Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein

Two baggage handlers deliver crates to a wax museum. Inside are Dracula and Frankenstein's monster, and both are real. Dracula has a plan: he wants a more obedient brain for the monster and considers Wilbur's suitable. Meanwhile Larry Talbot, the wolf man, arrives from London to warn them. The subject is not horror but the two comedians being the only people who take the monsters seriously. Wilbur sees the truth every time, tells his friend and is not believed; the comic structure comes from that repetition, and the monsters are never made ridiculous. The form is built as a horror film with the comedy placed inside it. The light, the sets and the camera match the studio's own horror productions; the monsters' scenes are not shot as jokes. The casting is the notable part. Bela Lugosi plays Dracula here, the second and last time he took the role on film after 1931. Lon Chaney Jr. continues as the wolf man and Glenn Strange plays the monster. The invisible man heard at the end is voiced by Vincent Price. Charles Barton directs. The production is regarded as the point at which the studio's horror cycles ended. Who it is for: viewers who like the classic Universal monsters and pre-fifties comedy. Who it is not for: anyone expecting suspense; the film uses the monsters respectfully but the threat is never real.