The Time Abbott and Costello Met The Monsters | I Watched Every Universal Monster Movie

In 1948, Universal Pictures paired its most popular comedy team with its hugely successful monsters launching an entirely new genre. These four outrageously funny films find Bud Abbott and Lou Costello meeting Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolf Man, the Invisible Man, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and the Mummy.
I'm on a journey to watch every Universal Monster Movie, this is part 2! If you want to watch Part 1, I watch the 23 classic Monster Movies including Frankenstein, Dracula, The Mummy, The Invisible Man and MORE!
If you want to see my rankings of the movies on Letterboxd: boxd.it/1xQbh
Check out Written By Podcast: www.writtenbypodcast.com (It's available wherever you get your podcasts!)
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[@chasebridges]

Hey guys! Part 3 with Creature From The Black Lagoon is out now! kzbin.info/www/bejne/a5CzmZuonL5_eLssi=P9_ZJ20-MsOo8cxQ

[@kingdomofchrissmith]

I feel the original Phantom of the Opera (1925) and Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923), both played by Lon Chaney, Sr, are really the core beginnings of the Universal horror movies. Sure, they were silent movies, but they evoked the same emotions that your Phase One did. Plus, if Lon Chaney hadn't died, he was scheduled to play Dracula in the first movie.

[@peanutbutterjeff5364]

Same with the Man Who Laughs. At least for me.

[@faelwolf1177]

The Creature From the Black Lagoon movies are in kind of a semi-official status since Universal by then was Universal-International and things had changed. But they are still widely considered to be the last of the Universal monster films by many, though they don't have the same "feel" of the pre-1950 films. I personally think of them as the "transitional" films crossing the divide into the B Sci-Fi movies of the 1950's, as they have elements of each. But to each their own, they're all still fun movies! I suppose we could consider them to be the beginning of the 3rd phase, as Universal did make films such as The Mole People, etc. which could be considered more in the horror genre than Sci-Fi. But could it qualify as a new horror phase since they were so mixed in with the cheap Sci-Fi movies and so many elements from them? Yeah, The Phantom of the Opera is still very much classic Universal, and pretty much the last of the true classic Universal monsters IMO, having come out around the end of the second phase, in 1946 IIRC.

[@chasebridges]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/a5CzmZuonL5_eLssi=P9_ZJ20-MsOo8cxQ

[@protomenfan200x]

Hell yeah, I was hoping you’d upload another video soon! Glad that you enjoyed Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein

[@chasebridges]

Hope you enjoyed it! Have some more coming out soon!

[@TheDumdei]

Not technically a Universal movie, but all the monsters are in the classic Universal style: 1987's The Monster Squad (written by Shane Black of Lethal Weapon fame). It's a fun little movie. I highly recommend checking it out if you haven't already seen it.

[@chasebridges]

It’s definitely on my list!

[@BRONCOBOYdm1]

Hope you tackle the Hammer Horror Films. Some of the best interpretations of Dracula and Frankenstein.

[@chasebridges]

Will do!

[@faelwolf1177]

@@chasebridges Subscribing to the channel just in case you do! The Hammer films were the horror movies of my generation. I'm looking forward to your opinions, after doing such a good job reviewing the Universal films. I think you've done a great job!

[@Isaacisaperson4677]

Now all you have left is the creature from the black lagoon movies

[@chasebridges]

That’s the next vid!

[@silentxero5955]

And then; Tarantula, The Deadly Mantis, It Came From Outerspace... I love your ENTHUSIASM and appreciation for these awesome movies!!

[@epp678]

Not True He Has Many More.

[@midnight_tv8]

@@chasebridges Will The Phantom Of The Opera movies made by Universal be covered eventually?

[@willbrown1575]

Thanks! This video is testament to the fact that these delightful movies are timeless.

[@chasebridges]

Thanks so much!

[@surrealkit4843]

I think the best way to watch Universal monsters is in an episode of Svengoolie.

[@SpaceWoof04]

Fun little thing you might want to know is that Universal is building a new theme park in Orlando called Epic Universe. It will feature an entire land dedicated to these classic monsters. Opening 2025. Thought you might be interested since you seem to love the Universal monsters so much 🤙

[@johnkaufman5474]

Lon Chaney Jr. was 42 years old when he did A&C Meet Frankenstein.

