Customer Reviews

Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Although Meet The Mummy is a decent swan-song for Abbott and Costello with Universal Pictures after an incredible run of about 30 films I can't really recommend buying this DVD unless you can get it dirt-cheap or if for some reason you only like this A&C vehicle and none of their later films. Unlike the companion edition ...Meet Frankenstein, which is filled with wonderful special features that were not included with Best Of Volume 3, Meet The Mummy contains almost nothing except for production notes and cast and crew, and when Universal releases Best Of Volume 4 you will be paying no more than three dollars per movie which has made the Abbott and Costello Best Of series one of the best DVD values available.

ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE MUMMY was one of the funniest of their screwball antics. The tale of the two cleverest yucksters chasing a medallion to an ancient Egyptian crypt where they encounter -- as the title promises -- the Mummy is one classic set of laughs after another. All of the trades touched on the bitterness the two men felt for one another during the filming process of this outing, but, with all the magic of their performances still on the silver screen, you sure wouldn't know it. A great transfer for a classic addition to any DVD library, this is one for the ages.

Bud and Lou's final film at Universal is a pleasent little comedy, nothing more. It managed to generate some chuckles and a constant warm smile on my face, but no deep belly laughs (unlike some of their greatest work in Hold that Ghost, Hit the Ice, or ...Meet Frankenstein). Seeing character actors Michael Ansara and Richard Deacon in supporting roles was an added hoot for the movie. The best thing about ...Meet the Mummy that I can say is that after several viewings it still has not worn out its welcome as a Sunday afternoon time waster in our home. Enjoyable matinee fluff.

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.

I agree about the Take Your Pick sequence. I have the entire A & B movie collection and watch them often. My granddaughter always asks to watch one when she comes over. The sequence in the restaurant with the medallion is also very funny. I would recommend this movie to anyone interested in classic comedies.

This Abbott and Costello movie is one that is unforgettable. I don't know how Costello goes through all those walls. It doesn't give him haedaches, becuase he's in perfect shape, except for being a little bit fat. Otherwise, this movie is totally funny, especially that fat serpent. And if you think about it, it can give you a small chill or laugh (or both) when those two guys with knives come along. And just wait till you see the police. They are weird. There's just too much to say. Enjoy!

Name any other mummy in any other mummy show who is that nimble and has loose bandages half coming undone, who takes your hand when you put it out to him. Or Marie Windsor in a harem suit at Dr. Zoomer's house chasing Lou around. Or Bud wondering if a lost tie clasp was showing up on the x-ray of Lou's stomach. Name a more pitiful hole ever dug in the history of movies.[about 2 feet deep to bury TWO mummies.] Or Bud just happening to find a bag of bandages so he could be a mummy too. Just watching Marie wheel her horse around [she was a champion rider who was able to run and mount a horse from behind like the Lone Ranger, the only actress able to do that.] is a pleasure. This may be the best movie ever made....just trashes Citizen Kane. I have it tied with 'Dr. Strangelove' and 'The Apostle' as the three best movies ever made. Pure Poetry, every minute.

I enjoyed this movie very much, and have watched many of the skits several times. I think it is a very cute "last-of-the-series" movie; it moves quickly, it's not too long, and it's silly enough to take up a little time in an evening when I don't want to be stressed-out by a film that would take any focus. It also does not have the embarrassment-humour the 1940s were so fond of.

A&C don't look "old", just older--in fact I thought they looked great, and they are very well photographed; and they don't strike me as "tired" so much as relaxed. Instead of exaggerated cartoon characters, they seem like two cute, naturally funny middle-aging guys caught up in a ridiculous story. Abbott suffers more consequences of the situations than usual, and has more of the comedy than in other movies. The two also seem more like friends ragging on each other, instead of "the gullible little man with the mean manipulative mentor", and this is a fitting development for their age (in fact I would have omitted the two slaps A gives C). They don't play it straight like they do in 'Frankenstein', but act it out more the way they did in 'Lost in a Harem', with Costello appearing similarly disengaged (but taking much pleasure in casually winking at the audience).

The story is hopeless, but so what? Think of it as a full-length high-budget late-50's A&C TV special, and it's very entertaining. There are many good routines: the Poison-Drink (adapted for hamburgers), Now-you-see-it-now-you-don't with dead (and quasi-dead) bodies, a Stranger Does a Monologue skit, a running joke with Costello and a snake, a revised x-ray routine (from 'Here Come the Co-Eds'), a couple of In-Disguise skits; and they even do an original comprehension-misunderstanding routine, which comes off as a sort of self-tribute. The stuntmen are only used for quickie falls here and there, there is no long contrived chase ending, and best of all there are no offensive rear-screen projection shots (although there is some amusing matting).

Overall, this movie strikes me as a light-and-easy farewell to almost 20 years of partnership at a time when Abbott is about to retire and Costello to go on to other things. As such, I found it a very pleasant diversion. (Of course they did make one more film, but not after their usual style.) And Volume 4 of the "Best of..." series appears so full of flack, this single disc is a good alternative.

Yeah, it would have had a better ending if Milton Berle (in drag) had come out of the urn, but, hey...

Well, theres not much you can say about it. Its a great item to have if you are a collectior like me me, but no, it was not one of Abbot and Costellos greatest films. You dont see a lot of the Mummy untill like an hour into the film. And then from then on out everything just goes topsy turvy.



Review by Michael Peters. Please let me know if this review was helpful, so I can try and write better in the future. Thanks for reading.

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.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer