Quentin Tarantino on Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein

Quentin Tarantino reacts to Charles Barton's 1948 classic Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.
Source: SiriusXM
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Source: Eli Roth's History of Horror
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[@felyxmillicent6538]

A masterpiece of a film. Truly. Watched it a million times as a kid with my parents.

[@benleon3405]

They would show A&C movie in nyc every Sunday or Saturday, i forget , morning, in the 70s..when this came on I was soooo Happy! Still love it all these years later..

[@Magnetron33]

Nick Cloony, George's father, showed Saturday serials on AMC I remember it well. He would be sitting in an old theater and tell a lttle bit about the movie. I think it was uninterupted like TCM.. I like Phantom Empire. The 1936 Lone Ranger was as good as it gets. Quite different from the television version. Possibly the best western serial I have seen.

[@davidp419]

It was run every Sunday morning at 11:30 AM on channel 11. The instrumental song "Popcorn" was played as the intro to the A&C film was running that Sunday. I remember it like it was yesterday. Miss those days a lot.

[@DrOlds100]

@@davidp419 I totally remember that as well! We could watch A&C on channel 11 or go to channel 5 and watch The Bowery Boys at noon. I couldn't get back from church fast enough, lol

[@DrOlds100]

@@Magnetron33 AMC used to be the greatest station on cable, That and TBS The Super Station. I too remember Nick Clooney's intros along with Bob Dorians. Those guys were so great! It's really too bad what they've done with AMC, I don't even watch it anymore - Way too many commercial breaks, It's just ridiculous

[@DrOlds100]

@@davidp419 I remember that as well, Used to race home from 10:30 mass to try and catch the beginning. If it was an A&C movie that I wasn't crazy about I could always go to Channel 5 and watch The Bowery Boys, great memory's!

[@Nerdzombiedisco]

I always stayed glued to the TV when this was on when I was a kid. Always remember the transformations and the smokin hot actresses.

[@KClouisville]

Always shared Tarantino's love for this flick...though I do think it's funny he thinks it was somehow unique he was able to differentiate between the comedy Abbott & Costello elements and the horror...I mean, I saw this as a small child as well and was able to.....I think most kids can.

[@crusherballz]

Cause he is a Narcissist!

[@apachechief8815]

Yet ur a nobody and he’s a generational director

[@leecoll3364]

One of my favorite movies I mean of all movies it remains a favorite 2001 doesn't hold a candle to it Lol

[@deebeeinto]

I saw a werewolf drinking a pina coloda at Trader Vics. His hair was perfect.

[@RichardNitsch-i4l]

Dip!

[@richardrobbins387]

Loved hearing Quentin talk about this mixture of genres in old movies. I pretty much felt exactly the same at age 6. This is awesome!! Also, yeah (7:02) to me back then Bela Lugosi WAS Dracula.

[@JohnnyGoodBehavior]

We had Abbott and Costello meet the Mummy on bootleg vhs off cable and I loved it.

[@robertroddy]

Still one of favorites along with. "hold that ghost"

[@ronbo11]

Mos def!

[@w.h.1940]

Bowery boys?

[@juniorjames7076]

Meet The Killer, Boris Karloff was also great!

[@quaid667]

Isn't Shemp Howard briefly in that one?

[@davidp419]

"Hold that Ghost" is in my top 3 favorite A&C movies!

[@Vicshade]

I like to watch this every Halloween. One of my favorites as a child.

[@Dalekzilla]

I've long considered this to be the greatest "classic monster" movie of all time. Fantastic script, and Bela is back as Dracula, with Lon Chaney back as the Wolfman, and the BEST looking Frankenstein, Glenn Strange.

[@floorticket]

Jerry Garcia mentions James Whale in a 1995 interview where he talks about seeing Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein in 1948 with his mother when he was six. The movie had a profound effect on the young musician.

[@tedsperos1620]

You beat me to it

[@waynej2608]

Yes, Garcia said in an interview once that seeing A & C Meet Frankenstein greatly inspired him to get into the music scene. I'm eternally 'grateful' that he felt that way. 👍

[@RabbiSteve1]

But James Whale has nothing to do with *this* movie. I mean, not directly.

[@tedsperos1620]

@@RabbiSteve1 Technically you're right but I letting it go because Whale's original was mentioned in that same interview as well.