[@hectormanuel9793]

When you watched the Monster films past midnight back in the 1970s they were faded and grainy, but that lent a greater degree of dread making you feel that you were problably watching something done in the nineteenth century not just 30-40 years earlier! Jump to 2023 to watching them on bluray or 4k and although pristine transfers for most of them, it has lost something, it feels like you really are watching movie sets. Still enjoyable!!

[@porflepopnecker4376]

Very true! Often a local TV station was showing an old battered print of the film. This is why some of us are so nostalgic when we watch newer films like "Planet Terror" and "Death Proof" which mimic the look of old TV or drive-in prints.

[@vecturhoff7502]

Can't wait for the Hammer series

[@chasebridges]

Me either!

[@thomasgeorggoenitzer]

I think you forgot Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff

[@thomaskummer9968]

❤ A+C meet Frankenstein because it's a comedy but it takes the monster stuff serious👍

[@joshmitchell9138]

You should do all the Hammer horror film. Almost every single one is excellent. The Dracula and Frankenstein series are so fucking good, especially Frankenstein. The Curse of Frankenstein is the best Frankenstein movie ever. I think you’ll be pretty blown away. You may not have a ton of comments requesting this but you should trust me and do this.

[@chasebridges]

Definitely planning for it!

[@ConnorNotyerbidness]

Include King Kong, at the time it was RKO pictures but its a universal film now and its a true classic

[@MichaelPhillipsatGreyOwlStudio]

The Hammer horror cycle is definitely worth checking out as well. Including some of their other non-classic monster films like The Devil Rides Out.

[@chasebridges]

Will do!

[@arciem1959]

It's not a true A& C Universal monster film, but they did a film in 1949 called Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff. May want to look at that film when you can.

[@enriquemedina3631]

Boris Karloff actually did do publicity for Meet Frankenstein, there’s photos of him standing next to the posters. He also co-starred with A & C in Meet the Killer a year after Meet Frankenstein. I guess just as an excuse to team him up with the duo, even adding his name to the title. He plays an original character though, not an establish monster from a previous film. Abbott and Costello also did a tv sketch where they met the Creature from the Black Lagoon. Finally, special mention to Lon Chaney, Jr. who was in A&C’s movie “Here Come the Co-Eds” 3 years before Meet Frankenstein.

[@JeremyDuncan]

I just found these videos today. Excellent commentary. I grew up watching them as a kid and found myself nodding along with you so many times in pure agreement. Good stuff!

[@chasebridges]

Thanks for watching!

[@littletee3649]

I just found your channel. I stumbled across your Simpson's video. I'm a new subscriber. Have you considered the old Universal TV series, The Munsters (1960s)? It might be a fun thing to watch a few episodes here and there leading up to Halloween. It is much like the A&C monster films in that it is more focused on situational comedy versus suspense. I would like to hear you thoughts about it.

[@akshaytrayner1960]

Great vid

[@shaithis77]

Though not a horror movie, This Island Earth features the Metaluna Mutant, who sometimes gets lumped in with the Universal Monsters. The movie is ok, but the Mutant's designs is super fun.

[@ShawnRavenfire]

If you want to do a really deep dive, there's also the Ape Woman series: "Captive Wild Woman," "Jungle Woman" and "The Jungle Captive." She could have easily been one of the classic Universal monsters, but for some reason, they never really put much effort into her movies, coming across more like B movies. Even today, they're not included in most box sets. Another classic sort-of-monster is the Creeper from "The Brute Man," starring Rondo Hatton. This would have been just an average crime thriller, but Hatton made several appearances as similar-but-not-the-same characters in other Universal movies, including meeting Sherlock Holmes and the Ape Woman, and his iconic face (the actor has a bone disorder when gave him a natural monster-like appearance) has become a recurring theme in Halloween-themed movies. (There's even a modern episode of "Sherlock," where a character appears who is made to look like Hatton.)

[@maldon3659]

I think A & C meet Frankenstein is the only time Universal Dracula and The Wolfman met each other which feels like they took some left over ideas from Wolfman meets Dracula

[@betamaxblocker]

"A&C Meet the Mummy" is my favorite of the classic mummy movies as well. I rank "... Meet Frankenstein" as the best of Bud and Lou's movies and The Invisible Man one is quite good too. I think every monster fan should give them a chance!

[@chasebridges]

I agree!

[@fasteddie9867]

The fact that Quentin Tarantino loved "A and C Meet Frankenstein" tells me that it's a classic film.

[@MerlinsBeard]

Hammer Horror would be good to hit in the future 😎🧛‍♂️

[@RW-cp8gp]

Nice!

