Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Infobox Film
name = Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde


caption = "Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" Theatrical Poster
director = Charles Lamont
producer = Howard Christie
writer = Howard Dimsdale
Sid Fields
Grant Garett
John Grant
Lee Loeb
starring = Bud Abbott
Lou Costello
Boris Karloff
music = Joseph Gershenson
cinematography = George Robinson
editing = Russell Schoengarth
distributor = Universal Pictures
released = August 10, 1953
runtime = 76 min.
language = English
budget = $650,000
country = United States
preceded_by = "Abbott and Costello Go to Mars" (1953)
followed_by = "Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops" (1955)
imdb_id = 0045469

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

Loosely based on the novel "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson, the film follows the story of two American detectives visiting Edwardian London who become involved with the hunt for Dr. Jekyll, who is responsible for a series of murders.

Plot

Slim (Bud Abbott) and Tubby (Lou Costello) are American cops in London studying police tactics. A newspaper reporter, Bruce Adams (Craig Stevens), gets into an altercation at Hyde Park that was instigated by Vicky Edwards (Helen Westcott), a suffragette. Bruce and Vicky wind up in jail, while Slim and Tubby are kicked off the police force. Dr. Henry Jekyll, Vicky's guardian, bails them out.

Jekyll has been conducting home experiments in which he injects a potion and transforms into Mr. Hyde, a monster who murders a fellow doctor when he scoffed at Jekyll's experiments. Jekyll has more thoughts of murder when he notices that Vicky and Bruce are mutually attracted. Tubby and Slim witness the doctor's shenanigans at a music hall, where they begin to chase him with Bruce at their side. Tubby traps Hyde in a wax museum, but by the time he brings the Inspector (Reginald Denny) and Slim to the scene, the monster has already reverted back to Dr. Jekyll. The "good' doctor then asks Slim and Tubby to escort him to his home, where Tubby drinks a potion that transforms him into a large mouse. Slim and Tubby bring news of Jekyll's activities to the Inspector, who refuses to believe them.

Vicky announces her engagement to Bruce and Mr. Hyde reemerges, this time with intent to murder Vicky. Bruce saves her, but Hyde escapes. Tubby accidentally falls onto a serum-filled syringe, transforming Tubby into a Hyde-like monster as well. Bruce chases after Hyde, while Slim pursues Tubby, each believing still that there is only a single monster. Bruce ends up back at Jekyll's home, where Hyde falls from an upstairs window to his death, revealing to everyone his true identity when he reverts to normal form. Slim then brings Tubby (still in monster form) to the Inspector. Before reverting to human form, Tubby bites the Inspector and a half-dozen officers, transforming them into monsters who begin to chase Slim and Tubby.

Production

"Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" was filmed between January 26 and February 20, 1953. This film received an "X" rating in England because of the scenes with Mr. Hyde. [Furmanek, Bob and Ron Palumbo (1991). "Abbott and Costello in Hollywood". New York: Perigee Books. ISBN 0-399-51605-0]

Trivia

*Unlike in other screen versions of 'Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde', Jekyll is evil in his own right, instead of being a man split between good and evil personae. He has no qualms about transforming into Mr. Hyde to commit murder.

*This film version of Mr. Hyde is an inarticulate, hirsute monster reminiscent of The Wolf Man (When Tubby, in monster form, transforms others into similar creatures by biting them, it is quite reminiscent of werewolf legend); since all of the attacks take place in and around Hyde park he is named "The Hyde Park Monster" by the press, so everyone (even Dr. Jekyll) refer to him as simply "Hyde".

Cast

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

DVD Release

References

* Wingrove, David. Science Fiction Film Source Book (Longman Group Limited, 1985)

External links

*imdb title|id=0045469|title=Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde