Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man was another hit for Universal, grossing over $1.5 million at the box office. The duo followed that up with 1952’s Comin’ Round the Mountain before doing the independent production Jack and the Beanstalk. Their first color film, Abbott and Costello later made Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd, which was also in color. Both films were distributed by Warner Bros., and the latter was directed by Charles Lamont, who they worked with frequently. Though they continued working with Universal into the 1950s, their popularity started waning and Costello’s health was starting to fail. For instance, they withdrew from 1954’s Fireman Save My Child and were replaced by Hugh O’Brian and Buddy Hackett. With the emergence of Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis, Abbott and Costello had a few movies left at Universal. One of those films was 1955’s Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy.
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Rating
Synopsis
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello are stranded in Cairo when they overhear Dr. Gustav Zoomer (Kurt Katch) discussing a legend. He talks about the mummy Klaris (Eddie Parker), the guardian of Princess Ara’s tomb who carries a special medallion. This medallion supposedly shows the location of her treasure, which is being protected by Semu (Richard Deacon) and his followers. At the same time, a local businesswoman named Madame Rontru (Marie Windsor) overhears the conversation intending on stealing the treasure. Bud and Lou try getting work from Zoomer, but Semu’s men Iben (Mel Welles) and Hetsut (Richard Karlan) murder him. They make off with Klaris, but Bud and Lou manage to find the medallion, though Lou accidentally eats it. Things get further complicated when Rontru abducts them, inadvertently starts working with Semu, and make their way to Ara’s tomb. Hijinks ensue once Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy!
Review
Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy, while entertaining, feels like a somewhat tiring effort, and you can see why. While they’re clearly trying and they have plenty of energy, you can tell this is near their end. Abbott’s definitely much older by this point, and Costello isn’t taking as many pratfalls as before. Not only that, but there are some bits here that are copied from some of their most popular sketches. It almost feels like them trying to hold onto whatever relevance they had left by reworking their old material. Even still, they still work well together, and their shtick still works, even if it isn’t as fresh. Marie Windsor is quite good here, really playing up a femme fatale quality straight out of a film noir. Her more serious tone works off well against Abbot and Costello’s comedic stylings, though it tends to clash at times.
Eddie Parker, a stuntman who was also in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, does a decent job as the Mummy. The make-up is sadly a step down from the previous films, though it’s fine here given it’s a comedy. Unlike the previous films, this one has absolutely no connection to the previous Mummy movies, though I’m fine with that. By this point, The Mummy franchise had gone stale and many of them kept doing the same thing. This film repeats the plot element of a secret society that watches over The Mummy, making this more a parody. While it doesn’t entirely justify many of the weaker Mummy movies, it’s nice to see Universal taking shots at themselves. In the end, this is a decent comedy that, at 80 minutes, won’t take up much of your time. Overall, Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy is a flawed but solid comedy.
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