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''Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein''[[note]](the onscreen title is actually ''Bud Abbott [and] Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein'', but we're using the current one because it is more known)[[/note]] is a 1948 HorrorComedy film directed by Charles Barton. It is a {{crossover}} between Creator/{{Universal}}'s MonsterMash horror films and its Creator/AbbottAndCostello series of comedies.

Detaching itself from the continuity of the previous Franchise/UniversalHorror films, this movie instead centers around the LovableCoward Wilbur (Costello) and his [[StraightMan no-nonsense]] pal Chick (Abbott), who work as railway baggage clerks. One day they receive an order to take two boxes, which have just come from London to the States, to [=McDougal's=] House of Horrors. The boxes contain the purported remains of [[{{Dracula}} Count Dracula]] (Creator/BelaLugosi) and FrankensteinsMonster (Glenn Strange), who turn out to be very much alive and soon escape the place... after scaring Wilbur out of his wits, of course.

Seems Dracula arranged this little charade to come abroad in hopes of getting a newer, more obedient brain for the Monster. He is working with scientist Sandra Mornay (Lenore Aubert) to accomplish this task, and she has found the perfect candidate for the "donation": Wilbur.

But that's not all; Larry Talbot (Creator/LonChaneyJr), [[Film/TheWolfMan1941 The Wolf Man]] himself, soon joins our heroes to stop Dracula. Too bad he happens to turn into a werewolf at the most inconvenient times...

One of the favorite films of Creator/QuentinTarantino, who's noted that its successful [[GenreBuster genre-blending]] helped inspire his own style. It also proved a turning point for the comedy duo, whose film series would get further into fantasy, often with other Franchise/UniversalHorror monsters.

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!!Here's something to laugh at:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Tropes A-M]]
* AbsurdlyIneffectiveBarricade: At one point Chick and Wilbur slam a door in the face of the Monster and try barricading it. Alas, they forgot that it opened ''the other way'' and get a very nasty surprise.
* AffablyEvil: Dracula, especially in his "Dr. Lejos" persona.
* AffectionateParody: Of Franchise/UniversalHorror, while at the same time remaining within the (very loose) canon of the 1930s-40s series.
* AnimatedCreditsOpening: Done by Creator/WalterLantz, of WesternAnimation/WoodyWoodpecker fame.
* ArtisticLicenseSpace: The moon cannot be full two nights in a row. But then again, when is the moon [[FrequentlyFullMoon ever not full when it comes to werewolves?]]
* AsideGlance: At one point while fleeing from the Monster, Wilbur briefly pauses to pull off a successful TableclothYank, which prompts him to grin at the camera with a pleased "ta-daa!" expression before remembering himself and fleeing again.
* AssholeVictim: [=McDougal=], who is bitten by the Wolf Man, but lives.
* TheAtoner: After spending the last three movies trying to find a permanent way to die, Larry Talbot has finally given up and decided that since he can't die or be cured, he'll spend his days hunting other monsters, hoping to balance out the murders he'll inevitably commit by taking out Dracula and his ilk.
* AxeBeforeEntering: The Monster breaking through a door.
* BehindTheBlack: When Wilbur finds the secret room with the Monster and Dracula in it, he doesn't notice anything at first because of this.
* BerserkButton: Wilbur cracking "wolf" jokes is this to Talbot.
* BigBadEnsemble: Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Wolf Man, although Dracula is the true BigBad.
* BigDamnHeroes: Larry's transformation occurs just in time to fight off Dracula.
* BookcasePassage: Chick discovers some in the House of Dracula.
* {{Bowdlerise}}: Almost every scene involving a monster had to be removed before the Australian film board would allow its release.
* BreakingTheBonds: The Monster breaks his operating table bonds in the climax.
* BullyingTheDragon: At one point, Sandra tries to badger Dracula into delaying their plans in order to avoid arousing suspicion. She even has the gall to tell him not to bother mind-controlling her because (and I quote) "[her] will's as strong as [his]". She forgets she's talking to the king of all vampires.
* TheCameo: [[spoiler:Creator/VincentPrice]] voices the final line of the film:
-->"Allow me to introduce myself: I'm [[spoiler:[[Film/TheInvisibleManReturns The Invisible Man]]]]! [[EvilLaugh Hahahahaha!]]"
** While the duo actually would encounter [[spoiler:an Invisible Man]] in a 1951 movie, it would be a different character and actor (and Bud and Lou themselves play different characters), keeping this from being a true SequelHook.
