Watch Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde For Free
Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
As American policemen in London, Bud and Lou meet up with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Release : | 1953 |
Rating : | 6.4 |
Studio : | Universal Pictures, |
Crew : | Art Direction, Art Direction, |
Cast : | Bud Abbott Lou Costello Boris Karloff Craig Stevens Helen Westcott |
Genre : | Horror Comedy Science Fiction |
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Reviews
Such a frustrating disappointment
Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.
I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible
Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.
Not played entirely for laughs. The false faces on both Mr. Hydes look too large, as they have to be applied over the head, like "Frankenstein"! Great transformations of both Boris and Lou into the monster, not unlike the famous "Wolfman" sequence! It is way too scary for little kids and I suspect that's why the critics disliked it. Like "Ghostbusters" it's humor was misunderstood. Lou also turns into a giant fuzzy mouse after accidentally drinking a weird formula meant for one of the lab animals. Very atmospheric with excellent sets and costumes. A bit unusual with the doctor showing a slightly unhealthy interest in his young "ward". The lab worker is demented-looking. A really unnecessary character? The two "monsters" are chased all over London as they are both dressed in similar clothing with capes. Great ending when Costello bites several policemen that all turn into "Mr. Hyde" temporarily. Still one of my favorite A&C comedies. I saw many of these around 1956, often a free Saturday Matinée, with a wrapper from a Mars candy bar! Probably disliked by the critics due to the fact that two villains "die" along with a few extras? I guess it's okay to kill some other monsters off in the rest of the series? Costello remains the "Prince of Prat-Falls" as always. The 2015 re-release (2 discs-4 movies) is wonderful with clean, crisp copies.
There is really only one reason to watch this and that's the presence of the great Boris Karloff as Dr Jekyll. Pity Universal never managed to cast him in a proper film bout Jekyll and Hyde. Instead we have yet another corny and lame Abbott and Costello comedy. I defy anyone who can actually sit through the pairs poor excuse for comedy and actually find them funny. Now I love the Marx Brothers, i adore Laurel and Hardy, they are still funny and fresh and were comedy geniuses never to be matched and pre-date A & C by over 10 years. I can even appreciate the Three stooges up to a point also. Indeed people may say Meet Dr Jekyll is one of their poorest efforts, actually there are worse believe it or not, check out the dire jack and the beanstalk for that dubious honour. I have watched Buck Privates, Who Done It?, pardon my sarong, meet the mummy and also the much heralded Meet Frankenstein all of which are suppose to be A & C at their best, all left me called cold apart from meet frankenstein and thats because of Lugosi, purely and simply. The lamest part about this particular film is the scene where Lou turns into a mouse, its so pathetically unfunny it defies belief at its sheer ineptitude.
Abbott & Costello play Slim & Tubby, two American policemen in London in order to study their local police tactics. They get a big chance when a series of murders break out with respected doctors being the victims. It turns out to be the work of Henry Jekyll(played nicely by Boris Karloff) who is frustrated and vengeful against the men who laughed at his research and theories. He developed the serum that turned him into Mr. Hyde, who is more athletic and stronger than Jekyll. Hyde becomes the object of a manhunt, with the expected comedic results. Despite the decline in quality of their films, this is an unexpected bright spot, being both funny and scary, and directed with energy and enthusiasm. I agree it would have been better if Karloff had the chance to do an entirely serious adaptation of the Robert Louis Stevenson novel, but this will have to do!
This movie was a fun watch for me and my ten year old. It did have some really weird segments, most notable being the suffragettes dancing the can-can to drum up signatures; and, the Balinese dancer who couldn't dance. After way too much time building the love-interest, the film gets down to the rush of sight-gags that we expect from A and C...The special effects are pretty weak; however, the timing of the two is as good as ever. There are transformations, barking rabbits and people turning into mice...more than enough to capture the imagination of a child and more than enough to get an adult to watch the movie with his own child.Enjoy!