5 Facts About ‘Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein’ That Are So Fun, You’ll Scream

Gabrielle Moss November 22, 3:23 pm

ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN, (from left): Bud Abbott, Glenn Strange, Lou Costello, 1948 — Everett Collection

This week, on Saturday Nov. 23, Svengoolie will make you die laughing when he shows 1948’s Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein on his MeTV series Svengoolie Classic Horror & Sci-Fi Movie. In the late 1940s, Universal Monster movies were considered old-fashioned, and Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were barely speaking. Combining the two things seemed more like a “hail mary” move by the floundering studio than a recipe for big-screen success.

But somehow, everything came together. The film — which also features original Universal Monsters stars Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney Jr in a romp that has Abbott and Costello on the run from Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, the Wolf Man and a mad scientist who wants to steal Costello’s brain — ended up being one of Universal’s biggest hits of the year and spawned a new series of films in which the duo crossed paths with some of the more famous monsters of film land.

But the film almost didn’t happen. Why? Settle in and learn the answer, plus other fascinating facts. Don’t worry, we won’t try to steal your brain (probably).

1Abbott & Costello Were on the Verge of Breaking Up

a black and white publicity shot for the 1948 horror comedy "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein." Kneeling on the floor and looking up and behind them with silly/fearful expressions are Lou Costello (on left) and Bud Abbott. Behind them, in mock scary poses as if they are reaching to grab the duo, are (left to right): the Frankenstein monster (Glenn Strange), Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi, holding his cape up to his face, revealing only his eyes and nose) and the Wolf Man (Lon Chaney Jr.).

Courtesy Everett Collection

In 1947, times were tough for Abbott and Costello. Though they had been among the top big-screen presences of the early ’40s, the duo’s box office numbers had declined as the decade went on. And though their TV and radio shows remained on air, they lost some major sponsors. Their studio, Universal, also hit the skids; a merger with another studio left Abbott and Costello as some of their only remaining contract stars, but the studio reacted poorly to Costello’s demands for more pay.

All of these business issues paled in comparison to the chaos and pain present in Abbott and Costello’s personal lives, both together and apart. For starters, the pair were beset by health issues. By the mid ’40s, Abbott was drinking too much and suffering from epilepsy; Costello developed heart disease after a bout of rheumatic fever, and nearly died from the ailment in 1943.

Costello also suffered an unthinkable tragedy that same year: His infant son drowned in the family pool. The heartbroken Costello was described as a different, more somber and angry man afterward.

Though each man was struggling individually, the pair were also constantly at each other’s throats. Changes in pay favoring Costello led to hard feelings, as did the studio’s refusal to rename the pair “Costello & Abbott” (Costello felt he did all the hard work). After a bizarre 1945 conflict over a housemaid who had been fired by Costello and then hired by Abbott, Costello tried to break up the group, and the pair almost entirely stopped speaking off camera.

They would stay together for almost a decade longer — after Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein‘s somewhat unexpected success, their shared career was revived. They finally parted ways professionally in 1957, but Costello’s death in 1959 ended any possibility of a future reunion. There are mixed reports regarding whether or not Abbott attended Costello’s funeral.

2The Duo Hated the Script

black and white shot from the 1948 horror comedy "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein." In the left of the close-up image is Lon Chaney Jr. in costume as the Wolf Man, who is balanced on his right leg with his left leg in the air, bent at the knee, looking to be about to pounce, as his hands/claws are in a position looking about to clasp around the next of an oblivious Wilber Gray (Lou Costello) right next to him, on the photos' right. Wilbur is holding up an egg in each of his hands and smiling as he looks at them, unaware of the Wolf Man right next to him.

Courtesy Everett Collection.

The movie wasn’t the pair’s first horror comedy — that honor would go to 1941’s Hold That Ghost. But it seemed that Lou Costello in particular did not think highly of the film. Upon reading a draft of the script, which was originally titled Brain of Frankenstein, Costello supposedly said, “You don’t think I’ll do that crap do you? My 5-year-old daughter can write something better than that.”

Costello was persuaded to shoot the movie anyway by offering him a large bonus and hiring Charles Barton, who Costello was very fond of, as director.

But even that wasn’t quite enough to ensure smooth sailing. The pair expressed their displeasure with the film on set by not showing up for work, or spending all of their time on set playing card games.

3Vincent Price Has a Cameo (Though You Can’t See It)

At the film’s conclusion, as the duo get away from the film’s villains in a boat, Abbott blithely states that now that they’ve escaped Dracula, the Wolf Man and Frankenstein’s monster, there’s no one left to scare them. This, naturally, invites some commentary from the Invisible Man (voiced by Vincent Price), who has secretly stowed away in the boat with them.

Though Claude Rains is the most famous Invisible Man, Price did don the mantel — or, rather, bandages — of the famous see-through fellow, in 1940’s The Invisible Man Returns.

4Other Horror Legends Were (Reluctantly) Hired to Promote It

Everett Collection

Boris Karloff was hired to stand in front of a New York City movie theater to promote the film during its initial release. Supposedly, he said he’d do it, “as long as I don’t have to see the movie.” He appears in several promotional stills as himself, buying a ticket for the film and admiring the poster outside the theater.

5It Led to Four Spinoffs

ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE MUMMY, Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Eddie Parker, 1955

Everett Collection

The film’s success led the studio to try to pair every classic Universal monster they could think of with the duo, leading to the sequel films Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff (1949), Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951), Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953), and Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955).

The only major Universal Monster that they did not shoot a film with was the Gill-Man from The Creature From the Black Lagoon, which came out in 1954. But that doesn’t mean they never met him. In fact, almost immediately after that film was released, Abbott and Costello appeared on The Colgate Comedy Hour in a skit that has the pair in a spooky prop room where they run across Frankenstein’s monster, the Invisible Man and, for the first and only time, the Creature From the Black Lagoon.