Abbott and Costello: The Complete Universal Studios Collection Review

I love to laugh. I mean, who doesn’t? As big as a horror and action film fans as I am if I could only chose one genre of film to watch it would definitely be comedy. One of my earliest comedy memories is Abbot and Costello Meets Frankenstein. My grandparents had an old reel to reel projector and I would watch that one every time I went down there. It just hit my funny bone the right way, and even at a very young age I loved the comedic stylings of the two. Bud Abbott, the tall lanky straight man (sort of) and Lou Costello, the short fat bumbler of the duo. They were so good at what they did I knew I needed to see more of their films. And that was pretty easy as they are all essentially family friendly so they showed on cable channels in the afternoons on the weekends all the time.

Cast originally in a supporting role in the film One Night in the Tropics, they became the talk of the film with their now famous seen stealing ‘Who’s on First” bit. It was so popular they were offered a multiple picture deal with Universal Studios. The starred in hit after hit in the forties sometimes putting out 3 or 4 films a year. When the popularity began to ween slightly They hit huge with my childhood favorite (still a favorite to this day) Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein. It was such a success the studio decides to cross them over with other Universal Monsters like The Mummy, and Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Sadly as the fifties was coming to the end not only did their popularity start to diminish but Costello passed away after suffering a heart attack. They leave behind not only a film legacy, but radio and television as well. To this day you can still watch their films not only on video, but cable television airings. Comedy genius to say the least they will never be forgotten. I actually just attended Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios in Orlando and they had Abbott and Costello Meets Frankenstein replica mini posters for sale. Yes I bought one.

As Shout Factory are the masters at creating collector sets we can all say thank you as they are releasing the Abbott and Costello Universal Studios collection. All 28 of their films remastered on Blu-ray loaded with extras. Now I wont bore you (or destroy my fingers) typing up a detailed review for each film but I will let you know what all of them are

One Night In The Tropics (1940): The duos first film sees them playing a couple of enforcers to make sure a wedding happens as the groom has a Love Insurance Policy that says if he does NOT get married to his current fiancé he will get a million dollar payout.

Buck Privates (1941): Abbot and Costello star as Slicker Smith and Herbie Brown to necktie peddlers who when being chased by the police duck into a theater to hide unaware that it is now an army recruiting center. Tricked into thinking they are signing for a gift they end up enlisting in the army. To make things worse the cop who was chasing them is now their Drill Instructor.

In The Navy (1941): A famous singer named Russ Raymond decides to join the Navy under his real name Tommy Halstead during the height of his popularity. A reporter finds out about it and hopes to get a picture of him as a sailor. Luckily Smokey and Pomeroy (Abbott and Costello) are on the same ship and they help him stay hidden

Hold That Ghost (1941): A favorite of mine, Abbott and Costello are Chuck and Ferdie, two bumbling gas station attendants who end up servicing the car of a gangster named Moose Mattson. The cops are on his trail and he ends up speeding off with the duo still in his car. He’s killed during the chase and according to his will whoever was with his at the time of his death will inherit his estate. Great for Chuck and Ferdie expect rival mobs want Moose’s hidden treasure, and the place appears to be haunted.

Keep 'Em Flying (1941): When stunt piolet Jinx Roberts and his two crew members Blackie and Heathcliff (Abbott and Costello) are fired from the carnival they work at Jinx joins the Army Air Corps. Naturally Blackie and Heathcliff enlist as well . The entire group ends up falling for USO girls and unfortunately for Jinx his instructor hates him from when they worked together as piolets years ago.

Ride 'Em Cowboy (1942): When Willoughby and Duke (Abbott and Costello), two rodeo vendors mess up yet again at their job they need to make a quick getaway from their boss. They end up hiding in a cattle car when ends up transporting them out west where they get a job at a Dude ranch while being chased by a group of Indians, one of which is trying to get married to Willoughby

Pardon My Sarong (1942): Algy and Wellington (Abbott and Costello) are a couple of bus drivers who are so bad that the company actually hires a detective to follow them around. They see this and attempt to make an escape. They do so by driving into a lake where they are rescued by rescued by a Tommy Layton who hires them to be part of his yacht racing crew. Unfortunately they end up getting caught in a hurricane and getting deserted on an island where a mad doctor is planning on stealing a native jewel.

