to the National Film Registry in 2001.

Here's something to laugh at:

"Allow me to introduce myself: I'm The Invisible Man. Hahahahaha!"

    • While the duo actually would encounter an Invisible Man in a 1951 movie, it would be a different character and actor, keeping this from being a true Sequel Hook.
  • Chairman of the Brawl: Chick attempts to hit Dracula with a chair in the climax, but hits Sandra instead. Later Dracula picks up one when he is fighting Wolf Man.
  • Corpsing: The scene where Costello is unknowingly sitting on the monster's lap had to be re-shot many times because Glenn Strange couldn't stop cracking up.
  • Death Seeker: Surprisingly averted for a Lawrence Talbot movie. After spending the last three movies trying to find a permanent way to die, he's finally given up and decided that since he can't die or be cured, he'll spend his days hunting other monsters, hoping to balance out the murders he'll inevitably commit by taking out Dracula and his ilk.
  • Dem Bones: Our heroes are portrayed as skeletons in the animated opening sequence.
  • Destination Defenestration: The Monster throws Sandra through a window in the climax.
  • Diary: Dr. Frankenstein's diary makes an appearance yet again.
  • Disney Villain Death: Sandra, Dracula and the Wolf Man.
  • The Dragon: The Monster and Sandra are this to Dracula.
  • Fainting: Both Wilbur and Chick faint when they see Dracula turning from a bat to man in front of their eyes.
  • Fat and Skinny: Of course.
  • For Halloween I Am Going as Myself: When Dracula joins the costume party where our protagonists have gone, he is dressed as a Classical Movie Vampire.
  • Foreign Remake: There's two; The Egyptian Haram Alek and the Mexican Frankenstein, el Vampiro y Compañía.
  • Fur Against Fang: Wolf Man's brief fight with Dracula.
  • Ghost Butler: When Wilbur and Chick search the basement, the door closes behind them.
  • Heroic Sacrifice: Talbot gets one (possibly unintentional) when he leaps off the balcony to stop Dracula from getting away. Being Lawrence Talbot, he probably survived.
  • Heterosexual Life Partners: Wilbur and Chick. They even live in the same apartment together.
  • Hypnotic Eyes: Dracula hypnotizes Sandra with his eyes to ensure her obedience. Then later bites her and drinks her blood to make absolutely sure.
  • I Am Not Shazam: Aside from the title, Wilbur calls The Monster "Frankie" when he tries to reason with it.
    • Otherwise averted, as characters who should know better (such as Dracula) refer to the Monster as "Creature" or such.
  • It Was Here, I Swear: Basis of many gags.
  • Jerkass: McDougal.
  • Kill It with Fire: In the end when The Monster is occupied with throwing stuff at escaping Wilbur and Chick, Steven sets the pier on fire with gasoline, thus burning the monster.
  • Mad Scientist: Sandra.
  • Mad Scientist Laboratory
  • Meaningful Name: Dracula's alias, Dr. Lejos. "Lejos" is Spanish for "far", and Talbot described Dracula as having a "faraway look in his eye".
  • Monster Mash
  • Name and Name: With a variation of a Versus Title thrown in.
  • No Indoor Voice: McDougal.
  • Non-Indicative Name: They don't meet the actual Frankenstein, only his creation.
  • Only Sane Man: Poor Talbot. Everyone else in the movie is either evil or an idiot. Naturally, they all think he's nuts, except for Dracula who knows the truth, but acts like he thinks Talbot is nuts just to tick him off.
  • Say My Name: "Chiiiiick!"
  • Screams Like a Little Girl: Wilbur.
  • Secret Passage: Wilbur stumbles into one accidentally.
  • Straight Man and Wise Guy: Naturally.
  • Strapped to An Operating Table: Wilbur and The Monster during the brainswitch operation.
  • Tap on the Head: When Steven starts asking too many questions, Sandra gives him a whack in the head.
  • Transformation Sequence: Talbot turning into a werewolf and Dracula turning into a bat.
  • We Meet Again: Talbot says this to Dracula when they meet at the costume party. Dracula feigns ignorance.
  • Villain Protagonist: The Wolf Man.
  • Your Other Left


  1. ↑ (the official title is actually Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein, but we're using the current one because it is better known)
Retrieved from "https://allthetropes.org/wiki/Abbott_and_Costello_Meet_Frankenstein?oldid=2021548"