Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff

I'm a big A&C fan and have been since I was ten. I saw this A&C film many times in the 1980s (I recorded it once and watched it over and over again). It turns out that this film is included in Volume 3 of the Best of Abbott and Costello DVD set. After purchasing the set, I had a chance to watch it again recently. There are some genuinely outstanding gags here. Of all the movies made after A&C MEET FRANKENSTEIN (the duo's high point), this is one of the best. The chase scene through the caverns is actually very well made and has withstood the test of time. It remains one of the best climaxes from an A&C movie. Unfortunately, Boris Karloff isn't put to very good use in the film. This is a surprisingly atmospheric film, though, and at times it even contains elements of noir. It reminds me of a cross between WHO DONE IT and HOLD THAT GHOST, although it's not as good as either of those films. Still, unlike A&C GO TO MARS or Africa SCREAMS, it's certainly not a blemish on their filmography.

Bud & Lou find themselves at the center of a murder mystery, the chief suspect? Why Lou Costello of course.

As a comedy, Meet The Killer offers nothing fresh to what we haven't seen before from the boys prior to this 1949 offering, not that the comedy doesn't deliver, because it does, very much so. Be it Freddie (Costello) being too stupid to be hypnotised by the shifty Swami (Boris Karloff), or a wonderful sequence of events down in the creepy caverns, it's fun and very diverting. However, the strength in "Meet The Killer" is that it works very well as a whodunit mystery, a ream of characters, all acting oddly, come and go to keep the viewer guessing right through to the cheery pay off. It's entertaining on two fronts and has a cast clearly having fun into the bargain. Super shadowy photography by Charles Van Enger as well. Enjoy!

Now, about that Tortoise? 7/10

Much of Abbott and Costello's late 40s/early 50s output put them in parodies of various film genres--this one is a parody of murder mysteries. I saw this as a child and liked it, although I was let down that Boris Karloff had such an insignificant role. Now that it's out on DVD as part of the third A&C boxset, I'm seeing it again, and I still think it's quite funny. There are many well-paced comic set-ups and the boys don't look bored as they do in some of their later vehicles. No great analysis is needed for a film like this--it's just classic comedy and has held up very well.

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello star in this classic "who done it" movie. The team provides their usual funny pratfalls and mix-ups but along the way they manage to provide a classic theme to this movie. With Abbott and Costello, Karloff managing his way into the picture as the grueling possibility of the killer.

This may be Abbott and Costello's best attempt to provide some new material into their excellent routines. Costello's character, Phillips is mainly accused of murdering a well known lawyer after they have a public disagreement.

Phillips arrives at the lawyers hotel rooms to apologize but he finds that the lawyer has been murdered. Abbott goes far and above the the call of friendship to prove his friends innocents but who really did do it? Watch and see.

We have here the excellent slapstick performances of straight man Bud Abbott and comic genius Lou Costello,combined with the always menacing Boris Karloff,though here he is much more lighthearted of course.Freddy Phillips(Costello)is suspected of murder.Of course we all know he didn't do it,and the hilarious journey to the real killer begins from there. While this is not Abbott and Costello's greatest effort,it is certainly good enough,and it is a great combination of murder mystery and comedy. Today's comedy writers and performers could learn a lot from A and C, as well as many others from their era.If you want to know what real comedy is all about,the films of Abbott and Costello are the way to go. Great stuff.