ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (1953)
Onwards I plod towards the completion of this blog series on the Universal Classic Horror films, started in 2008. This third "Abbot and Costello meet the monsters" installment is perhaps the most simple, primitive installment so far--and also I think it is my favorite.
Compared to MEET FRANKESTEIN (1948) and MEET THE INVISIBLE MAN (1951), the supporting characters are cardboard cutouts. There is a square-jawed newspaperman hero who falls immediately in love with the pretty ingenue, with little definition to either character and even less shared chemistry. You can tell the impetus for their relationship comes from reading about it on the script pages. Yet it is precisely the social and relationship "comedy" surrounding the supporting cast which I find so insufferable in the earlier films; I cannot be reconciled to the paternalism and classism passed off as humorousness, falling inevitably flat as a board. This movie has a different project. ( Collapse )
Compared to MEET FRANKESTEIN (1948) and MEET THE INVISIBLE MAN (1951), the supporting characters are cardboard cutouts. There is a square-jawed newspaperman hero who falls immediately in love with the pretty ingenue, with little definition to either character and even less shared chemistry. You can tell the impetus for their relationship comes from reading about it on the script pages. Yet it is precisely the social and relationship "comedy" surrounding the supporting cast which I find so insufferable in the earlier films; I cannot be reconciled to the paternalism and classism passed off as humorousness, falling inevitably flat as a board. This movie has a different project. ( Collapse )