* CarpeDiem: The advice "Make the most of life, while it lasts" becomes a lot more ominous when pronounced by ''Dracula''.
* CastingGag: Again, [[spoiler:Creator/VincentPrice]]'s cameo could be seen as this, since he ''had'' once previously played [[spoiler: an invisible man.]]
* ChairmanOfTheBrawl: Chick attempts to hit Dracula with a chair in the climax, but hits Sandra instead. Later Dracula picks up one when he is fighting Wolf Man.
* ComicTrio: The movie has Chick as the Schemer (irate, tries to muscle in on Wilbur's LoveTriangle), Wilbur as the Dingbat (IdiotHero and ButtMonkey), and Talbot as the OnlySaneMan.
* CrossoverPunchline: The movie ends with [[spoiler: the Invisible Man appearing. Or not appearing, as the case may be.]]
* DemBones: Our heroes are portrayed as skeletons in the animated opening sequence.
* DestinationDefenestration: The Monster throws [[spoiler:Sandra]] through a window in the climax.
* DisneyVillainDeath: [[spoiler:Sandra, Dracula and the Wolf Man]].
* TheDragon: The Monster and Sandra are this to Dracula.
* DudeNotFunny: Larry Talbot's reaction to Chick putting on a Wolf Man mask at the costume ball.
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: In this film, a famous comedic duo encounters a lumbering reanimated monster. If you have to ask which ones, you've not been paying attention. [[note]]This is ZigZagged in that they do meet several other monsters as well, but "Chick Young and Wilbur Gray Meet Frankenstein's Monster and also Dracula, the Wolf Man, and a Mad Scientist" would be a pretty pedantic title.[[/note]]
* EvilIsNotAToy:
** Dr. Mornay dismisses Dracula's threats on the grounds that her willpower is strong enough to resist his MindControl powers. [[spoiler:She is proven wrong a minute later.]]
** This is why Dracula is seeking Wilbur's brain. Rather than reanimate an unthinking brute, he wants the Frankstein Monster to have the mind of someone more easily cowed, and Sandra believes Wilbur to have just that.
* EvilLaugh: [[spoiler:The Invisible Man delivers one at the end, courtesy of Vincent Price]].
* {{Fainting}}: Both Wilbur and Chick faint when they see Dracula turning from bat to humanoid form in front of their eyes.
* FakeShemp: Glenn Strange suffered a leg injury during production (likely one reason he spends a lot of time shown sitting or lying down in this film). For the scene in which the Monster throws [[spoiler:Sandra]] out the window, Lon Chaney (who had previously played the Monster in ''Film/TheGhostOfFrankenstein'') put on the make-up and the suit and did the shot in his place.
* FatAndSkinny: Did we mention this is Abbott and Costello?
* FightDracula: [[spoiler:The Wolf Man]] does this in the climax.
* ForHalloweenIAmGoingAsMyself:
** When Dracula joins the costume party where our protagonists have gone, he is dressed as a ClassicalMovieVampire.
** Defied by Larry Talbot, who considers the idea of dressing as a Wolf Man for Halloween to be extremely offensive.
* ForeignRemake: There's two; The Egyptian ''Haram Alek'' and the Mexican ''Frankenstein, el Vampiro y Compañía''.
* FunnyPhoneMisunderstanding: In one scene, Mr. Talbot tries to call Wilbur when he starts turning into a werewolf. As Wilbur hears growling on the other end, Wilbur tells him to stop gargling and keep his dog away from the phone.
-->'''Wilbur:''' You're awful silly to call me all the way from London just to have your dog talk to me. ''(barks into the phone)''
* FurAgainstFang: Wolf Man's brief fight with Dracula. Dracula is clearly outmatched and tries to turn into a bat and fly away as a last resort. It doesn't work.
* GenreBusting: A {{Slapstick}} MonsterMash.
* GhostButler: When Wilbur and Chick search the basement, the door closes behind them.
* GrandFinale: It may not have been intended this way, but this ended up being the final entry in the "main" Franchise/UniversalHorror series that had begun in 1931 with the original ''Dracula'' and ''Frankenstein'' films. Although Universal Horror movies continued to be produced with characters like The Mummy - who got his own A&C film a few years later - those films had no narrative connection to the Dracula, Frankenstein and Wolf Man films. As such, this marks the final canonical appearance of the versions of Dracula, the Wolf Man and the Monster as originally played by Lugosi, Chaney and (initially) Boris Karloff.
