HOLD THAT GHOST

Joan Davis and Lou Costello

HOLD THAT GHOST (1941). Director: Arthur Lubin. Colorized. 

Chuck (Bud Abbott) and Ferdy (Lou Costello) discover that a dead gangster has left them all of his loot, if they can only find it in the crumbling old mansion where it is hidden. The two fellows travel by auto to the place, whereupon other passengers in the car are stranded along with them due to a storm. These passengers include professional radio screamer, Camille (Joan Davis), pretty Norma (Evelyn Ankers of Captive Wild Woman), Dr. Jackson (Richard Carlson of Tormented), and some uninvited ghosts -- or guests. Some of the gangster's associates want the dough for themselves and won't stop at murder to get it!

Those teeth! Patti Andews sings "Aurora"

A cut below the Abbott and Costello classic, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, this is still an amusing if often very silly movie. Some of the gags -- such as a bit with a bedroom transforming into a mini-casino  and vice versa -- go on ad nauseam, but there are also funny scenes such as a dance routine between Davis and Costello, who make an amusing team. Others in the cast include Mischa Auer as a dyspeptic club manager, Ted Lewis as a singer and master of ceremonies, Marc Lawrence as a hood, and the Andrews Sisters doing a couple of snappy numbers, including "Aurora."  

Verdict: Amiable nonsense with the lovable comedy team -- and the Andrews Sisters! **3/4. 

ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN

Franky (Glenn Strange) goes after Lou Costello

ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948). Director: Charles Barton. 

Wilbur (Lou Costello) and Chick (Bud Abbott) work for a shipping company and are told to bring two items to a House of Horrors without fail. One item is a coffin that contains the living Count Dracula (Bela Lugosi of The Corpse Vanishes) and the other is a crate that holds Frankenstein (Glenn Strange), whom the vampire has under his control. Meanwhile Sandra (Lenore Aubert of The Catman of Paris) romances Wilbur because she wants to put his simple-minded brain in Frankenstein's body so that the monster will be more easily manipulated. Two other people get involved in the frenzied, comical action: Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.), who turns into the Wolfman when the moon is full and warns the boys about what's going on with Drac and Franky; and Joan (Jane Randolph of The Mysterious Mr. M), an insurance agent for the shipping company. Will poor Wilbur become subjected to a brain transplant?

Gruesome twosome: Bela Lugosi and Lenore Aubert

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is practically a textbook case of how to do a spoof the right way. The trick is that everyone pretty much plays it straight except for the two stars, who by this point were old hands at their comical schtick. The movie is not only consistently funny, but even exciting and suspenseful at times, and is also very well-produced. Frank Skinner's excellent score makes the most of every sequence. Other cast members include Frank Ferguson as the testy owner of the House of Horrors (whose exhibits turn out to be alive), and Charles Bradstreet as the handsome Professor Stevens, who works with Sandra but has no idea what she's really up to. 

Verdict: Classic comedy with the fellows in top form and a very adept and enthusiastic supporting cast. ***1/2.