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Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein...The Wolfman...and
Dracula. Listen to them. Children of the Night. What music
they make.
What a fun film to watch as our great American comedy duo
shifts gears from morale lifting, as WW II had come to a close,
into the rather new "horror-comedy" genre. It's the boogie-woogie
bugle boys doing the Monster Mash. It was the late 1940's
and the monster movie success was waning. The Chief of Production
at the then Universal International, William Goetz, needed
to do something. The studio was on the verge of bankruptcy.
This film was the answer and fans of Bud and Lou recognize
this flick as one of their finest.
The idea did not appeal to Lou as he purportedly was not
at all impressed by the screenplay. A nice chat with Robert
Arthur, the producer, and a pretty sweet $50,000 advance changed
his mind, and we are left with a masterpiece. With excellent
direction from Charles T. Barton, an Abbott and Costello regular,
and fine performances from the original creepers Bela Lugosi
(Dracula), Glenn Strange (The Monster) and Lon Cheney, Jr.
(Wolfman) the film was a huge success and gave Universal a
much needed boost from the dead zone.
Chick (Abbott) and Wilbur (Costello) are railroad baggage
clerks in Florida. They deliver two crates to McDougal's House
of Horrors that contain the remains of Dracula and the Frankenstein
Monster. The plot then thickens as Wilbur's girlfriend, Sandra,
has designs on his brain. She is in cahoots with Dracula and
attempts to lure the boys to their island hideaway and prepare
the Monster for his latest tune up. The duo already has met
up with Lawrence Talbot (Cheney/the Wolfman) who is on a quest
to destroy Dracula and the Monster. Hysterics ensue.
My favorite thing about this movie, aside from it being hilarious,
is that it spares the dignity of the monsters. They are treated
with respect and, as we watch them reach their final bow,
they do so with panache.
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
When I was a younger lad, racing AMC Gremlins on my Big Wheels,
I remember the first thing I learned about the wise ways of
tuning a television picture. Pops Spicoli, our local TV repair
man, said that without anything fancy, the way to adjust brightness
and contrast was with a good black and white picture. Good
advice? Hard to say, but if you are looking for a good black
and white picture, here it is, presented in its original 1.33:1
full frame. The transfer breathes new life into a VHS line
from Universal, "Comedy Legends."
Now this film is kinda old, old enough, in fact, to be...well...to
be Carl Weathers, but while signs of age are apparent, the
picture sure doesn't pull any punches. The gray scale is quite
important to this black and white film and is rendered delightfully,
from a deep bat black to bright lightning bolt whites. As
for the compression, Universal deserves praise, though I think
most of the applause might belong to WAMO, in their services
of presenting this film artifacts-free. The scratches and
film grain present in the source material are hardly noticeable
and never diminish the transfer's image. Also, no edge enhancement
is apparent leaving a very natural looking picture.
Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?
The audio track is a Dolby Digital 2.0 mastering of the original
mono track. While the fidelity is no Fantasound this track
could not have been reproduced better. The dialogue is very
clear and the wonderfully atmospheric score by Frank Skinner
is never obtrusive. There is, of course, the typical high
and low end distortion from a film of this age, but it is
quite bearable.
There are English closed captions as well as French subtitles.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There? The added extras include an Abbott & Costello Meet the
Monsters: The Making of Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein
documentary hosted by David J. Skal. This very informative
short brings us some great outtakes as well as a fascinating
behind the scenes look at the movie. Pleasant additions are
the thoughts of Lou Costello's daughter as well as Bela Lugosi's
son.
There also is a self-running selection of posters and production
stills, that lasts for a little over 9 minutes, accompanied
by pieces of the score and the occasional growl or moan. A
neat shot of Bela in full costume chewing on a stogie, about
halfway through the presentation, is my favorite.
The screen-specific audio commentary on this disc
was made by film historian Gregory W. Mank who seems to have
come to the recording quite prepared. You can't step away
for a minute without missing five inside jokes, addresses
of filming locations and vintage monster history nibblets.
Very informative.
I really only have two complaints and they both come from
the back cover info on the keep case. It makes mention of
a Theatrical Trailer. I didn't see one... Maybe I missed the
Easter egg hunt that leads you to a forty-two question trivia
passageway to it....but I don't think it's there. Secondly,
who writes these "plot synopses" and do they actually watch
the movie? It lists Charles Bradstreet as a "Mad Scientist"
who wants to switch the brains of Costello and the Monster.
What?! Seems to me this "Mad Scientist" was the only sane
person in the film.
Parting Thoughts
Every time I see an old favorite that I have watched a thousand
times on VHS or on TV, I am reminded how much I love the DVD
format and, of course, the studio that takes the time and
care to produce a film transfer like this one. If you are
fans of Bud and Lou, this disc is a must. If you are new to
the classic horror or horror-comedy genre this is a perfect
place to start. Was that Vincent Price as the Invisible Man?
I don't know. No, I think he's on Third.
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