Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff (1949)
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65% of users liked it
(621 ratings)
This Abbott & Costello vehicle was originally planned as a Bob Hope comedy titled Easy Does It. The Hope role is fairly evenly divided between Bud Abbott, as hotel house detective Casey Edwards, and Lou Costello, as bumbling bellhop Lou Costello. When a much-hated criminal attorney (Nicholas Joy) is… More This Abbott & Costello vehicle was originally planned as a Bob Hope comedy titled Easy Does It. The Hope role is fairly evenly divided between Bud Abbott, as hotel house detective Casey Edwards, and Lou Costello, as bumbling bellhop Lou Costello. When a much-hated criminal attorney (Nicholas Joy) is murdered at a resort hotel, there's no shortage of suspects: in fact, practically every guest had an excellent motive for killing the victim. The suspects conspire to pin the killing on poor Freddie, but when he comes in possession of a valuable piece of evidence, he is slated for extermination himself. The more Freddie and his pal Casey try to stay out of trouble, the more trouble comes their way--especially when two more murders occur. The climax takes place in an underground cavern, where Freddie is nearly drowned by the hooded mystery killer. The film's title is one of the most misleading in movie history. Cast as a red-herring swami, Boris Karloff is not the killer (whose true identity is obvious from the outset, especially to veteran moviegoers). Though his footage is extremely limited, Karloff shares the film's funniest scene, in which he tries to hypnotize Costello into committing suicide ("You'll kill yourself if it's the last thing you do!). ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Charles Barton
- Written By
- Hugh Wedlock, Howard Snyder, John Grant
- Genres
- Drama, Mystery & Suspense, Classics, Comedy, Special Interest
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Jan 1, 2003 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Widgett Walls, Needcoffee.com
This is a mixed bag of gags, plus the real draw of the title--Karloff--is a few steps above a cameo.
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Cast
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Bud Abbott
as Casey Edwards
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Lou Costello
as Freddie Phillips
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Boris Karloff
as Swami Talpur
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Lénore Aubert
as Angela Gordon
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Gar Moore
as Jeff Wilson
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Donna Martell
as Betty Crandall
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Alan Mowbray
as Melton
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James Flavin
as Inspector Wellman
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Roland Winters
as T. Hanley Brooks
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Nicholas Joy
as Amos Strickland
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Mikel Conrad
as Sgt. Stone
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Morgan Farley
as Gregory Milford
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Victoria Horne
as Mrs. Hargreave
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Percy Helton
as Abernathy
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Claire Du Brey
as Mrs. Grimsby
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Harry Hayden
as Lawrence Crandall
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Vincent Renno
as Mike Relia
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Murray Alper
as Joe
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Marjorie Bennett
as Maid
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Jack Chefe
as Barber
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Eddie Coke
as Reporter
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Beatrice Gray
as Woman
- Billy Gray
- Billy Snyder
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Ed Randolph
as Bootblack
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Frankie Van
as Bozzo
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Pat Hall
as Manicurist
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Harry Brown
as Medical Examiner
