ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN

(1948)

by Susan Svehla

FADE IN

STOCK SHOT - LONDON - NIGHT

MED. SHOT - INT. LONDON HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT

LAWRENCE TALBOT (WOLF MAN) is in an extreme state of aggravation.   He tosses his cigarette away and CAMERA PANS HIM over to the phone, where he lifts the receiver.

And away we go as Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Bela Lugosi, Glenn Strange, and Lon Chaney, Jr., rise from the graveyard of stalled movie careers to once again conquer hearts and Hollywood in the "Universally" loved Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein .

Movie studios, much like everything else, were dominated by behind-the-scenes politics and Universal-International was no exception.   According to Greg Mank in the Universal Filmscripts Series , Universal-International honchos wanted to distance themselves from what they considered the crass comedy of Abbott and Costello and the low-brow horror films for which Universal had become known.   Fortunately for moviegoers, the scent of dollars overcame the bigwigs' delicate sensibilities and A&C Meet Frankenstein went into production with the working title of The Brain of Frankenstein , scripted by Frederic Rinaldo, Robert Lees, and John Grant.

With an impressive list of supporting roles under his belt, Lon Chaney, Jr. was a vital member of the Universal stock company.   As such he was no stranger to comedy and, although it is an accepted fact he wasn't given a chance to be very funny in films, he made a great straight man for the likes of The Ritz Brothers in Life Begins in College (Fox, 1937) and Abbott and Costello in Universal's 1945 Here Come the Co-Eds where Chaney portrays an evil wrestler, The Masked Marvel, out to foil the duo's plan to save a girls' school.   Chaney hammed it up good-naturedly with Lou Costello in their first appearance together.  

In 1947 Chaney would join fellow horror icon Peter Lorre in the big-budgeted Bob Hope burlesque My Favorite Brunette (Paramount).   Brunette would be one of Hope's best films and offered sweet roles for the delightfully devilish Lorre and the stalwart Lon Chaney.   Chaney and Lorre as thugs menacing the imperiled Hope seemed happy lampooning their oft-typecast screen personas; Lorre as tough guy madman and Chaney as the slow-witted thug.   Chaney would once again enact a Lennie-type character, managing to play it straight as the capricious Hope tried to wriggle his way out of Chaney's clutches.   Chaney's bad-guy with a heart of gold was portrayed as so strong he cracked walnuts in the crook of his elbow, cheerfully munching away as mayhem reigned. Variety , in their review of the film, would note, "Lon Chaney, as a muscular and moronic sanitarium guard rates for a risible replica of imbecility." Next up for Chaney would be a return engagement with Abbott and Costello, whose popularity seemed to be on the wane.   Universal-International hoped to rally the once mega-popular duo by merging them with Universal's other formerly prominent cash cow, the Universal monsters.

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein marked the end of the trio of terror as Frankenstein, Dracula, and The Wolf Man would conclude their horrific reign with a regal dignity denied them in the previous Universal monster rallies such as House of Dracula and House of Frankenstein .

Lugosi would once again be his debonair self as Count Dracula while Lon Chaney was back as the tortured Larry Talbot, a role he was born to play.

From the beginning the Larry Talbot role in The Wolf Man seemed custom made for the tall, chiseled-featured actor.   Chaney had been blessed with rough good looks and cleaned up real nice.   However, there was always an underlying sadness in his face and eyes that made Chaney the doppleganger of the doomed Larry Talbot.   Called unexpressive by many critics, they obviously haven't stared deeply enough into those eyes, which reflected a sadness that cuts to the core.

One can only imagine the poignant life of this young man.   Torn from his unstable mother, shunted between homes, competing not only with his father's ego but Chaney Sr.'s incredible talent, Chaney, Jr. threw himself to the mercy of vicious critics when he bravely took those first tentative steps in trying to fill his father's immense shoes. But the lure of Hollywood is great and, like others before and since, he succumbed to its seduction.

The tragedy of the Talbot character was made-to-order tug-at-the-heartstrings material and the scripters of A&C Meet Frankenstein put it too good use turning the tortured Wolf Man into the film's hero.

As our film begins Big Ben tolls in the background; the camera pans over foggy London town.   Suddenly wooden blinds jerk open and we see a pair of haunted eyes peering into the misty night.   The man, Larry Talbot (Chaney), places a frenzied telephone call to the express office as director Charles T. Barton wisely highlights Chaney's troubled face.   "It's terribly important."

The call is eventually received by the pleasant but dim-witted Wilbur (Lou Costello).  

