Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man

Last updated
Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man
ACinvisibleman.JPG
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Charles Lamont
Screenplay by Robert Lees
Frederic I. Rinaldo
John Grant
Story byHugh Wedlock Jr.
Howard Snyder
Based on The Invisible Man
1897 novel
by H. G. Wells
Produced byHoward Christie
Starring Bud Abbott
Lou Costello
Nancy Guild
Arthur Franz
Cinematography George Robinson
Edited by Virgil Vogel
Music byJoseph Gershenson
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal-International
Release date
  • March 14, 1951 (1951-03-14)(US)
Running time
82 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$627,000 [2]
Box office$1,550,000 (US rentals) [3]

Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man [lower-alpha 1] is a 1951 American science fiction comedy film directed by Charles Lamont and starring the team of Abbott and Costello alongside Nancy Guild.

Contents

The film depicts the misadventures of Lou Francis and Bud Alexander, two private detectives investigating the murder of a boxing promoter. The film was part of a series in which the duo meet classic characters from Universal's stable, including Frankenstein, the Mummy and the Keystone Kops.

Plot

Lou Francis and Bud Alexander have just graduated from a private detective school. Tommy Nelson, a middleweight boxer, comes to them with their first case. Tommy recently escaped from jail after being accused of murdering his manager, and asks the duo to accompany him on a visit to his fiancée, Helen Gray. He wants her uncle, Dr. Philip Gray, to inject him with a special serum which will render Tommy invisible, and hopes to use the newfound invisibility to investigate his manager's murder and prove his innocence. Dr. Gray adamantly refuses, arguing that the serum is still unstable, recalling that the formula's discoverer, Jack Griffin, was driven insane by the formula and did not become visible again until after he was killed. However, as the police arrive Tommy injects himself with it and successfully becomes invisible. Detective Roberts questions Dr. Gray and Helen while Bud and Lou search for Tommy.

Helen and Tommy convince Bud and Lou to help them seek the real killer, after Tommy explains that the motive for the murder occurred after he refused to "throw" a fight, knocking his opponent, Rocky Hanlon, out cold. Morgan, the promoter who fixed the fight, ordered Tommy's manager beaten to death while framing Tommy for the crime. In order to investigate undercover, Lou poses as a boxer, with Bud as his manager. They go to Stillwell's gym, where Lou gets in the ring with Rocky. Tommy, still invisible, gets into the ring with them and again knocks out Hanlon, making it look like Lou did it, and an official match is arranged. Needing to prove Morgan was behind the plot to frame Tommy, Bud and Lou go out to the same restaurant to covertly spy on him alongside an invisible Tommy. But the effects of the serum and Tommy getting drunk make the task difficult for the two who have to keep covering for him. Morgan pays off Lou to throw the fight, but when the match occurs with the aid of an invisible Tommy, Hanlon is knocked out yet again after a wildly chaotic boxing match. Morgan plans Bud's murder, but is thwarted by Tommy. Bud, Lou, and Tommy fight off Morgan and his goons, but when Tommy is rendered partially visible from some steam he is wounded in the battle and begins to bleed badly. The protagonists rush to the hospital where a blood transfusion is arranged between Lou and Tommy, thanks to Lou having the same blood type. During the transfusion Tommy becomes visible again – some of Tommy's blood has apparently entered Lou, who briefly turns invisible, only to reappear with his legs inexplicably on backwards.

Cast

Production

Screenshot from the trailer for the film. Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man.jpg
Screenshot from the trailer for the film.

Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man was filmed between October 3 and November 6, 1950. The characters' surnames "Alexander" and "Francis" are Abbott's and Costello's real middle names.

The special effects, which depicted invisibility and other optical illusions, were created by Stanley Horsley, son of cinema pioneer David Horsley. He also did the special effects for The Invisible Man Returns , The Invisible Woman and Invisible Agent .

As a reference to the first Invisible Man film, a photo is featured of the serum's inventor, Dr. John "Jack" Griffin, which is actually a picture of Claude Rains, who played the role in Universal's first Invisible Man film in 1933.

When asked by a reporter whom he has fought in the past, Lou answers, "Chuck Lamont, Bud Grant". The film's director and screenwriter, respectively, are Charles Lamont and John Grant.

Release

The film had a preview screening at The Fox theater in St. Louis, Missouri, on March 9, 1951. [4] The film saw release on Wednesday, March 14. [5]

Home media

This film has been released several times on DVD. First on The Best of Abbott and Costello Volume Three, on August 3, 2004, on October 28, 2008, as part of Abbott and Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection, and in 2015 in the Abbott and Costello Meet the Monsters Collection. Later, the film was included in the 3-disc The Invisible Man: The Complete Legacy Collection and the 21-disc Universal Classic Monsters: Complete 30-Film Collection, both released on September 2, 2014. It was released on Blu-ray on August 28, 2018.

Notes

  1. On screen title is Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet the Invisible Man (without the word "and" and using their full names).

