The Best of Abbott & Costello Volume 3
Things get started with what most people consider to be Abbott & Costello’s masterpiece: Abbott & Costello Meet the Frankenstein. Anyone who was disappointed by the Eddie Murphy movie Haunted Mansion, or who thinks that Ghostbusters is the ultimate combination of horror and comedy needs to see this movie. It is simply wonderful. The title is misleading, however, since it is mostly Dracula and the Wolf Man whom A&C meet.
And get this, Dracula is played by none other than Bela Lugosi! The Wolf Man is played by Lon Chaney, Jr., who played the same role in a series of straight horror films. What is most amazing about this movie that it contains not one single routine by Bud & Lou in the traditional sense. Most of the greatness of A&C’s movies revolve around those routines, but because this story is song strong and because the characters are so good, it doesn’t need routines. If you haven’t seen this movie, now is the time.
Next up is Mexican Hayride. This is considered a lesser effort by many fans, but I disagree. There are some incredibly funny sequences in this movie. For one thing, every time Lou hears a samba, he begins to dance against his will. This makes for a hysterical sequence later on. And then there’s the scene featuring Lou in drag as he makes tortillas in a roadside stand. And the scene where Lou is taught diction may not be as funny as a similar scene in Steve Martin’s Pink Panther, but it’s still good. Don’t believe any negative review; see this for yourself and you will laugh.
Abbott & Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff must rank as the weirdest title of any of their movies. In fact, with very few exceptions, I can’ think of many movies that feature the name of an actor who appears in the movie within the title. (Being John Malkovich springs instantly to mind.)
Bud & Lou made several murder mysteries and this one ranks as one of the best. Boris Karloff plays a phoney swami and, oddly, he’s hardly in the movie. But that’s okay, because there’s so much else to appreciate, including the card came Lou plays with a corpse and the chilling scenes that take place in a cavern. Definitely a must-see.
Abbott & Costello in the Foreign Legion is also a keeper. I mean, come on, what could be funnier than Bud & Lou joining the foreign legion. Watch this one especially for the sequence in which they cross the desert after running out of water and begin to see mirages. Also of note is the sequence involving a rope charmer.
Abbott & Costello Meet the Invisible Man isn’t what most people think. Also in a way it is a true sequel to the Claude Rains original, it’s not another horror/comedy combo. This should really be considered a boxing movie and the highlights involve, not unexpectedly, Lou’s becoming a boxer.
Comin’ Round the Mountain is often confused with The Wistful Widow of Wagon Gap. It’s actually a comic take on the Hatfield/McCoy feud and is very funny. The highlight of this movie is unquestionably the scene involving a voodoo doll showdown between Lou and Margaret Hamilton, better known as the Wicked Witch in The Wizard of Oz. It’s not a great movie, certainly it’s the weakest on the disc, but it’s far from their worst. With the DVD it’s easy to fast forward through the interminable musical numbers, too.
Lost in Alaska takes them right back to snuff. This one gets a lot of knocks as well, but in my opinion it features one of the best guest appearances in any Bud & Lou movie, that of Tom Ewell. There are some good gags here, including throwing everything but the kitchen sink�maybe�and the sequence involving the two dogs.
Abbott & Costello Goes to Mars is another misleading title; they don’t go to Mars, but Venus. But first they go to New Orleans during Mardi Gras and think they landed on Mars. This one is low-budget A&C and a lot of people have it down low on their list, but I think it’s hilarious. Especially when they get to Venus, which is populated entirely by women, and Lou is to marry the Venusian queen provided his thought balloons don’t pop.
That’s going to be hard, because the balloons pop whenever he has a sexy thought about another Venusian. And since the girls of Venus were all Miss Universe contestants in real life, you can imagine he might have a hard time. My primary memory of this movie was formed when I was a kid and saw it on The Big Show that used to air at 3:00 every weekday afternoon. Watch the reaction of the Statue of Universe as the boys’ spaceship heads toward it.
You can’t go wrong with Volume 3 of The Best of Abbott & Costello. It’s simply the finest collection of Bud & Lou available.