Who Done It? (1942): Chick and Mervyn (Abbott and Costello) are a pair of soda jerks who have dreams of becoming mystery radio show writers. One night they attend a broadcast of their favorite show Murder at Midnight when the president of the radio network mysteriously dies. Seeing this as a chance for them the impress the shows writers and producers they decide to pretend to be detectives and solve the case themselves in hopes of getting jobs.

It Ain't Hay (1943): When Wilbur (Costello) accidently kills a race horse owned by a king he calls his buddy Grover (Abbott) to help him raise the money to buy a substitute. Problem is when they go to get a new horse from the track they end up taking the wrong one which happens to be a championship horse that Wilbur is going to race.

Hit The Ice (1943): Tubby and Flash are a couple of sidewalk photographers who dream of working for the paper. A Dr. friend offers to let them photograph a fire he is heading to but Tubby gets hurt and ends up going to the hospital where Silky Fellowsby, a local mobster who mistakes the duo for hitmen. He hires them to help with a bank robbery but they assume its to take pictures of the bank and end up getting framed for the crime.

In Society (1944): Eddie and Albert (Abbott and Costello) are a couple of plumbers who end up getting called to fix a leak in a wealthy home, which they end up flooding. The homeowner plans on sending them a complaint but accidently sends them an invitation to an unveiling of a new painting called The Plunger. They think as its called Plunger they get to meet more wealthy clients needing work. Unfortunately the loan shark they owe money too knows what it is and tells them they need to steal the painting to repay him for the loan.

Here Come The Co-Eds (1945): A young woman named Molly is offered a scholarship at prestigious Bixby College thanks to a phony newspaper article about her planted by her brother Slats (Abbott) She accepts the scholarship but on the condition that Slats and their friend Oliver (Costello) can come with her. They don’t get scholarships, but they are given jobs are the caretakers. Things go bad when the Chairman (Mostly his daughter) disagrees with how Molly came to the school and decides to foreclose on the mortgage. Slats and Oliver then decide to raise the money need to save the school by betting on a Pro Wrestling match and Basketball game that Oliver participates in.

The Naughty Nineties (1944): When Captain Sam looses his showboat, The River Queen in a fixed card game its taken over by a couple of criminals who turn it into a floating gambling casino where all the games are rigged. Luckily Sam still has help in the form of Abbot and Costello as Dexter and Sebastian, his former lead showboat actor and Chief and they hatch a scheme to get the boat back.

Little Giant (1946): Costello stars as Benny Miller. A small town guy who is studying to be a salesman. He ends up leaving home and heading to Los Angles and takes a job as a vacuum salesman for John Morrison (Abbott) who by a series of unfortunate events is hired to avoid a scandal as the books are being cooked. His coworkers play a trick on him convincing him he has the power to read minds. He ends up using his fake power and becoming salesmen of the year.

The Time Of Their Lives (1946): This film begins in 1780 when Horatio Prim (Costello) travel to the estate of Tom Danbury with a letter of accommodation written by George Washington himself. He hopes the letter will win him favor so he can marry Tom’s daughter. Problem is Tom is working with Benedict Arnold and when his fiancé finds out she tells Horatio so he can help stop him. Unfortunately the two are killed and forced to remain as ghosts who must stay in the home until they can prove they had no part in Benedict Arnolds plan (They were framed when they died) The film flashes into the 1940’s where they are still haunting the estate when it gets restored and a group of descendants spends the night, one being Costello as Dr Ralph Greenway. Horatio sees this as a chance to clear their names.