[@chasebridges]

Thanks!

[@queenglamazona8789]

It's too bad Universal never got around to making Abbott & Costello Meet The Phantom of the Opera or Abbott & Costello Meet the Creature From the Black Lagoon. Those were actually being planned at one time but for some reason they were Scrapped.

[@oliverbrownlow5615]

Every film series, including the current franchises, should end with a movie in which Abbott & Costello meet them.

[@s.nifrum4580]

Okay so when I saw the Abbott and Costello jekyl and Hyde in your video I googled to see if universal ever did a full blown jekyl and Hyde movie and Kinda One of the studios that would eventually merge to become universal did one so technically it’s a universal movie retroactively

[@spencerbrus6343]

I hope you talk about “The Monster Squad” at some point. While it’s not made by Universal, it has all of the monsters. Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, the Wolf-Man, the Mummy, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. It’s a love letter to those characters and those movies while also being full of 80’s charm.

[@chasebridges]

Will do!

[@Superior968]

Cool video!

[@chasebridges]

Thanks!

[@Melvinwacko]

There's one unofficial sequel to the Universal monster movies called House of Wolfman

[@chasebridges]

I’ll have to check it out

[@sasamichan]

Other films often considered part of the "Monster Family" though outside of Universal as well as "other crossovers" (when I say sequel I mean sequel not reboot) the hunchback of notre dame 1923 Phantom of the Opera 1925' dr jekyll and mr hyde 1931 the thing from another world The Fly 1958' (this has 2 sequels) The Blob 1958 (this has 1 sequel) The Picture of Dorian Gray abbott and costello meet the killer boris karloff King Kong 1933 (a few sequels and adjacent genre movies) Godzilla The Deadly Mantis The Robot Monster Forbidden Planet (and other Rob the Robot movies) The Attack of the 50 Foot Woman War of the Worlds The Raven The pit and the pendulum The Beast with Five Fingers The Night of the Living Dead and its sequels and spin-offs The House of Wax The Screaming Skull Day of the Triffids invasion of the body snatchers and if you include more modern ones too Jaws The Day the Earth Stood Still Friday the 13th Nightmare on Elm Street Halloween Childs Play Alien Predator Scream Little Shop of Horrors Addams Family Elvira Samhain Headless Horseman Some other things you may want to look up The Hammer Films Monsters Lead Such Interesting Lives Ducky Horror Picture Show DuckTales: Season 1, Episode 64 The Ed Wood films Monster Squad Van Helsing The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Mad Mad Mad Monsters Animated Film Monster Mash, from 2000 I Was a Teenage Werewolf I Was a Teenage Frankenstein The Monster Maker The Munsters Hotel Transylvania The Mell Brooks films Dracula vs. Frankenstein other films same actors nosferatu Frankenstein 1910 Scooby Doo Goul School Monsters Vs Aliens The All New Adventures of Laurel & Hardy in For Love or Mummy Renfield there are also the Blaxploitation monster films if you want to discuss era when things were more offensive and cheesy . and there are lots more Im not even brining up keep in mind those films are not always "on the list" these are movies I put in a list because films, cartoons and art often put them together.

[@HorrorBoi84]

You should check out Hammer Film Productions' monster movies. They dominated the horror film market for 20 years, from the 50's to the 70's.

[@meimei8718]

Thanks for the video. I also have always thought of the creature from the black lagoon to be part of the classic monsters but in the context of how far apart they are time wise it makes perfect sense that it wasn’t included in your first video. That being said I feel like the creature of the black lagoon is more in the vein of the blob, giant spider, pod people and other comic book monsters that bleed into the cinematic universe. It’s kind of tough to classify the black lagoon creature, isn’t it?

[@chasebridges]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/a5CzmZuonL5_eLssi=P9_ZJ20-MsOo8cxQ

[@maldon3659]

It's not a Universal Monster film, but Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) is a great movie, in fact, i think it was the first horror film to win an academy award (Best Actor), all this is to say you should give it a watch

[@oliverbrownlow5615]

That's the version starring Fredric March, made by Paramount.

[@joshebbrell]

Awesome video, would you every talk about the creature from the black lagoon as that came with a universal monsters collection and that’s one of my favourites.. that and the best of the bunch the invisible man of course.

[@chasebridges]

Next video!