* HeroicSacrifice: Talbot gets one (possibly unintentional) when, as the Wolf Man, he leaps off the balcony to stop Dracula from getting away. Being Larry Talbot, he probably survived.
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Wilbur and Chick. They even live in the same apartment together.
* HiddenHarasser: One RunningGag is when the monster scares Wilbur and [[CassandraTruth he tries to warn Chick]], but the monster is nowhere to be seen and Chick thinks Wilbur is just seeing things.
* HorrifyingTheHorror: ''Lou'', of all people, does this to [[FrankensteinsMonster the Monster]] when they first meet.
* HypnoticEyes: Dracula hypnotizes Sandra with his eyes to ensure her obedience. Then later bites her and drinks her blood to make absolutely sure. Sandra attempts it on Wilbur, but he's TooDumbToFool.
* ImplacableMan: The Monster relentlessly pursues the heroes for much of the last act of the film. This film is actually the first - and one of the only - films to actually depict the Monster as embodying this trope, even though the concept of the Monster being an implacable man is one of its most enduring stereotypes.
* InvoluntaryShapeshifter: Per the usual lore, Larry Talbot turns into the Wolf Man whenever the full moon comes out, which of course happens at the least convenient times here.
%%* ItWasHereISwear: Basis of many gags.
%%* JerkAss: [=McDougal=].
* KavorkaMan: What Wilbur seems to be, easily getting the attention of the beautiful Sandra and Joan. It turns out that both of them have their own agendas, and simply think that Wilbur is the more pliable of the two.
* KillItWithFire: In the end when Frankenstein's Monster is occupied with throwing stuff at escaping Wilbur and Chick, Stevens sets the pier on fire with gasoline, thus burning the Monster.
* LargeHam: While the film takes place in a WorldOfHam, Wilbur (Costello) stands above the rest with his hysterical freak-outs over any appearance of a monster.
* LightmareFuel: For all the monsters who show up, the movie is pretty lighthearted. Indeed, the Frankenstein Monster himself generates one of the film's funniest moments when Wilbur frightens ''him''.
* LovableCoward: Wilbur is another in a long line of Costello characters of this type.
* LoveTriangle: Wilbur is chuffed to think that he is in one with Sandra and Joan. However, he has failed to consider TheSchlubPubSeductionDeduction.
%%* MadScientist: Sandra Mornay.
* MadScientistLaboratory: Dr. Mornay sets one up in the House of Dracula.
* MeaningfulName: Dracula's alias, Dr. Lejos. "Lejos" is Spanish for "far", and Talbot described Dracula as having a "faraway look in his eye".
* MonsterMash: Abbott and Costello meet not only the Frankenstein monster but Count Dracula, the Wolf Man, a brain-swapping mad scientist, and a cameo from [[spoiler:the Invisible Man]]-- with most of the action taking place in the House of Dracula!
* MissingReflection: Averted; Dracula's reflection can be clearly seen at least once in a mirror behind him. However, no one comments on this in story.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tropes N-Z]]
* NameAndName: With a variation of a VersusTitle thrown in.
%%* NoIndoorVoice: [=McDougal=].
* NonIndicativeName [=/=] IAmNotShazam: They don't meet the ''actual'' Frankenstein, only his creation. At least the dialogue is careful to identify him as "the Frankenstein monster," but this doesn't carry over to the title.
* OpenSesame: Desperate to escape back through a secret door that opened onto the Frankenstein Monster, Wilbur resorts to yelling "Open sesame! Open sesame!" Weirdly enough, it works.
* OnlySaneMan: Poor Larry Talbot. Everyone else in the movie is either evil or an idiot. Naturally, they all think he's nuts... except for Dracula, who knows the truth, but acts like ''he'' thinks Talbot is nuts just to tick him off.
* OfficiallyShortenedTitle: The on-screen title is "Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein," while the poster reads "Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein." It's much better known as "Abbott and Costello..."
* SayMyName:
** Wilbur repeatedly screams "Chiiiiick!"
** On one occasion, trapped with only Sandra and the Frankenstein monster around to rescue him, Wilbur alternates between screaming "SANDRAAA!" and whimpering "Junior?"
* TheSchlubPubSeductionDeduction: Neither Wilbur nor Chick is smart enough to suspect that the multiple gorgeous women coming onto Wilbur, of all people, might possibly have ulterior motives. (Joan is working as an insurance investigator, and Sandra wants [[spoiler: to steal his brain for the Frankenstein Monster.]])
