Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff (1949)

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Copyright 8 September 1949 by Universal Pictures Co., Inc. New York opening at the Globe: 18 September 1949. U.S. release: August 1949. U.K. release: 23 January 1950. Australian release: 23 March 1950. 7,644 feet. 85 minutes. A Universal-International Picture.SYNOPSIS: A dim-witted bellboy at a resort hotel finds himself suspect number one in a murder investigation.COMMENT: The alternative title (widely used in America and England, but not in the censored-to-6,865-feet version released in Australia) pans out as a bit of a misnomer. It's established at quite an early stage of the proceedings that Karloff is no killer. What's even worse, his role occupies a pitifully meager amount of screen time. He's actually allowed only one full scene in which to exercise his histrionic skill. One of the best scenes in the whole movie, admittedly, but hardly a justification for the excessive billing he receives in the title and advertising copy. Fortunately, the film presents plenty of other diversions, including some delightful slapstick by-play and a bit of hilariously quick-footed body-switching. We are also treated to some thrillingly atmospheric moments when photographer Charles Van Enger is allowed to run riot: the opening shot, for example, the dumping of the bodies into the basement, and, of course, the marvelous climactic chase and bizarre confrontation in the caverns. Mention should also be made of the fine sets created by Bernard Herzbrun and Richard H. Riedel. At the same time, we can all tingle to that wonderfully vintage Universal music score, so effective it was constantly used by the studio in movie after movie after movie (despite which of the studio's in-house composers received the actual credit). However, I do make one note of caution for non-Abbott and Costello fans. You may find that the constant verbal battles between the two comics, plus Lou's stupidly incessant interruptions to the deliberations of the other characters, do make the unfolding of the plot somewhat heavy going.

Two things I just love - old murder mystery movies and Boris Karloff. Put them together, throw in Abbott and Costello, and you've got a winner. While I don't rate this as high as A&C's similarly themed Who Done It?, it's still a whole lot of fun. In this one, A&C are working in a hotel that's become the scene of a murder. Costello (playing Freddie Phillips) becomes prime suspect number one. But the hotel has several other strange, mysterious types on-hand, including the mystic Swami Talpur. Can Bud and Lou find the killer before they're killed themselves?This isn't deep - it's just good old-fashioned fun. While some of A&C's jokes may miss their mark, enough hit to make it very funny. There are bits and pieces here as good as any you'll find in any other A&C film. One of my favorite moments has to be watching the great Boris Karloff working with Costello in the hypnosis scene. What a blast! The final chase/confrontation in the underground cavers is nicely filmed and includes a moment or two of real suspense. I've got no problem at all rating this one a 7/10.

Costello plays a bellhop who gets himself caught up in a murder and soon becomes the number one suspect. His only alibi is that the police think he's too stupid to have done it. Over the next few days, more murders pop up, and Costello may be the only one who can crack the case.I have to admit that this was my first Abbott and Costello film. Outside of "Who's on First", I didn't really know who they were. But this was a fine introduction, as it was funny, and a pretty good mystery. Even after it was solved, I'm still not completely sure I understand it. But that's just more reason to watch it again.Anyone who is going to watch this one should be made aware of one thing: the title, as written sometimes, is misleading. Boris Karloff is not the killer. In fact Boris Karloff isn't even in the movie. He does play a character in the film, but that character is not himself. (Exactly what role he plays in the film is hard to say... his motives are quite odd.)

There is a comment about the title of this addition to the Abbott & Costello films that is a little unfair - but only a little. Entitled ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET THE KILLER, BORIS KARLOFF, some purists sniff that as Karloff is not the killer in the film, the title is as misleading as the later ABBOTT & COSTELLO GO TO MARS (wherein they actually go to Venus). But the difference is that Karloff is a killer. Not only does he attempt to hypnotize Lou into committing suicide (which would enable the police to drop an investigation at a hotel where Karloff is stuck in), but he is also a former homicide case defendant who was acquitted thanks to his lawyer Amos Strickland (Nicholas Joy). No, Karloff is not the murderer of Joy, but he is a suspected murderer (the police feel that Karloff's acquittal was due to his lawyer, not to his not being the murderer). So the title is actually not a cheat. Like WHO DONE IT? it is a murder mystery comedy, but here the suspicion against Lou (an incompetent bellhop) is more realistic than in the earlier film. Lou and Bud work at a resort hotel. Bud is the house detective. Lou is involved in an incident where he bungles badly while handling the luggage of lawyer Joy. The latter complains vociferously to the hotel manager (Alan Mowbray), who fires Costello. Lou, realizing what has caused his dismissal, actually makes a threatening statement to Joy. So when the latter is murdered, Lou is the leading suspect. But it seems that Joy was on the verge of writing his memoirs, in which he might set the record straight about those acquittals he won. This would not be what Karloff, Roland Winters, and a few others would like - they are beginning to live down their murder trials. All of them happen to be at the resort too, so they are also suspects.The film has some nice set pieces in it, mostly handled adroitly by Costello - such as a drag sequence where he attracts an admirer, and has to play cards with a corpse. He also, towards the conclusion, gives Abbott an unexpected scare suggesting Bud is the killer. But my two favorite pieces are when Karloff tries to hypnotize Lou, and almost gets knifed in the process, and when Lou discovers the benefits of being the chief suspect - being under house arrest in a luxury hotel has unexpected benefits through room service. After all, the state pays the bill!