Undescribable Perfection

Powerful

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Overhearing an expedition to a new tomb, Egypt-based archaeologists come across a cult of worshippers intending to keep a secret regarding the resurrection properties and must return the secret to the mummy's tomb before other parties get a hold of it.While not the travesty many claim it is, it is still one of the better ones Abbott and Costello have done. Like so many of their efforts, a lot of this one is based on the hilarity that ensues when mixing their brand of slapstick comedy and wordplay around the classic monster mayhem as there are a lot of gags in here that do work. The early dead-body discovery is a gut-buster, the amulet in a hamburger- switch sequence is a justifiable classic routine and other similar silly scenes are spread throughout the movie that are just as hilarious, including several snake-charming scenes and some humorous physical gags at the beginning. The usual humor of the team is on full display here, and it should be pleasing for fans of the group. There is quite a rapid pace to this, and it flies by without any real problems here with the gags come at a nice enough pace so that it never really slows down. The ending is complete madcap insanity, and provides some great laughs as well as being one of the best creative series of sequences in their history. It's one of their most impressive scenes, and is the highlight of the movie with everything coming together with a couple of nice suspenseful scenes mixed along for a little horror to the comedic proceedings. This isn't as bad as it could've been, though there's a few flaws here. Most of what's wrong here is mostly just budgetary concerns. The sets look cheap and small, the locations are pretty much hampered by lack of design, and most of the time it looks dreary. When everything should look big and grand, they instead come as looking like cheap sets on a back-lot that were hastily filmed to get it out in a hurry as there's never a sense anywhere that they're at a large place. The mummy costume as well looks incredibly bad as it's a far cry from the wonderful look of the original and isn't scary in the slightest looking exactly like moldy bandages wrapped up. They don't even cover his entire body, as there are several spots missing that weren't covered. It only elicits laughter when viewed and doesn't even get featured as often as it really should've with so much of the film spent on their madcap adventures instead of the horror. That causes this to spend a large portion of time waiting around to actually get to the tomb with it spending all this time on their antics instead. Still, this one is a lot of fun.Today's Rating/PG: Violence.

Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955) This one depends on your enthusiasm for Abbott and Costello. Mine has waned over the years and Lou is more childish than childlike for me now. Bud's slapping routine is just annoying. I saw the beginning, napped through most of the middle, and caught the end. I feel that I didn't miss too much.Richard Deacon was there as the head priest and Michael Ansara was also seen. The costumes were odd and so was what there was of "plot".There were several dance / music sequences some of which, illogically , were based on Hindu Mythology rather than on Egyptian.For me it was pretty lame and not to be recommended.

Abbott and Costello meet the Mummy is less of a movie then an episode of the Abbott and Costello show. Marjorie Windsor is a terrifically determined villainess and she helps to give the movie some drama and dark charisma but the movie is too unstructured otherwise. It's more on a final, undisciplined romp for Abbott and Costello. Even though their chemistry is long since gone, they are still brilliant comedians and they fake their way through the movie with a plethora of stand up bits. The good, clean comedy is a nice breath of fresh air. The opening slapstick gets the movie off on a good foot and the stage act (three women and one man) that performs is INCREDIBLE. The cult of Klaris is a major bore, ranging from the incredibly non-Egyptian "Egyptian" Richard Deacon to the cult, itself, that features a man who is clearly either Tibetan or Chinese. The routine that Costello does with the lady is hilarious and high spirted and the bit with the amulet is well timed. The plot point of Costello eating the amulet (in pieces) and then it appearing intact in his stomach is meaningless here as the whole movie is not for purists. The mummy is a major disappointment as the "bandages" look like a pajama outfit with a bandage pattern. Abbott gets into mummy's "wraps" for pretty much no reason other then to have three mummy's running around at one point. As if sensing that this is their last big blowout together, Costello is very natural with his criticisms of Abbott and Abbott seems almost too real with his abuse of Costello. Whatever dysfunction they had in their later years, they do their best here to slug it out. Costello acts like a man ready to jump off ship and he seems to be lightening his load for his journey. He gives a very light and a very funny performance. Abbott is sharper then he has been in years. Abbott was so sharp in his younger days that he looks bad in comparison here but his worst is still better then most people's best. The plot is pretty much garbage and unenthralling and the mummy is completely impotent but the performances of Abbott and Costello and Marie Windsor help move the show.

Starting in 1948, Abbott and Costello began appearing in several films where they were paired with monsters from the Universal Studios repertoire. The first film, ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN was the best and actually featured this monster as well as Dracula and the Wolf-Man. Next, they did a film where they were featured with the Invisible Man. Then, they did a send up of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Now, in their second to last film, they did their final monster-themed film. ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE MUMMY is certainly the least of the four films but considering the other three are so much better than a typical Abbott and Costello film, this still means that the film can be a very good one.Klaris the mummy is about to be stolen...and brought to life by some strange cult headed by....Richard Deacon?!?! To get it, his cult members kill without remorse. Talk about strange casting--Deacon seems about as Egyptian as Bill Cosby! At the same time, a rich adventurer (Marie Windsor) is seeking a cursed amulet, as she hopes it will lead her to treasure...and she's very willing to kill to get it. So, in the midst of a fanatical cult and amoral adventuress come our two stupid heroes, Bud and Lou. At first, the police think Bud killed the Doctor (the man who had the amulet and Klaris), but later they discover the real killer. In addition to either of them killing Bud and Lou, now that Klaris has come to life, they are as good as dead. Is there any way that they'll escape and this will have a happy ending? See the film yourself to find out the answer.What's to like about the film? Well, most importantly there isn't all that much singing (a serious problem in most Abbott and Costello films) nor is there an irrelevant romantic subplot. Also, while it's all pretty silly, the mummy sequences are pretty cool and the film actually does make you laugh.There are some cheesy moments in the film, such as the "giant lizard" and the skeleton that is chained up in the crypt. Oddly, this "skeleton" is fully articulated and you can see the little screws holding it together!! This is one of my favorite dumb clichés, as in real life, once the tissue has been eaten away, a skeleton has nothing holding it together. Fortunately, such scenes are the exception in the film, not the rule.Overall, a very good film. Sure, Bud and Lou are looking a bit old, but it's a nice way for the team to say goodbye to Universal Studios--there home for most of their previous films and where they got their big break.