[@floorticket]

@ After some cursory research I'm fairly convinced Charles Barton, the director of "Abbot & Costello M.F.", was a fan of Jame's Whale. Barton was 29 when Whale's Frankenstein came out in '31. And Barton's first IMDb director's credit is from 1934.

[@loringbush1455]

Just picked this up yesterday at Walmart and I love watching the old-school clasdic horror movies!

[@svsugvcarter]

Jerry Garcia’s favorite and most formative movie.

[@BarryHart-xo1oy]

Good to know.

[@robertrouse4503]

I'm about 9 years your senior and every time "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" came on as a kid. The first time I got a VCR, I searched for it but failed. I eventually recorded it, trying to take out the ads. Those were the days.

[@EggbertPepperwhistle-r4q]

These are the days… I don’t have to take out the ads. Since the internet I can find practically any movie ever made and watch a superior copy. Oh and I’m pretty old too. Those were the days of crappy pre-cable reception and maybe five channels if you’re lucky…

[@robertrouse4503]

@EggbertPepperwhistle-r4q maybe, but we were lucky. We weren't stuck with contemporary films of the late '50s and '60s, we know Errol Flynn, A&C, Hedy Lamar, etc. We had to watch those and we're richer for it.

[@EggbertPepperwhistle-r4q]

@ I don’t believe so. Entertainment is subjective and its quality is of someone’s opinion .You can like what you like but comparing your life experience to someone else’s to say yours was better is the apex of arrogance. You like the past… good. I think it sucked…

[@kenrickhadley4499]

This movie was number one that year, Karloff regret turning it down.

[@justindenney-hall5875]

For a brief moment Paramount considered doing a crossover with Jason Voorhees and Cheech & Chong since at the time both franchises belonged to them, God that would have been awesome! "Alas, the road not taken..." (General M. Bison)

[@triviavesta6899]

That would be funny....Cheech keeps seeing Jason...but Chong just thinks he is stoned and seeing things

[@Jim-Mc]

All he wanted to do was face Guile man to man, and create the perfect genetic soldier. 😢

[@Ease54]

I'd never heard of it and a cousin saw it and described it to me. I was crushed that I'd missed it, and didn't catch it until years later. One of my first VHS purchases.

[@melaniesmith1313]

My brothers and I adored this as kids in the 1960s. My daughters grew up loving it too.

[@DanielWright-np3fq]

Every Halloween, it's Frankenstein, Dracula, Bride of Frankenstein and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, in that order. Then others if time allows.

[@mlongpre100]

costello is the one who reacts realistically to the situation. everyone else is oblivious

[@paull7539]

It's a close to perfect movie (IMO) for the reasons stated.

[@jlipari58]

Love this movie. I still watch it, at age 66.

[@deengew]

You're a liar. You haven't even seen it.

[@ImYourHuckleberry_29]

​@@deengewand you are....?

[@joenathan4880]

I used to take this out from the public library often at about 7 or 8

[@WorkingPoorFilms]

I enjoy QT's comments on the movies, but I don't agree with much. But I am SO glad he has he praised this film. It's one of the truly great films for a kid and holds up beautifully as we go through adulthood.

[@haroldbirge6881]

It's probably been 30 years I'm going to look it up and watch it again they are so hilarious and the graphics are great for back then 🍀✌️

[@frankf684]

The graphics?it’s a movie not a video game

[@haroldbirge6881]

@frankf684 😎 it is what I say it is 🍀 Poindexter ✌️

[@bobdole7451]

Lon Chaney Jr was an amazing actor. He brought an air of realism when most actors played roles between either over the top fast talking wise guys or transatlantic accent having upper class men.

[@OrangeCounty-zq1qs]

When I was a little kid, I always knew I could outrun Dracula & Frankenstein, but a werewolf will catch you 🐺

[@buh2001j]

I'd watch 'Harold & Kumar meet Leatherface'

[@RayEvans-j1q]

Back in the sixties, my grade school teacher somehow was able to acquire this movie for an after school movie night, a week before Halloween! Always remember the title introduction! The movie ended around 5 PM! It was dark and I ran home! It is now in my movie collection!

[@wakuyanow]

In the 70's my elementary school had a movie night where they played this film on a projector.

