4K UHD Review: Kino Lorber’s Abbott and Costello Meet The Invisible Man (Special Edition)

Comic duo Abbott and Costello become detectives, must contend with gangsters, femme fatales, and invisible boxers in Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man.  The comedy sequel comes to 4K UHD thanks to Kino Lorber. 

The Film 

I wish the promise of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein’s ending was fulfilled.  Vincent Price as the Invisible Man is just too delicious of a prospect.  Rather, Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man is more of a film noir comedy than it is a horror film.  Putting newly minted private detectives (the term is stretched with these two morons) in the middle of boxers, fixed fights, and mobsters.  

It’s interesting to make the film a film noir boxing picture instead of a mad scientist experiment gone wrong.  The noir fits into Abbott and Costello’s wheelhouse, but trading Claude Rains for Arthur Franz is a huge downgrade.  One wonders if Vincent Price was indeed tapped for this next entry and Costello jettisoned the idea (he was the one who thought that the original’s concept was a dumb one… shows what he knew) in favor of this plot of a boxer who literally goes into hiding after his manager is killed to prove his innocence.  

The film works well enough with the various familiar faces of the era showing up as gangsters, cops, and assorted types of the genre.  Abbott and Costello do their thing in the midst of all the crime shenanigans and the invisible man gags.  There are some inspired bits like the hypnotism gag with Costello being unaffected, but everyone around him is.  But after such a wonderful and smart film in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, this sequel seems like a let down because of just how average and predictable everything is.

The film works like clockwork as soon as Franz prizefighter Tommy Nelson goes invisible.  We know Lou will have to fight someone.  We know that Nelson will try to escape.  We know that Bud will be an asshole and a schemer.  As well executed a film Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man is, the film is fairly pedestrian at the end of the day.  That being said it is entertaining but just not to the heights of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.

The Transfer 

The all-new HDR/Dolby Vision Master – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative is another stunner.  Like the original Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, the image is flawless without a scratch or defect throughout the runtime. This film feels a bit more like a film noir, with its primarily nighttime setting being a highlight here, showing off the Dolby Vision encoding.  The transfer is razor sharp, looking as though filmed yesterday.  Kino Lorber continues to show why they set the standard with 4K UHD Upgrades.  

The Extras

They include the following;

• NEW Audio Commentary by Hats Off Entertainment’s Joe Ramoni 
• NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historians Paul Anthony Nelson and Lee Zachariah 
• Theatrical Trailer 

The first of two all-new Audio Commentaries is by Hats Off Entertainment’s Joe Ramoni, which opens with the title sequence downgrade from the animated sequence from Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man, which speaks to the scaled-back nature of the entire production.  Some of the details include the lower budget film from the original; a discussion of Abbot and Costello consistently using their names as their character names in their films (including this one); the script development, which was originally treated as a sequel without Abbott and Costello, and how they were added into the film; the reason that there was such a long period of time between 

Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein and Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man; where Abbott and Costello were in their careers when this film was made – their entry into Television this year; the on set habits of the comedic duo; the rise of Martin and Lewis, and how this affects Abbott and Costello; Abbott’s real-life experience as a boxer; a larger discussion of how much more comedic the film is than its predecessor; a larger discussion of the practical and VFX used to accomplish the film’s visuals; the various actors that worked on the film; and much more.  

The second of the all-new Audio Commentaries by Film Historians Paul Anthony Nelson and Lee Zachariah.  The duo opens with a bit of background on the Meet the Monsters series of Abbott and Costello films.  Some of the other details include the opening sequence and how they choose to get the audience entered into the world; the troupes of the Abbott and Costello comedies (e.g., the rules); the casting of Arthur Franz as the Invisible Man, and also his role during the production; the connection to the original Invisible Man series; a discussion of the Invisible Man series; a larger discussion of the various actors appear in the film; and much more.  

Theatrical Trailer (2:13)

The Final Thought 

Kino Lorber has delivered another winning 4K UHD Upgrade.  Recommended!!! 

Kino Lorber’s 4K UHD Edition of Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man is out now.