Another one of David J. Skal's, author of "Hollywood Gothic," short video documentaries that are available on Universal's home video collections of their classic monster movies, this one covers the careers of comedic duo Abbott and Costello and, in particular, their film "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" (1948). Their other horror spoofs are also, but more briefly, mentioned. I've complained a bit about Skal's other video docs for Universal's monster movies for not being informative for those who've already read up on the films, but I understand they may be worth a look for more casual viewers. In this case, that it includes me, because I'm not very familiar with Abbott and Costello. Their 1948 monster rally, thus far, is the only film I remember seeing with them, so this video's information was mostly new to me. Plus, this one, unlike the other docs, includes some footage, although of the blooper-reel variety, not seen in the film being discussed. Anyways, it was interesting to learn a bit about the comedians' methods, as well as the evolution of monster makeup for the film after Universal fired Jack Pierce.