[@midknightgeek6629]

Was my first introduction to "Horror" and was perfect for an eight year old...and is still perfect FUN for this now, older man lol BTW - for those familiar with Shane Black's "Nice Guys" film, there's a scene where Ryan Gosling's character falls off a balcony and rolls to the bottom of a ravine type area and lands next to a dead body. The way that Ryan reacts to seeing the body is "exactly" the same way as Lou Costello's "Wilbur" character when he sees the candle move on Dracula's coffin as he begins to slowly open the lid. So I'm not sure who watched and was a fan of the Abbot & Costello, Shane or Gosling (or both), but someone did and they did a great homage to that original scene. Gosling did a great job! The entire Nice Guys film is brilliant imo (as are most Shane Black films imo) Anyway thought someone might find it interesting lol IF for some reason some out there haven't seen either film, do yourself a favor and watch the Abbot & Costello film and then Nice Guys, you're in for a treat!!! 😎 👍 edit - Ok , I'm an idiot lol...I briefly forgot that Shane Black helped write the screenplay, along with Fred Dekker, for The Monster Squad (1987) film, so as a horror/comedy itself, that brought together the Universal Classic monsters, I'm sure he and Fred Dekker would have seen the Abbot & Costello film in their youth (or later) So it makes sense that he might add the scene to the Nice Guys script. Maybe as an inside joke, maybe to see how many catch it? Maybe 🤔

[@AlexRodriguez-ti3wy]

1:35 for a whole ass second I thought QT had just referenced Spongebob, but then I remembered that Reese's Peanut Butter Cup commerical

[@1600SkidRowAvenue]

Phasers On Stun: Yes! I remember seeing this on TV as a little kid and when Lugosi threw the flower pot THAT scared the hell of me.

[@brianvail9212]

I think Dick Cavett said this was the scariest film he's ever seen.

[@Rico-je4yy]

He said, "If I recall correctly, I shat my trousers."

[@sgrafx]

Its still a great one.

[@eugenenickseugenespopmadness]

Sounds like we grew up around the same time and watched some of the same stuff. I loved this movie when I was a kid too.

[@theimp5901]

Karloff coached Glenn Strange for the role. Million Dollar Movie ran it all week at 7pm and 11PM and all day long on weekends. Then the next week the movie would change ! It was so cool .

[@MicahMicahel]

Bela Lugosi kind of played the Dracula character on the mark of the Vampire

[@queenglamazona8789]

And in Return of The Vampire.

[@myrnahuichapan7624]

My sister Norma, loved movies and learned as much about them growing up and was the first to tell me the significance of this movie. Getting Lon Chaney, the original Wolfman, and Bela Lugosi, the original Dracula. That explains "Pulp Fiction"

[@adamellis6785]

That line at the end about how it was like if there were a movie, "Kid & Play Meet Jason" - we did have a song where DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince met Freddy Krueger, so, kinda close.

[@Rick-mp8tm]

The same for me, i adored this movie! I was probably 5 or 6 , and always remembered it, I didn't see it Again until years later on svengoolie a few years ago!

[@RichardSchaefer-zx9ig]

I also loved this movie as a child 7 or 8 years old (early 60s) when I first saw this @ a weekend matinee @ local Rivoli Theater. Another classic A&C movie is "Time of Our Lives" with multiple themes/genre. It's set during Revolutionary War, it's a Ghost story + more. Would play on Milliion Dollar movie 5 nights in a row mid '60s. I was born in 1953 and loved growing up when I did. Peace + Love

[@suzannemostafavifar1686]

I still love Abbot & Costello meet Frankenstein- but it does not work today for young kids because there don’t fear Frankenstein or Dracula. But I will watch this whenever it’s on. There were some other good funny ghost stories from back then that were really funny. One had Costello as the ghost & Abbott was one of the alive people. Loved all those old movies - the comedy was great.

[@benrig89]

I remember getting this from my local library when I was 11 (my parents hated horror but this one slipped below their radar) and it was the perfect introduction of horror/comedy, I remember being scared shitless but every time it almost got to be too much the comedy would kick in and bring it back a notch. It really gave me an appreciation for both genres....the scene where the bats are in Sandra's eyes scared the shit out of me, while the scene with Costello tied to a table and trying to get the attention of either his former crush or the monster (he was desperate) made me howl with laughter. "SAAANDRRAAAAA.......j u n i o r....." Still the best horror-comedy prior to Evil Dead 2.

[@HalfassDIY]

Thats how I felt about Abbot & Costello Go To Mars !

