The
viewing public’s reaction to Abbott and
Costello Meet Frankenstein took Universal Studio by surprise. It was the
second cheapest movie they produced that year, but was by far their biggest
earner. Abbott and Costello were a known draw; they did over a dozen movies for
Universal before the script for Abbott
and Costello Meet Frankenstein came around. WWII was over, and horror
movies were selecting themes suited for the Atomic Age. Universal’s collection
of monsters created prior to the war years were seen as old and hokey, their
franchises tired and depleted. So the studio thought they might as well squeeze
the last juices out of them through a comedy farce. Not everybody liked the
idea. Lou Costello was less than
impressed with the writing and remarked his five-year-old daughter could write
a better script. Still, the plan went ahead with the actors returning to play
their original roles. All except for Karloff, who said he would
help promote the movie if he didn’t have to see it. But Universal forgot about
the one thing studios always forget, the love the fans held for these old
ghouls. The story was thin, the laughs were easy, but the audience loved the
farce and Abbott and Costello Meet
Frankenstein went on to be one of the studio’s best grossing films of 1948,
ranking 27th
amongst all films that came out that year. While the movie might have been a
swan song for Universal’s Frankenstein, Dracula, and the Werewolf, the studio
learned their lesson and the creatures are far from retired. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein,
while definitely a Universal picture, is considered to be outside the franchise
canon. It reinforced in the public mind that a franchise-derivative film could
still be considered a stand-alone. Abbott
and Costello Meet Frankenstein would go on to influence movies and
television by providing a wealth of material and inspiration for crossover and
self-parody.
