Deux nigauds contre Frankenstein

A full moon is on the rise in foggy London when Lawrence Talbot places a panicked phone call to the States. He is the only one who knows that a great evil is on its way to America. Count Dracula and the Frankenstein Monster have been shipped to a wax museum, and when the sun sets, Dracula will rise and summon his superhuman servant. Talbot knows he must warn someone...anyone...but unfortunately, it's Lou Costello who answers the phone. The movie is then off and running. Dracula needs a new brain for his monster, a brain so simple and dumb that the monster will obey Dracula's every command. Dracula's lethal henchwoman, Doctor Sandra Mornay, soon finds the perfect subject. Guess who? Now it's up to Bud Abbott and Lon Chaney Jr. to save Lou and stop Dracula before Lou literally loses his mind!

This is my absolute favorite Abbott & Costello film, sweet and witty but also dark and spooky, with plenty of nice, Gothic sets filled with full moons, flapping bats, cobwebs and lab equipment. Lon Chaney Jr. as the lycanthropic Lawrence Talbot, Bela Lugosi in his final appearance as Dracula and Glenn Strange as the Monster all play their roles perfectly straight as Bud and Lou stumble around them. The dark and seductive Lenore Aubert makes her second appearance as a Bud and Lou Bad Girl, slinking her way through the entire movie like a black panther, trying to lead poor Lou astray. Best moments include a wax museum in a lightening storm, a costume ball on a moonlit night and an uncredited Vincent Price who shows up - sort of - at films end. Bud and Lou turn in flawless performances yet again; Bud the Straight Guy always ready with a stinging one- liner and Lou the Bumbling Fool, falling all over himself, yet both of them always uniting at the films climax to stop the Bad Guys.

Fans of Bud and Lou and fans of the Universal Creature Features should not miss this film. It is both a spoof and an homage to the legendary Monsters of film. 10 stars.