* ScreamsLikeALittleGirl: Poor Wilbur does this many times, inevitably leading to YouHaveToBelieveMe.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: When Talbot tells Wilbur over the phone that he's in Dracula's castle, Wilbur doesn't even bother hanging up before bolting for the exit.
* SecretPassage: Wilbur stumbles into one accidentally.
* {{Slapstick}}: As would be expected in an Creator/AbbottAndCostello movie.
* SlidingScaleOfComedyAndHorror: Very much on the comedy side of things, with Bud and Lou hamming it up and wisecracking to perfection, but the Franchise/UniversalHorror monsters are quite real and played just as straight as in their own movies, so there are several genuinely scary moments.
* StraightManAndWiseGuy: You remember this is an Abbott and Costello movie, right?
* StrappedToAnOperatingTable: Wilbur and the Monster during the brainswitch operation.
* SuddenlySpeaking: The Monster has the ability to speak again after being silent since the end of ''Film/TheGhostOfFrankenstein''.
* TakingYouWithMe: As the Wolf Man overwhelms him, Dracula retreats to the castle balcony and transforms into a bat to escape, but the Wolf Man grabs him in mid-air, either not knowing or [[SuicideAttack not caring]] that they'll both plummet into the moat below. [[spoiler: ''Literature/ReturnOfTheWolfman'' claims that they survived (and so did Frankenstein's Monster), but the novel's canonicity is debatable, and in the film itself, there's no indication that the fall was anything but fatal.]]
* TapOnTheHead: When Steven starts asking too many questions, Sandra gives him a whack in the head with a fire extinguisher.
* TemptingFate: Chick's final line about there's nothing more to frighten our heroes, which of course summons up The Invisible Man.
* TermsOfEndangerment: AffablyEvil "Dr. Lejos" compliments Wilbur by telling him, "What we need today is young blood and brains!" He also advises him to "Make the most of life, while it lasts."
* ThisIsReality: While reading the placards at the Museum, Chick points out all the "bunk" written about Dracula and Frankenstein's legends and dismisses it as superstitious nonsense [=McDougal=] uses to fool gullible customers.
* TransformationSequence: Talbot turning into a werewolf and Dracula turning into a bat.
* VillainProtagonist: Larry Talbot (the Wolf Man) is on the side of the good guys here... at least, until the full moon comes out.
* WeMeetAgain: Talbot says this to Dracula when they meet at the costume party. Dracula feigns ignorance.
* WhatDoesSheSeeInHim: Chick's reaction to Sandra choosing Wilbur as a "boyfriend" early on.
-->'''Chick:''' I don't get it. Out of all the guys around here, that classy dish has to pick out a guy like you.
-->'''Wilbur:''' What's wrong with that?
-->'''Chick:''' Go look at yourself in the mirror sometime.
-->'''Wilbur:''' Why should I hurt my own feelings?
* WhatsHeGotThatIAintGot: Chick asks Sandra this question verbatim about Wilbur. Sandra’s answer: “[[DoubleMeaning Brains]].”
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
** Talbot attacks somebody, and the guy lives through it. We never find out if he becomes a wolf himself, though. (In fact, throughout the movies we never find out if Talbot's bite transfers the curse; his wolf form is substantially different than the one that bit him, and it's not clear that he can pass it on.)
** The last time we see Talbot, he's falling off a cliff fighting Dracula. The movie doesn't bother to indicate what happens after they land. However, the 1998 novel ''Literature/ReturnOfTheWolfMan'' eventually answered both questions. [[spoiler:[=McDougal=] became a murderous werewolf, and both Talbot and Dracula survived their fall. So did the Frankenstein's monster.]]
* WorldOfHam: Nobody in this movie is going for subtlety.
* WhoWouldBeStupidEnough: Reading a placard about the creation of the Frankenstein Monster, Chick scoffs, "Who would be dumb enough to believe that?" Wilbur laughs, then confesses, "[[RhetoricalQuestionBlunder Me]]."
* WouldHitAGirl: The Monster could not care less what gender [[spoiler:Sandra is]]. Having [[spoiler:a female villain]] die - and rather horrifically, too - was rather rare for 1940s cinema, so this also applies to the movie in general.
* YouHaveToBelieveMe:
** Poor Wilbur spends a good bit of the movie trying to convince Chick that he's seeing the monsters.
** And, of course, Larry Talbot trying to convince Chick and Wilbur that he's the Wolf Man.
* YourOtherLeft: As they're escaping the castle, Chick tells Wilbur to run to the Left. Wilbur pauses, considers his hands, turns and runs smack into the wall.
[[/folder]]
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