Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953)

Director:

Charles Lamont

Writers:

Howard Dimsdale (writer)
Sid Fields (story)

Release Date:

1 August 1953 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Mystery | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

All New ! All Wild ! All Fun !

Plot:

Two bumbling American cops hunt for the mysterious Mr. Hyde in London, England

Plot Keywords:

London England | Police | Murder | Carrying Someone | Monkey

Cast

Bud Abbott	...	Slim
Lou Costello	...	Tubby
Boris Karloff	...	Dr. Henry Jekyll / Mr. Hyde
Craig Stevens	...	Bruce Adams
Helen Westcott	...	Vicky Edwards
Reginald Denny	...	Inspector
John Dierkes	...	Batley

Also Known As:

Dr. Jekyll and Mrs. Hyde (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

76 min | Argentina:80 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (uncut) (1953) (original rating) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1953) (re-rating) | UK:X (original rating) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:Approved (PCA #16462)

Company:

Universal International Pictures (UI)

Trivia:

Unlike other versions of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, this time Jekyll is pretty evil in his own right. He seems to have no qualms about deliberately becoming Mr. Hyde so he can commit a murder.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Frankenstein: A Cinematic Scrapbook (1991)

A&C still in fine form in their waning days at Universal--great to have Karloff on board

I somehow missed this film on television as a child, but ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE is a fine vehicle for the boys and shows that they were still in excellent form in their last few years at Universal. There's a lot of physical comedy here and less verbal jousting than in their 1940's material, which is great because both Bud and Lou were amazing physical comedians. They are American police officers who are for some reason in England (learning British police techniques--I just saw a Columbo with that plot recently!), and stumble across a series of killings that has baffled the police. At the same time, we are introduced to Boris Karloff as Dr. Jekyll who has a young lady played by Helen Westcott as his ward (and, in an uncomfortable scene near the end, he professes his love for her "since she was a child"!!!!), and she in turn has an American reporter played by Craig "Peter Gunn" Stevens (always a reliable and attractive leading man)interested in her. There's a strange suffragette subplot that opens the film and is brought back a few times, including an off-the-wall musical sequence, but Ms. Westcott's character is the kind of movie-feminist who abandons the cause when the first hunky man takes an interest in her. The "transformation" scenes with Karloff are well done, and of course Lou gets "transformed" a few times himself. There are some exciting chases, and the scene near the end around the chimney on a roof is a classic that you'll have to see for yourself. Karloff underplays his role, which was probably a wise decision and keeps things from becoming campy. People either like A&C or they don't understand their appeal. Those who enjoy them will find ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE a fine, lesser-known later entry, and it would probably appeal to today's children too. Do those children or grandchildren a favor and introduce them to Bud and Lou--they'll thank you later.