[@michaelligue3842]

We showed movies in our grammar school auditorium on Saturday afternoons for a school fundraiser . I got in trouble for showing this movie and scaring the smaller kids in the audience 😂😂😂 . This was 1973 in Chicago . The following I showed Abbott and Costello meets the Mummy , ironically we did not get in trouble for that feature !

[@Smokey_da_Bear]

Best movie for kids ever! Never has failed to please and fascinate THE TYKES.

[@SavoirRare]

I literally used to show this as a teenager at summer camp …I was paid as a junior counselor in the 70’s to run the projector in the afternoons and this was a regular feature once a week. Those were the days. The only downside I remember was that Karloff didn’t play Frankenstein in this. Other than that, it was the perfect film for a young horror fan.

[@iamgodiamgod638]

Best part of my Gen X childhood!

[@juniorjames7076]

Watching it as a child on local television was both hilarious and terrifying at the same time. Its A&C's masterpiece in my opinion (along with when they meet The Mummy, which is also funny as hell and suspenseful), because their later films began to decline.

[@wallacechannel8532]

One of my top favorite movies. Hold that ghost by A&C is also great

[@biggmaqq]

Jerry Garcia's favorite movie.

[@PhotoTrekr]

Still love that movie.

[@nancybeckett890]

Just watched this movie recently and it did not make me laugh ONCE. But the matte painting of the exterior of the castle is GORGEOUS! Side note: I've always thought the name "Bela Lugosi" sounds scarier than "Count Dracula." You want to scare a kid? Tell him 'Bela Lugosi' is hiding in the closet! 'Bela Lugosi' is under your bed! (Not that I have any desire to scare kids!)

[@007ndc]

Any movie with Bela Lugosi as Dracula (only two or three sadly) is Gold

[@phillipschwoerke8374]

I have never seen it. I did not watch horror when I was a young kid. I think i need to see this!

[@williamshaw9047]

Gilbert Gottfried used to talk about this movie a lot on Howard Stern.

[@Magnetron33]

Lugosi played a similar character in a 1935 MGM called Mark of the Vampire with Lionel Barrymore

[@MicahMicahel]

I love the Glenn Strange monster. He was the second best.... but in a way even better than Karloff because he was huge whereas Karloff was just a regular guy. Too bad they stopped making the movies and he onlty got to do two... or is it three?

[@LastBankJob]

Still the best movie ever. I am sad though that we never got Kid n Play meet Jason.

[@loringbush1455]

Looks like they would direct different scenes every day and the director would decide how to put the entire film together!

[@dennisshaper4744]

He was right the first time, Universal Monster movies were 30's and 40's...The Wolfman didn't appear until the 40's.

[@garyfoster3854]

Henry Hull starred in the Werewolf of London in 1935.

[@devondicker3516]

Great movie!

[@chrisorrill7183]

Tarantino made a slight error. It wasn't a nurse being thrown thru the window. It was the doctor. I heard that Chaney had to fill in as the monster because of an accident on set. Strange broke his foot during the window scene when the wire broke, which was holding the actress.

[@christopherlyons5900]

My experience was different. I also. loved Universal horror movies as a kid, and horror movies in general. I would take out books from the library about horror films, to learn more about their history, and would then look for the films (like Nosferatu) that were mentioned, but I hadn't yet seen. And I loved comedy--silent comedy, and early 30's sound comedy, Laurel & Hardy, W.C. Fields, etc. Abbott and Costello were on all the time, all their movies, very definitely this one. It was never my favorite, because I felt like neither the horror nor the comedy was done quite right. The books I read about horror were mainly horrified by it, since it had taken these iconic creatures, and the great actors who played them (Glenn Strange wasn't in any of the great horror films, but he was a very fine restrained actor on Gunsmoke), and made them into the butt of jokes. The idea was, Universal squeezed a few more dollars out of a dying form by making them play straight-monster to Bud and Lou. Which is true, but I can see Tarantino's POV. He was seeing how the genres all exist in the same realm--different rooms in the same house. You can stray from one to the other. But I think that was more about cross-marketing than art. Talented as Bud and Lou were, they never made a great film. Not one. The stories are weak, the characters (other than them) nonexistent I'd say the best examples of their work together were in their TV show, where they didn't have to come up with a lot of movie nonsense to do their old routines. The best movie they ever made (in my opinion) was The Time of Their Lives, which broke with the formula--Bud and Lou can't even act together most of that movie, because Lou is a Revolutionary-era ghost. There's a real plot there, and it works pretty well, but it's not what people wanted to see. They weren't really well-suited to the long form comedy. They were sketch comedians. They also weren't great at physical slapstick comedy, it was more about dialogue. So what I see in their meeting with Frankenstein (actually Frankenstein's Monster, sorry) is that two genres that excelled in the 30's, and declined in the 40's are pooling their resources to make a movie together. And neither is at anywhere near their best. But people were intrigued by the juxtaposition of the two, still are. It's still not in any sense a good film. I can't really watch it anymore. And of course it wasn't original to make a horror comedy, you can trace that back to the silent era. What was different was taking famous monsters and famous comics and putting them together. But it's not scary and for the most part, I don't find it funny. Of course I'm not a little kid anymore. I didn't really love it then either. I still love the 30's monster movies and comedies. Because those are just flat-out great.