Related Research Articles

<i>Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein</i> 1948 American horror comedy film directed by Charles Barton

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is a 1948 American horror comedy film directed by Charles Barton. The film features Count Dracula who has become partners with Dr. Sandra Mornay, as Dracula requires a "simple, pliable" brain to reactivate Frankenstein's monster. Dracula discovers that the "ideal" brain belongs to Wilbur Grey who is wooed by Mornay to the operating table, despite the warnings of Lawrence Talbot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bud Abbott</span> American comedian and actor (1897-1974)

William Alexander "Bud" Abbott was an American comedian, actor and producer. He was best known as the straight man half of the comedy duo Abbott and Costello.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lou Costello</span> American comedian and actor (1906–1959)

Louis Francis Cristillo, better known as Lou Costello, was an American comedian, actor and producer. He was best known for his double act with straight man Bud Abbott and their routine "Who's on First?".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abbott and Costello</span> American comedy duo

Abbott and Costello were an American comedy duo composed of comedians Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, whose work in radio, film, and television made them the most popular comedy team of the 1940s and 1950s, and the highest-paid entertainers in the world during the Second World War. Their patter routine "Who's on First?" is considered one of the greatest comedy routines of all time, a version of which appears in their 1945 film The Naughty Nineties.

Griffin (<i>The Invisible Man</i>) Titular fictional character from H.G. Wells novella The Invisible Man

Griffin, also known as the Invisible Man, is a fictional character who first appeared as the protagonist of H. G. Wells' 1897 science fiction novel The Invisible Man. In the original work, Griffin is a scientist whose research in optics and experiments into changing the human body's refractive index to that of air results in him becoming invisible. After becoming invisible, he wraps his head in bandages and dons a pair of goggles or glasses in order to enable others to see him. Unable to reverse the invisibility process, he descends into insanity and becomes a criminal.

<i>The Invisible Man Returns</i> 1940 film by Joe May

The Invisible Man Returns is a 1940 American horror science fiction film directed by Joe May. The film stars Cedric Hardwicke, Vincent Price, Nan Grey and John Sutton. The film is a sequel to the 1933 film The Invisible Man, and the second film in the Invisible Man film series. The film is about Sir Geoffrey Radcliffe (Price) who is condemned for a murder he did not commit, which leads to him begging Dr. Frank Griffin (Sutton) to inject him with the invisibility serum despite Griffin's warning that the serum will drive him mad.

<i>Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy</i> 1955 film by Charles Lamont

Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy is a 1955 American horror comedy film directed by Charles Lamont and starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. It is the 28th and final Abbott and Costello film produced by Universal-International.

<i>Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd</i> 1952 film by Charles Lamont

Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd is a 1952 comedy film directed by Charles Lamont and starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, along with Charles Laughton, who reprised his role as the infamous pirate from the 1945 film Captain Kidd. It was the second film in SuperCineColor, a three-color version of the two-color Cinecolor process, and which utilized an Eastmancolor negative as Cinecolor did not offer three-color origination, only two-color origination via bipack.

Charles Lamont was a prolific filmmaker, directing over 200 titles and producing and writing many others. He directed nine Abbott and Costello comedies and many Ma and Pa Kettle films.

<i>Hit the Ice</i> (film) 1943 film by Charles Lamont

Hit the Ice is a 1943 film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello and their first film directed by Charles Lamont. Lamont later directed the team's last few films in the 1950s.

<i>Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde</i> 1953 American film directed by Charles Lamont

Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a 1953 American horror comedy film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, co-starring Boris Karloff, and directed by Charles Lamont.

<i>Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff</i> 1949 horror comedy film directed by Charles Barton

Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff is a 1949 horror comedy film directed by Charles Barton and starring Abbott and Costello and Boris Karloff.

<i>Pardon My Sarong</i> 1942 film by Erle C. Kenton

Pardon My Sarong is a 1942 American comedy film directed by Erle C. Kenton and starring Abbott and Costello. The cast also featured Virginia Bruce, Robert Paige and Lionel Atwill. It was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures as part of a long-running series featuring the comic duo.

<i>Who Done It?</i> (1942 film) 1942 film by Erle C. Kenton

Who Done It? is a 1942 American comedy-mystery film directed by Erle C. Kenton and starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. It is noteworthy as their first feature that contains no musical numbers.

<i>Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion</i> 1950 film by Charles Lamont

Abbott and Costello in the Foreign Legion is a black and white 1950 American comedy film directed by Charles Lamont and starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello.

<i>Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops</i> 1955 film by Charles Lamont

Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops is a 1955 comedy film directed by Charles Lamont and starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello.

<i>Dance with Me, Henry</i> 1956 American film directed by Charles Barton

Dance with Me, Henry is a 1956 American comedy film directed by Charles Barton and starring Abbott and Costello and Gigi Perreau. It is the final film that they starred in together, although Costello starred in one more film before his death, The 30 Foot Bride of Candy Rock.

John Grant was a comedy writer best known for his association with Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. Costello called him their "chief idea man". Grant contributed to Abbott and Costello's radio, film and live television scripts, as well as the films of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis and Ma and Pa Kettle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rory Mallinson</span> American actor (1913–1976)

Charles Rory Mallinson was an American film and television actor.

<i>The Invisible Man</i> (film series) American film series

The Invisible Man is a film series by Universal Pictures. The series consists of The Invisible Man, The Invisible Man Returns, The Invisible Woman, Invisible Agent, The Invisible Man's Revenge and Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man. The film series borrows elements from H. G. Wells's novel The Invisible Man, but it focuses primarily on the idea of a serum that causes someone to go invisible and its side-effects.

References

  1. Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man at the American Film Institute Catalog
  2. Furmanek, Bob; Palumbo, Ron (1991). Abbott and Costello in Hollywood. New York: Perigee Books. ISBN   0-399-51605-0 p207-208
  3. 'The Top Box Office Hits of 1951', Variety, January 2, 1952
  4. "Missouri Has Comedy 'Born Yesterday'". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. March 7, 1951. p. D6.
  5. "Abbott, Costello Draw Many Real Laughs in 'Invisible Man'". The Syracuse Post-Standard. March 14, 1951. p. 18.