Buck Privates Come Home (1947): Herbie and Slicker (Abbott and Costello) arrive back in New York after WWII and go back to peddling ties when their old instructor returns to being a cop and tries to arrest them. They are saved by an orphan girl who they hatch a plan to adopt. Only issue is one of them has to be married and have steady jobs. So they hatch a plan to bet on a midget car racer.

The Wistful Widow Of Wagon Gap (1947): Chester and Duke (Abbott and Costello) are two traveling salesman in the old west who are framed for the murder of local criminal. They are about to be hung when a bylaw is discovered stating the criminal is responsible for the window and her children. That falls on Chester who learns that no one will ever try to hurt him as they would have to take care of Mrs. Hawkins and seven kids. He ends up becoming the sheriff using a picture of her in place of a badge. Duke meanwhile is trying to find someone else to marry Hawkins so they can leave town.

Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948): Not only my favorite Abbot and Costello film but one of my all-time favorite comedies as well. Abbott and Costello star as Chick Young and Wilbur Grey. They are a pair a baggage handlers who get tasked with delivering two huge crates to McDougal’s House of Horrors. Inside these crates are the coffins of Dracula and Frankenstein, which as it turns out contains Dracula and Frankenstein. Dracula plans on redoing Dr Frankenstein’s experiment with the help of a beautiful Dr named Sandra who is dating Wilbur so they can use his brain in the monster. Luckily for them The Wolfman is there to help stop Dracula from succeeding. Featuring Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney Jr reprising their original roles as Dracula and the Wolfman this is a must see classic. It doesn’t matter how old you are you will laugh from beginning till end. It’s the best horror comedy ever made and a timeless classic in every sense of the word.

Mexican Hayride (1948): Con man Harry Lambert (Costello) flees to Mexico after scamming a group of people out of all their money in an stock scheme. One of those people is Joe Bascomb (Costello) who heads after him. Once there the two stuck working together in selling stock for fake silver mines when they learn they are now Both wanted back in the states.

Abbott And Costello Meet The Killer, Boris Karloff (1949): When a high profile criminal attorney is murdered at the Lost Caverns Resort his body is discovered by the bellhop, Freddie Phillips (Costello) He immediately becomes the main suspect but luckily for him the house detective, Casey (Abbott) is his friend and tries to clear his name. The cops keep him under house arrest in his hotel room and begin questioning the other guests at the hotel, one of whom is an evil Swami named Talpur (Boris Karloff). While the investigation is going on more people end up dead.

Abbott And Costello In The Foreign Legion (1950): Abbott and Costello play Bud and Lou, two crocked Pro Wrestling promoters whose main star, Abdulla, decides to leave and return home to Algeria. The gang that loaned them the money to hire him in the first place demands they either get him back or pay them $5,000.00. They travel to Algeria to convince him to return but after running afoul on an evil sheik end up getting duped into joining the Foreign Legion.

Abbott And Costello Meet The Invisible Man (1951): Lou Francis and Bud Alexander (Abbott and Costello) are a couple of private eyes who get hired by a boxer named Tommy Nelson who has just broken out of jail. He plans on getting his fiancé’s uncle, a scientist, to inject him with an invisibility serum he has invented so he can clear his name. Lou ends up posing as a boxer while Tommy who is now invisible helps him win the fights in hopes of drawing the killer out.

Comin' Round The Mountain (1951): Al Stewart (Abbott) is a booking agent who manages an escape artist named The Great Wilbert (Costello) when Wilbert is unable to escape one of his stunts he begins screaming. Dorothy recognizes his scream as the trademark “McCoy Clan Yell” It turns out he is the long lost grandson of Squeeze Box McCoy and that Granny McCoy has been looking for him to give him Squeeze Box’s buried gold.

Lost In Alaska (1952): Joe McDermott plans killing himself by drowning, but is saved by two firemen, George, and Tom (Abbott and Costello). They make sure he is ok after and he gives them a reward to show his gratitude. When the two go to the bank the next day to cash it they suspect the duo of murdering Joe and stealing his gold. The escape to try and find Joe to clear their names but when they find him they all end up on a ship heading to Alaska.

