Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953)


Diminishing returns on the movies where Abbott and Costello meet different Universal monsters was a given.  After all, by the time Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was made the duo had made over 25 films for Universal and were obviously trying to wind things down.  Most of the jokes had become routine.  However, if one thing had been learned from Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, it was that the horror elements must balance out the comedic.  

There is a monster on the loose in London who is killing random people.  Reporter Bruce Adams (Craig Stevens) is trying to get the scoop.  While doing so he meets a beautiful suffragette named Vicky (Helen Westcott) who is also a performer in a music hall.  Vicky happens to be the ward of Dr. Jekyll (Boris Karloff) who, along with his assistant Batley (John Dierkes), is experimenting with bringing out the different sides of human beings.  He secretly wishes to marry Vicky and uses his drugs to turn into Mr. Hyde (Eddie Parker) in order to kill Bruce. 

What he doesn't plan on are two police officers from the United States.  Slim (Bud Abbott) and Tubby (Lou Costello) are working with the police in London to learn how things are done.  After a fiasco at a suffragette meeting they are fired but decide to catch the monster in order to get hired back on the force.  This leads to them falling afoul of Dr. Jekyll, particularly when Tubby learns his secret. 

What this has going for it is atmosphere that was missing from the previous two horror comedies.  We get a fog-shrouded London, some decent makeup on Parker as Hyde and some good jokes revolving around Tubby turning into a mouse.  Everyone else plays it straight with Karloff bringing a delightfully evil twist to Jekyll, who is usually portrayed as being too good to be a believable character. 

My major quibble is that, for a movie that is supposed to take place in London, there sure are a lot Americans.  It was obviously filmed on a London set that had been used in previous movies.  I just wish they had gathered more English actors to fill this out as it would have felt a lot more like the 1931 version if it did.  

Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953)
Time: 76 minutes
Starring: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Boris Karloff, Craig Stevens, Helen Westcott
Director: Charles Lamont



 

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