[@chasebridges]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/a5CzmZuonL5_eLssi=P9_ZJ20-MsOo8cxQ

[@TheMovieGuy240]

great couple of videos dude. can't wait to see part 3!!!

[@chasebridges]

Appreciate it!

[@LarryGonzalez00]

I hope you'll be watching three great Karloff/Lugosi Universal team ups, The Black Cat, The Raven and The Invisible Ray.

[@chasebridges]

Will do! It’ll be not the next video, but the one after!

[@LarryGonzalez00]

@@chasebridges Cool. Looking forward to both videos.

[@mikeclapp7493]

Keep a lookout for Clint Eastwood in the second creature film😊

[@chasebridges]

Oh man! I can’t wait!

[@ShawnRavenfire]

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a strange case (no pun intended), because with the exception of Abbott & Costello, and one short film in the very early silent era, J&H movies were always made by other studios, such as Paramount or MGM, so J&H was never one of the "official" Universal monsters. But since the original book came out of the same genre of Victorian gothic thrillers as Dracula and The Invisible Man, he tends to get lumped in with the rest of the classic monsters in later stories.

[@oliverbrownlow5615]

It's a very notable film, however, for being the only time Boris Karloff played this iconic horror character.

[@gerdmatt7]

If you are a fan of the Universal Monsters and want to see them utilized in a great way in a more modern setting you should watch the movie The Monster Squad (if you haven't already seen it).

[@moviereviews4life]

Haha okay dismiss the parts of my comment about the omitted films -Technically Bela Lugosi did play Dracula again, sort of in Mark of the Vampire directed by Todd Browning, who directed Dracula. They couldn't use the name for obvious reasons as it wasn't a Universal film. It is considered a remake of the lost Lon Chaney Sr film London After Midnight. -Lon Chaney Jr did return later on in Dracula vs Frankenstein films as an Ygor type. Don't watch it, it's horrible and it's really sad to see how he fell due to his issues

[@epp678]

0:34 Abott And Costello Meet Frankenstein 6:27 Abott And Costello Meet The Invisible Man 8:41 Abott And Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde 10:21 Abott And Costello Meet The Mummy BTW Could You Do A Video On The Silent Films (The Hunchback Of Notre Dame, The Phantom Of The Opera, Ect.), The Creature From The Black Lagoon Movies, Monster Squad, And The Rest You Forgot (Look At The Universal Monster Movies Wikipedia Page, Then Look At The List Of Movies And You Will See All The Ones You Forgot.) Actually Maybe I’ll Just List The Rest. Dracula (Spanish Version), Murders In The Rue Morgue, Island Of Lost Souls, The Black Cat, Werewolf Of London, The Raven, The Invisible Ray, Tower Of London, The Monster And The Girl, Man-Made Monster, The Mad Ghoul, House Of Horrors, And She-Wolf Of London. There. That’s All Of The Ones You Missed According To Wikipedia. Also Fritz Lang Movies Would Be Cool.

[@oliverbrownlow5615]

What about *The Invisible Ray* (1936)?

[@epp678]

@@oliverbrownlow5615 Does Not Count According To Wikipedia

[@oliverbrownlow5615]

@@epp678 The Wikipedia page to which you refer does not purport to be a comprehensive list of all the Universal monster movies, but is rather a guide to which of these movies was released as part of five specific home video collections. *The Invisible Ray* is not included in the collections covered on that page. However, the Wikipedia page for *The Invisible Ray* tells us that "the film was released on DVD as part of the Bela Lugosi Collection in 2005 along with *Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Black Cat, The Raven,* and *Black Friday.* The film was [also] released on Blu-ray by Shout Factory as part of their Universal Horror Collection: Vol 1, which included *The Black Cat, The Raven,* and *Black Friday."* So I respectfully suggest that the film has been recognized as a significant Universal monster movie, and it does count.

[@epp678]

@@oliverbrownlow5615 I Don’t Know If It Was Even Made By Universal, All I Know Is That It Was Distributed By Them.

[@epp678]

@@oliverbrownlow5615 OK I Checked It’s Wikipedia Page And I’m 99% Sure It Was Made By Universal So I Will Add It.

[@jacobtrevino7884]

Dr jekyll and Mr. hyde?

[@draculathevampire934]

No creature from the black lagoon or phantom of the opera?

[@chasebridges]

Next video!

[@3dartistguy]

Bela lugosi didn get along with Karloff

[@Tamlinearthly]

Stop saying "iconic."

[@chasebridges]

That’s fair 😂