Abbott And Costello Go To Mars (1953): Another one of my favorites. Orville (Costello) is an orphan who ends up under the care of a lab worker named Lester (Abbott). They end up working together loading supplies for a rocket ship. Orville ends up turning the ship on and the two end up flying the New Orleans during Mardi Gras. As everyone is wearing costumes they assume they have landed on Mars. Things go from bad to worse when they are grabbed by a couple of bank robbers who force them to use the space ship to escape. This time though they end landing on Venus which they find is ruled entirely by women as the men of the planet were banished.

Abbott And Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde (1953): Slim and Tubby are two bubbling cops who have been sent to work with the London Police Force to learn their techniques. After failing to stop a women’s demonstration riot they are immediately fired. They decide to capture a serial killer on the lose that many people believe to be a monster. It turns out the murders are actually the work of Mr. Hyde, that alter ego of Dr Henry Jekyll who injects himself with a serum that turns him into a monster allowing him to kill people he wants revenge on.

Abbott And Costello Meet The Keystone Kops (1955): Harry and Willie (Abbott and Costello) lose all their money to a conman who sells them a fake movie studio. They end up following him to a film studio he is working at and because of their bumbling shenanigans they are offered jobs as Stuntmen. Joe, the conman in question decides to use this to his advantage and have them die on the set. As they are inept they meet the Keystone Kops who are working on the set and mistake them for real cops. They ask them to help and the group agrees as they simply believe its part of an act. It does lead to a hilarious chase sequence at the end.

Abbott And Costello Meet The Mummy (1955): Pete and Freddie (Abbot and Costello) apply for a job transporting a mummy back from Cairo to America, in hops of leaving Egypt. Unfortunately the Dr is murdered by cult who want the sacred Medallion that is the key to locating the lost treasure of Princess Ara that is on the Mummy. It ends up in the duos possession and at one point accidently eaten by Freddie. It turns out that even though it is a key to treasure it’s also cursed.

Shout Factory has done a masterful job on the transfers of these films. They may be black and white but they look and sound crisper than I have ever seen them. The sound is amazing as everything just flows around you in surround sound. The picture is amazing. This is an immaculate Blu-ray set. That contains a plethora of special features on each disc in the massive set

