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DVD Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy
After 15 years of hit movies for Universal Studios, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello left the studio in the twilight of their partnership with the last of their monster comedies. Decked out in desert safari gear, the boys go looking for a job with an Egyptologist and wind up in the middle of a conspiracy concerning the murdered professor, an ancient mummy, and a magical medallion that, true to form, bumbling Costello manages to eat for dinner. Marie Windsor, the boss lady of a gang of treasure hunting crooks, dresses in a harem outfit to vamp for our chubby little hero, and the eternally stiff Richard Deacon hilariously plays the leader of an Egyptian mummy cult like a high school principal decked out for Halloween. Directed by longtime collaborator Charles Lamont, it's a typical Abbott and Costello farce with disappearing corpses, mistaken identities, and wacky word plays ("Take your pick" riffs on "Who's on first" with garden tools). While not as clever or spirited as their original monster mash Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, the vaudeville veterans are still masters of the double take and fast-talk patter, and the picture climaxes with a screwball chase that involves not one, not two, but three mummies skittering through the phoniest looking pyramid this side of community theater. You were expecting realism? The boys appeared together once more on film, in Dance with Me, Henry, and then split up. --Sean Axmaker
We don't really care for Abbott & Costello. Surprisingly, though, we like "Abbott & Costello Meet the Mummy."
I'm giving it 3 stars because it is vintage, has the occult twist with this mummy and the magical medallion, and it is kinda funny. We will probably watch this only very occasionally, but it is worth owning at a reasonably inexpensive price.
We serpendipitously found an inexpensive copy of it on DVD along with the Munsters, of all things, in "Munster Masquerade." The Munsters give me the creeps, but my husband loves them. I was the one who wanted "A&C Meet The Mummy."
Anyway, we like "A&C Meet the Mummy" because we like the original Boris Karloff's "The Mummy" as well as the very fun and newer "The Mummy" with Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weiss. And we don't even have a thing for mummies...at least, I don't think we do. They're all three really good movies.
More Abbott & Costello:
SEE ALSO: "Abbott and Costello in the Tropics" - on par excellence with "A&C Meet The Mummy."
AVOID: Abbott and Costello in "Buck Privates" - not so good.
More mummies:
SEE ALSO: Boris Karloff in "The Mummy" from 1932 - A short classic.
SEE ALSO: "The Mummy" with Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weiss and the sequel "The Mummy Returns" - The first is great! The sequel is worthwhile.
Very funny but don't waste your money!
THE BEST OF ABBOTT AND COSTELLO: VOL. 4 is coming out on Oct. 4, 2005, and it has ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE, ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET JERRY SEINFELD, ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE KEYSTONE KOPS, ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE MONSTERS, ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE MUMMY, and THE WORLD OF ABBOTT AND COSTELLO. The vol. 4 will probably be a few more dollars than this one DVD but it will also include 5 other movies. SO DO NOT BUY THIS COPY.
A Fond Farewell
When the murder of an archeologist puts a valuble medallion into their hands, Abbott and Costello waste little time in trying to sell it--only to find themselves pursued by police, a slinky adventuress, an Egyptian high priest, and the mummy himself. The concept is amusing, but the real charm of any Abbott and Costello film is the charismatic comic interplay between the stars. Unfortunately, the 1955 MEET THE MUMMY finds the two at a creative low ebb.
Featuring such notable character actors as Richard Deacon and Marie Windsor, the film is competently made and very easy to watch, but to say it lacks the inspiration of Abbott and Costello's best work would be a tremendous understatement. At most, MEET THE MUMMY is mildly amusing in a broadly slapstick sort of way, good for an occasional chuckle at best. It would be their last film at Universal and their next-to-last screen appearance together, so it might be best regarded as a fond farewell.
The DVD lacks bonus material, but the picture and sound are nicely rendered. Recommended for serious fans only.
Universal Pictures made a great deal of money from its monster movies in the 1930s. In the early '40s, the burlesque team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello kept the studio's coffers full. When the two franchises were combined in 1948, the result was another windfall--despite the apparent oil-and-water mix of subject matter. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein was the first of these summit meetings, although the title is a misnomer. Actually, Bud and Lou bump into most of the Universal heavy-hitters, including Count Dracula (played by Béla Lugosi himself), the Wolfman (Lon Chaney Jr.), and the Frankenstein monster (veteran monster Glenn Strange). There's even a token appearance by the Invisible Man, whose disembodied voice is recognizable as that of Vincent Price. Sure enough,... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Bud Abbott - Lou Costello Director(s): Charles Barton DVD Release Date: Released the 28 August 2001 This item is currently not available.
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8 classic films for a great price, what more can you ask for ! More Info about this DVD Director(s): Charles Lamont - Charles Barton DVD Release Date: Released the 03 August 2004 Usually ships in 4 to 11 days
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I've become addicted to Abbott and Costello films since discovering this DVD set and the ones that followed. There was a day when comedy was creative, silly, and clean, and that time is captured on these DVDs. Anyone who wants a good laugh should check them out, especially the movies "Hold that Ghost" and "In The Navy." More Info about this DVD Director(s): Arthur Lubin - A. Edward Sutherland - Erle C. Kenton DVD Release Date: Released the 10 February 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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I love Abbott and Costello, but these "Best of's" released by Universal are so pathetic it isn't even funny. They are flipper discs, and they are so easily damaged and cheaply made that they aren't good for anybody. I loved the movies in these sets, but come on Universal, stop using these cheap discs and use single sided discs. More Info about this DVD Director(s): Charles Barton - Daniel Helfgott - Erle C. Kenton DVD Release Date: Released the 04 May 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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I rented this mainly for my 5- and 3-year olds, who were predictably amused, though they volunteered that Abbott & Costello aren't as good as the Marx Brothers. That's putting it mildly.
I also wanted to see if they were as entertaining as I remembered them from my childhood: They aren't. I can only suppose they were an innovative act in their heyday in the '40s, when they were the biggest grossing movie comedians, but -- what can I say? -- they fail the proverbial test of time. They were fated to Trotsky's ash heap of history -- or, in this case, comedic history -- along with Eddie Cantor, Ma & Pa Kettle, Martin & Lewis, and, hopefully before long, Adam Sandler.
There's a saving grace or two, though, in this movie: One of the Three Stooges, Shemp Howard, has the best bit as a Mr.... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Bud Abbott - Lou Costello Director(s): Charles Barton DVD Release Date: Released the 01 March 2001 Usually ships within 24 hours
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