"The moon is full here and I haven't much time... Listen closely.   I'm flying out of here at dawn.   Under no circumstances must those crates be delivered until I arrive... Understand.   Under no..."   Moonlight madness once more strikes the unfortunate Larry Talbot and Chaney gleefully tears up the screen in this, his final film appearance as the Wolf Man.

"Look Mister, this is no time to be gargling your throat.--Who is this, anyhow..."   Wilbur slams down the phone.   "The nerve of some people!"

Wilbur doesn't understand Talbot's strange warning but soon the mysterious message is forgotten as other more bizarre matters arise.   He and partner Chick (Bud Abbott) deliver two forbidding crates to McDougal's House of Horrors but they are tossed in the slammer when the exhibits, Dracula (Lugosi) and Frankenstein (Glenn Strange), walk off into the night.   Of course no one will believe the frantic Wilbur who insists he's seen the grisly duo. Wilbur and Chick think they have been bailed out of jail by Wilbur's drop-dead gorgeous girlfriend Sandra (Lenore Aubert) who, when she says she loves him for his mind, really means it.   Sandra is in a satanic league with Count Dracula and together they plan to place a malleable brain into the weakened Frankenstein monster.   When Chick, referring to Wilbur,   asks the voluptuous Sandra, "I'd still like to know what he's got that I haven't got," Sandra replies, "Brains."  

But they have actually been bailed out by insurance investigator Joan Raymond (Jane Randolph as the token love interest--her romance would be with the barely noticeable Charles Bradstreet as Sandra's assistant), who is convinced Wilbur can lead her to the missing exhibits.

Talbot catches up with Wilbur and Chick in their hotel where he has taken the room across the hall.   Looking a trifle more haggard than he did in The Wolf Man , Chaney still possessed the appealing good looks that helped carve him a niche in Hollywood.   He shows up the hotel in a spiffy looking suit with a white handkerchief jauntily sticking out of his pocket.   He resembles a well-to-do gangster rather than a lycanthrophic     detective chasing the elusive vampire king.  

Chaney's demeanor is sad and haunted when as Talbot he explains to Wilbur and Chick that he cannot go to the police with his story.   "No.   I would have to tell them who I am--and why I know what I know.   The moon will be up any moment.   I've no time to explain.   Quick!... Lock me in.   Hurry!"   Chaney rushes past Wilbur, hurriedly thrusting him aside.   He tosses his hat onto a chair, removes his coat, and rubs his chest as though he can already feel the beginning of the change.   "Remember, no matter what you hear, don't let me out."   Of course things don't end there as Wilbur and the Wolf Man engage in a game of catch the moron as the poor Wolf Man tries to pounce upon the unwary Wilbur who, through a series of sight gags, manages to remain unharmed.

Although these films retain their charm, with subsequent viewings there is a little voice in the back of our mind marveling at the fact the monsters never managed to catch their oblivious prey.   Like the poor old Mummy, the monsters had to pace themselves so they wouldn't catch their co-star victim and end the film before its time.

While portraying Larry Talbot, Chaney would switch between tormented soul and raving madman, even before he turns into the werewolf.   One minute he would be wringing his hands at his predicament and the next he would have poor old Wilbur by the lapels shaking the living daylights out of him.

The next morning Wilbur and Chick enter Talbot's room.   "What a binge you must have been on last night," Chick notes as they spy the disheveled Talbot lying face down in the shambles.   This scripted scene could have been a sly commentary on the rowdy lifestyle of Chaney.

Wilbur is a little disappointed in their new friend.   "And I thought you were such a nice man!   Look at you. You look awful."   And Chaney did indeed look awful.   His hair was splayed across his forehead and he appeared to have been on one long bender.   Again, similarities between the real Lon Chaney and fictional Larry Talbot unwittingly cross paths.

The ensemble attends a masquerade enabling Chick, who is conveniently armed with a wolfman mask, to be confused with the real Wolf Man who has attacked the nasty old McDougal (Frank Ferguson). Wilbur also mistakes the Wolf Man for Chick and slaps the monster about, thinking his friend is fooling around.   The poor old Wolf Man is not used to such treatment from the average Joe.   He tries to attack Wilbur but manages to get caught in a bush where Wilbur lands a well-placed kick on the behind of the enraged Wolf Man.   Wilbur quickly realizes his error and takes off for greener pastures only to wind up under the spell of Dracula.  

A typical Universal mob gathers and begins to hunt for Chick although Talbot thinks they are after him.   He and Chick unite and head toward Sandra's island where Joan, Sandra, and Wilbur have all been taken by Dracula.   Sandra is ready to proceed with the operation, but just before making an incision on the still conscious Wilbur, she is stopped by Talbot and Chick.   Unfortunately, Talbot once again changes into the Wolf Man.   He begins to chase Dracula while Wilbur and Chick try to evade the really ticked off Frankenstein Monster.  

