As related in a previous post, I had to wait around 12 or 13 years to finally see this movie. It was due to be screened one Saturday morning on BBC TV back in 1973 or '74, but I had a part-time job in a CO-OP store in another neighbourhood and, despite the temptation to 'throw a sickie', chose to show up for work.
So, practically half my life down the line, I finally got to see it on TV one night and immensely enjoyed it - despite DRACULA's reflection being visible in a mirror and one of The MONSTER's electrodes being almost pulled off as he rises from a table he's on. (It's attached to a clamp and starts to pull away as he gets up .)
Still, despite those minor faults, it's a great little film - and GLENN STRANGE gets far more screen time (and more to do) than his previous two outings as Doctor FRANKENSTEIN's creation. The film was originally shot in black and white but this trailer has been colourized - enjoy! Comments welcome.
I read somewhere that the original script was a straight horror sequel called "The Brain of Frankenstein," but that it morphed into a comedy when A&C were signed on.
ReplyDeleteBoris Karloff posed for a publicity photo that showed him looking at a poster advertising this movie. The story goes that, when he was asked to do it, he said, "OK, as long as I don't have to watch the film itself." But he later co-starred with Bud and Lou in two horror comedies, and, afaik, he got along well with them.
Mixing horror and comedy was not new in 1948. The Three Stooges and the Bowery Boys often got mixed up with mad scientists and their monsters. Bob Hope had done "The Ghost Breakers." Olsen and Johnson had made "Ghost Catchers," and A&C themselves had already done "Hold That Ghost." But, being at Universal, Abbott and Costello could meet the "famous" monsters like Dracula and Frankenstein. The idea worked so well it was repeated several times, with them meeting the Mummy, Invisible Man, and Jekyll & Hyde.
I remember reading that myself, TC, and I've seen the Karloff photo you mention. Boris claims he turned down the role because he couldn't bear to see the Monster portrayed as a figure of fun, but I'd be surprised if he was asked as he was getting on a bit, age wise. Actually, the Universal trio are treated pretty straight so his reservations were unfounded. The Ghost Breakers is an absolute classic - watched it again only a few weeks ago.
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