The final Abbott and Costello meet the monsters film, Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy, turns out to be a mixed bag entry into the series. The comedic duo is recycling the same gags within the film till the end. After the inspiredAbbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, it feels as though the more-is-more approach did not help here.
Abbott and Costello play Abbott and Costello, who are stranded in Egypt looking for a quick buck to get back to America. Abbott thinks he’s found the right opportunity, overhearing Dr. Zoomer talking about the sacred medallion on the mummy they just excavated. What they’ve found is an ancient curse, a mummy, a cult, and snakes aplenty.
The Charles Lamont-directed comedy horror adventure should be cheeky fun. The entire film, though, is the same four jokes recycled over the seventy-nine-minute runtime. That said, there is an entire set piece with a dead body that rivals Weekend at Bernie’s for laughs (if you’re into corpse humor). The old school Mummy makeup effects are great as well, harkening back to Karloff’s The Mummy film perfectly.
The film is more than just the same four jokes (a snake gag, Costello being scared of the mummy, the bad guys chase Abbot and Costello around, Abbott and Costello cheat each other – wash, rinse, repeat ad nauseam); it literally lifts the style and story from Hope and Crosby’s Road to Zanzibar. Including but not limited to the enchanted rope gag, the various villains, and “exotic women” who perform song and dance numbers.
The Hope and Crosby theft wouldn’t be a problem, but Hope and Crosby do it so much better than Abbott and Costello. Part of it is that you have the feeling that by this point, Abbott and Costello loathe one another. There is no chemistry, just two performers stuck in their schtick, unable to help one another out. Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy has its fans for sure, just not this review.
The Transfer
As much as I may not have been a fan of the film, I am a fan of this transfer. The all-new HDR/Dolby Vision Master – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative is yet again another excellent transfer. The image is another flawless transfer without a scratch or defect throughout the runtime. The Dolby Vision encoding adds an unparalleled amount of detail, so much detail in fact that one can see the faults in the production’s design and stage work. I never tire of seeing the beautiful work done by Kino Lorber with their 4K UHD upgrades. Here is no exception.
The Extras
They include the following;
NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historians C. Courtney Joyner and Phoef Sutton
NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historian Toby Roan
Theatrical Trailer
The first of two Audio Commentaries is an all-new track by Film Historians C. Courtney Joyner and Phoef Sutton. The duo opens with their credentials before diving into the opening title sequence and the music that plays over the titles. Some of the details include a discussion of the opening dance number and where the style originated from; a discussion of the career and performance of Marie Windsor; a discussion of the production and how they gaged what was funny; a discussion of where the comedic duo was in their career at the time and their ending of the their Universal Contract (which this is the last film of); the personal and professional relationship of the comedic duo; a discussion of their TV show that was on at the time; a discussion of the various actors that appear in this film; and much more.
The second Audio Commentary is an all-new track by Film Historian Toby Roan, who begins with the fact that this was the second-to-last Abbott and Costello film. Some of the details include the work of screenwriter John Grant and his collaboration with Abbott and Costello, their falling out, and reconciliation; the comparison of this film and Karloff’s original The Mummy, and other films within the Universal series, which Karloff did not star in; the work and career of director Charles Lamont, including his 8-film collaboration with Abbott and Costello; a discussion of director Charles Barton the other director of the Universal Abbott and Costello films; the work and career of producer Howard Christie; a larger discussion of the various crew members that worked on the picture; a larger discussion of the various actors that appear in the film and their careers outside of the film; and much more.
Theatrical Trailer (2:05)
The Final Thought
Another truly wonderful 4K UHD release from Kino Lorber. Recommended.
Abbot and Costello are adventurers in Egypt for Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy. New to 4K UHD from Kino Lorber.
The Film
The final Abbott and Costello meet the monsters film, Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy, turns out to be a mixed bag entry into the series. The comedic duo is recycling the same gags within the film till the end. After the inspiredAbbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, it feels as though the more-is-more approach did not help here.
Abbott and Costello play Abbott and Costello, who are stranded in Egypt looking for a quick buck to get back to America. Abbott thinks he’s found the right opportunity, overhearing Dr. Zoomer talking about the sacred medallion on the mummy they just excavated. What they’ve found is an ancient curse, a mummy, a cult, and snakes aplenty.
The Charles Lamont-directed comedy horror adventure should be cheeky fun. The entire film, though, is the same four jokes recycled over the seventy-nine-minute runtime. That said, there is an entire set piece with a dead body that rivals Weekend at Bernie’s for laughs (if you’re into corpse humor). The old school Mummy makeup effects are great as well, harkening back to Karloff’s The Mummy film perfectly.
The film is more than just the same four jokes (a snake gag, Costello being scared of the mummy, the bad guys chase Abbot and Costello around, Abbott and Costello cheat each other – wash, rinse, repeat ad nauseam); it literally lifts the style and story from Hope and Crosby’s Road to Zanzibar. Including but not limited to the enchanted rope gag, the various villains, and “exotic women” who perform song and dance numbers.
The Hope and Crosby theft wouldn’t be a problem, but Hope and Crosby do it so much better than Abbott and Costello. Part of it is that you have the feeling that by this point, Abbott and Costello loathe one another. There is no chemistry, just two performers stuck in their schtick, unable to help one another out. Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy has its fans for sure, just not this review.
The Transfer
As much as I may not have been a fan of the film, I am a fan of this transfer. The all-new HDR/Dolby Vision Master – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative is yet again another excellent transfer. The image is another flawless transfer without a scratch or defect throughout the runtime. The Dolby Vision encoding adds an unparalleled amount of detail, so much detail in fact that one can see the faults in the production’s design and stage work. I never tire of seeing the beautiful work done by Kino Lorber with their 4K UHD upgrades. Here is no exception.
The Extras
They include the following;
The first of two Audio Commentaries is an all-new track by Film Historians C. Courtney Joyner and Phoef Sutton. The duo opens with their credentials before diving into the opening title sequence and the music that plays over the titles. Some of the details include a discussion of the opening dance number and where the style originated from; a discussion of the career and performance of Marie Windsor; a discussion of the production and how they gaged what was funny; a discussion of where the comedic duo was in their career at the time and their ending of the their Universal Contract (which this is the last film of); the personal and professional relationship of the comedic duo; a discussion of their TV show that was on at the time; a discussion of the various actors that appear in this film; and much more.
The second Audio Commentary is an all-new track by Film Historian Toby Roan, who begins with the fact that this was the second-to-last Abbott and Costello film. Some of the details include the work of screenwriter John Grant and his collaboration with Abbott and Costello, their falling out, and reconciliation; the comparison of this film and Karloff’s original The Mummy, and other films within the Universal series, which Karloff did not star in; the work and career of director Charles Lamont, including his 8-film collaboration with Abbott and Costello; a discussion of director Charles Barton the other director of the Universal Abbott and Costello films; the work and career of producer Howard Christie; a larger discussion of the various crew members that worked on the picture; a larger discussion of the various actors that appear in the film and their careers outside of the film; and much more.
Theatrical Trailer (2:05)
The Final Thought
Another truly wonderful 4K UHD release from Kino Lorber. Recommended.
Kino Lorber’s 4K UHD Edition of Abbott and Costello Meet The Mummy is out now.
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