Between the two titans of terror, Chaney as the Wolf Man seems to have the upper hand, or paw as it may be, since Dracula is the one on the defensive.   Their battle royale winds through the halls of the old dark house before ending on a balcony where Dracula tries to escape by turning into a bat.   The Wolf Man makes a desperate grab for the escaping vampire and manages to grasp him, causing both to plunge onto the rocky shoreline below. A dramatic end for the damned Larry Talbot.

Abbott and Costello were well-known for their off-screen antics while filming and A&C Meet Frankenstein is no exception.   In Greg Mank's introduction in The Universal Filmscripts Series (MagicImage, Absecon, NJ, 1990) director Charles B. Barton notes, "we never had any trouble with Lon or Bela or Glenn.   The 'monsters' were as sweet as little babies.   Isn't that wonderful?   God, they were great."   While it seems the "monsters" indulged in their fair share of offscreen tomfoolery, they were their typically professional selves onscreen.   It would have been easy to mug or parody the now aging miscreants but Chaney and Lugosi managed (probably with great difficulty) to keep their villains on the horrific straight and narrow.   Reportedly Glenn Strange had a more difficult time keeping a straight face when they shot the scene in which Costello sits on the lap of the Frankenstein Monster.   In the Filmscripts Series Bud Abbott, Jr. remembers:

The scene was going great but all of a sudden Glenn Strange, who was portraying the monster, burst out with a fit of laughter.   After several takes, all that Glenn Strange would have to do is look at Lou and he would crack up.   Lou didn't help much, for once he knew he had Strange going, he would invent new ways to make him laugh!

  Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is very much an ensemble piece.   No one actually steals the show, although everyone turns in a wonderfully energetic performance.   Lugosi, Strange, and Chaney seem to enjoy partying with the clown princes of comedy and, for their part, Abbott and Costello seem to respect the credentials of the monster men.   Lon was third billed under Abbott and Costello and has the most screen time of the big three monsters.   His hangdog expression would suit him well as he tried to convince Wilbur and Chick of the danger they were in and the need to stop the evil Dracula.

While filming the sequence where the Monster picks up Sandra and throws her through a window, the stunt backfired and Glenn Strange broke his ankle.   Lon Chaney gallantly volunteered to put on the well-remembered Frankenstein makeup and finished the scene tossing a stuntwoman though the glass.   With makeup king Jack Pierce pitched on the junk heap by the Universal moguls, new makeup mavens Bud Westmore and Jack Kevan developed lighter and more comfortable makeup for the pancake weary monster men, although Chaney still got the worst of it by having to endure the involved transformation scenes.

In their review of the film Variety opined, "Abbott and Costello work with less of their standard routines than usual, but keep the fun at high level.   Bela Lugosi as Dracula; Glenn Strange, the Monster; and Lon Chaney, the Wolf Man, bulwark the chills and thrills."

Chaney's downfall, like Judy Garland's, would be dramatically recorded on film for all the world to see.   A&C Meet Frankenstein would be his last starring role in a major production.   His subsequent film work would cast him as a world weary character actor, his handsome face morphing into a rugged, troubled countenance--although one feels the grizzly bear exterior masked the heart of a teddy bear.   Lon Chaney, Jr. belonged to a breed of men no longer considered "politically correct."   Cussin', drinkin', carousin', and brawlin' were their forte and it's too bad they are all gone.   We could   use a few charming scoundrels in our by-the-book lives.

Mixing horror and comedy seemed a match made in heaven, although the results are usually far from angelic.   Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is one of the pleasant exceptions and few films following this opus would get it right until Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein .

Chaney would venture into comedy once again, joining Bob Hope in 1954's Casanova's Big Night from Paramount.   The cast was filled with horror alumni such as Basil Rathbone, Vincent Price, and John Carradine who, along with Chaney, had a grand old time mugging with the ever over-the-top Hope.   Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis had replaced Abbott and Costello as box-office gold and Chaney appeared with them in their Western/comedy Pardners (Paramount, 1956) as an outlaw confounded by the rambunctious Lewis.

The final comedy (and quite a few critics would justifiably argue with that term) Chaney appeared in would be Hillbillys in a Haunted House where he joined his old chums John Carradine and Basil Rathbone in this country music/spy/ghost story.   Reviled by fans and critics alike, I must confess enjoying this film tremendously as a kid.