[@alexalex13131]

When you're very young you know types of movies but not good or bad.

[@simonedkins7493]

Great film.

[@robertrouse4503]

Universal Monsters were awesome back then.

[@Jim-Mc]

This movie is actually very funny.

[@Flynn1059]

The greatness of this film is the fact that Abbott end Costello act generally petrified when around the legendary monsters. Tarantino is a fine director but he doesn't know everything

[@BaronVonMunch]

He certainly doesn't. He likes some of the worst stuff ever made and hates some of the best stuff. He can have his opinions of course, but they are no better than anyone else's. His movies are ok, some are pretty good and some aren't too good. I enjoyed Reservoir Dogs the most, but even there he stole quite a bit of material. I'm not sure he could make a good movie if he wasn't borrowing heavily, but that's probably true of many creators. Look at Titanic, the best part of the film is completely copied from an earlier acclaimed film. The only thing James Cameron added was the romance, that's it. I think Tarantino is somewhat overrated because he was making films during a pretty bad period for Hollywood especially for the kinds of films he was making.

[@karmatt3098]

Lol Quentin referencing early Family Guy

[@jantergibbins85]

Anyone here like....the fearless vampire killers roman polanski?

[@richardthomas754]

My favorite mix of comedy and horror. A direct nod to The Hammer Dracula movies starring Chris and Peter.

[@mediaversenetwork]

it IS one of the greatest movies ever made.;) same childhood here. if only Godzilla could have shown up/;)

[@Magooch86]

Quentin Tarantino on Elvis Costello Meets Frankenstein

[@lurchorum]

Say "genre" one more muthafuckin' time! I dare you!

[@DennisMiller10]

I've always felt even Bud & Lou played it more straight than usual. I think this movie had a big influence on the Original Ghostbusters. Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis played it pretty straight against the horror... and that's where the comedy came from. The problem with the all female Ghostbusters wasn't the cast... it was the writing and directing. Every Ghostbuster tried to out-funny every other Ghostbuster. No one played it straight. I often refer to it as a Costello, Costello, Costello, and Costello movie.

[@kenrickhadley4499]

Boris Karloff turned it down, they had to get Glen Strange.

[@ericredlefsen5554]

As great as this and some of their other movies are, the TV series they did for 2 seasons is better than all the films put together.

[@fightfordawn]

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein also established the fact that Werewolves and Vampires are natural enemies. This is now just a fact of myth

[@Cavie1974]

I wonder what Tarantino's opinion is of Young Frankenstein.

[@WalterBurton]

👍👍👍

[@willieluncheonette5843]

if he likes it it's probably the first time i've agreed with him on anything

[@keaton718]

There's probably not a single movie I wouldn't want to hear Tarantino's opinion of.

[@steveterribile4678]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@spankyx8606]

....junior?

[@jbar19]

Why does this video seem to repeat the same points over and over? How many times does he say the word genres or genre distinctions?

[@toothbrushfromnisemonogatari]

Did Quentin Tarantino just reference family guy?

[@thomridgeway1438]

I used to be a werewolf but I am alright NoooooooooWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!

[@nicklewandowski3877]

Quentin over crediting himself as a child is hard to listen to.

[@gypsydildopunks7083]

The Three Stooges had these fools beat by a mile and a half

[@yournamehere6002]

Tarantino's taste in comedy is terrible

[@haydenc41_82]

First

[@jamesstone6582]

I want to hear his thoughts on Too Many Ostriches starring Don Knotts