DISC ONE:
ONE NIGHT IN THE TROPICS (1940)
Theatrical Trailer
Still Gallery
Production Notes
BUCK PRIVATES (1941)
Audio Commentary By Authors/Film Historians Bob Furmanek And Ron Palumbo (Abbott And Costello In Hollywood)
Theatrical Trailer
Still Gallery
Production Notes
DISC TWO:
IN THE NAVY (1941)
Theatrical Trailer
Still Gallery
Production Notes
HOLD THAT GHOST (1941)
Audio Commentary By Film Historian Jeff Miller
Theatrical Trailer
Still Gallery
Production Notes
DISC THREE:
KEEP ‘EM FLYING (1941)
NEW Audio Commentary By Author/Film Historian Scott Allen Nollen
Recruitment Short/Theatrical Trailer
Still Gallery
Production Notes
RIDE ‘EM COWBOY (1942)
NEW Audio Commentary By Author/Film Historian Scott Allen Nollen
NEW Audio Commentary By Author/Film Historian James L. Neibaur
Theatrical Trailer
Still Gallery
Production Notes
DISC FOUR:
PARDON MY SARONG (1942)
Still Gallery
Production Notes
WHO DONE IT? (1942)
Audio Commentary With Film Historian Frank Conniff
Theatrical Trailer
Still Gallery
Production Notes
DISC FIVE:
IT AIN’T HAY (1943)
NEW Audio Commentary By Author/Film Historian Scott Allen Nollen
Still Gallery
Production Notes
HIT THE ICE (1943)
NEW Audio Commentary By Author/Film Historian Scott Allen Nollen
Theatrical Trailer
Still Gallery
Production Notes
DISC SIX:
IN SOCIETY (1944)
Theatrical Trailer
Still Gallery
Production Notes
HERE COME THE CO-EDS (1945)
Theatrical Trailer
Still Gallery
Production Notes
DISC SEVEN:
THE NAUGHTY NINETIES (1944)
NEW Audio Commentary By Author/Film Historian Scott Allen Nollen
Still Gallery
Production Notes
LITTLE GIANT (1946)
NEW Audio Commentary By Author/Film Historian Scott Allen Nollen
Theatrical Trailer
Still Gallery
Production Notes
DISC EIGHT:
THE TIME OF THEIR LIVES (1946)
Audio Commentary With Film Historian Frank Thompson
Theatrical Trailer
Still Gallery
Production Notes
BUCK PRIVATES COME HOME (1947)
Theatrical Trailer
Still Gallery
Production Notes
DISC NINE:
THE WISTFUL WIDOW OF WAGON GAP (1947)
Theatrical Trailer
Still Gallery
Production Notes
ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948)
Audio Commentary By Film Historian Gregory William Mank
Theatrical Trailer
Still Gallery
Production Notes
DISC TEN:
MEXICAN HAYRIDE (1948)
NEW Audio Commentary By Author/Film Historian Scott Allen Nollen
Theatrical Trailer
Still Gallery
Production Notes
ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE KILLER, BORIS KARLOFF (1949)
NEW Audio Commentary By Author/Film Historian Troy Howarth
Still Gallery
Production Notes
DISC ELEVEN:
ABBOTT AND COSTELLO IN THE FOREIGN LEGION (1950)
Still Gallery
Production Notes
ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE INVISIBLE MAN (1951)
Theatrical Trailer
Still Gallery
Production Notes
DISC TWELVE:
COMIN’ ROUND THE MOUNTAIN (1951)
Still Gallery
Production Notes
LOST IN ALASKA (1952)
Theatrical Trailer
Still Gallery
Production Notes
DISC THIRTEEN:
ABBOTT AND COSTELLO GO TO MARS (1953)
Theatrical Trailer
Still Gallery
Production Notes
ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (1953)
Audio Commentary By Film Historians Tom Weaver And Richard Serivani
Theatrical Trailer
Still Gallery
Production Notes
DISC FOURTEEN:
ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE KEYSTONE KOPS (1955)
Still Gallery
Production Notes
ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE MUMMY (1955)
NEW Audio Commentary By Author/Film Historian Troy Howarth
Theatrical Trailer
Still Gallery
Production Notes
DISC FIFTEEN:
THE WORLD OF ABBOTT AND COSTELLO (1965)
ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET JERRY SEINFELD (1994)
ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET THE MONSTERS (2000)
NEW Abbott And Costello: Their Lives And Legacy – Featuring Interviews With Chris Costello (Daughter Of Lou Costello) And Ron Palumbo (Co-author Of Abbott And Costello In Hollywood)
NEW Abbott And Costello: Film Stories – Featuring An Interview With Author/Film Historian James L. Neibaur (The Monster Movies Of Universal Studios)
NEW Abbott And Costello: Behind The Scenes – Ron Palumbo Talks About The Various Writers And Directors
NEW Abbott & Costello Meet Castle Films – 8 Of Abbott And Costello’s Best Castle Films 8mm/16mm Films
Outtakes From Pardon My Sarong, It Ain’t Hay, Hit The Ice, Little Giant, And Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein
The Abbott And Costello Trailer Reel

This is a must own set that every film fan should own. This is classic comedy for any age at its best. The Universal Monster films are my favorite and reason enough to own this set, but all the other films are funny as well. These are classics that you have to see. If you love to laugh then this is a set for you. Go and order this one today.

Overall 4.5 out of 5 Stars!