ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948) TURNS 75!!!

HORROR 101 with Dr. AC

ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948) d. Charles Barton (USA) By the late 1940s, The Wolf Man, Frankenstein’s Monster, and Dracula had become more friends than fiends to audiences. In a flash of inspiration, producer Robert Arthur hit upon the idea of pairing his hit comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello with the creepy creatures. Though nobody, especially Abbott and Costello, were enthusiastic about the experiment, the results were astonishing. The film was a huge success, one of the top-grossing tickets of the year, and it later became a perennial favorite on television, which is where many Monster Kids of the 1950s and 1960s first became aware of it. For many, it was their introduction to the classic monsters, creating a safe gateway if you will into the joys of late-night monster mashes and increasingly darker fare. Tonight, AC is joined by a trio of classic comedy and creature feature connoisseurs: Michael Weber, Doug Long, and Bobby Zier, as they celebrate this classic horror/comedy and its lasting influence throughout the past 75 years. ------------------------------------------------------------------ DOUG LONG teaches film-related classes at DePaul University and writes book reviews for film journals, including Film Quarterly and mise-en-scene.

MICHAEL WEBER is an actor, director and currently the Artistic Director of Porchlight Music Theatre. A Chicago native his fascination with classic horror began with WGN's legendary Creature Features and The Son of Svengoolie. And avid fan of the Golden Age of Radio and he is author of the play, WAR of the WELLeS (about Orson Welles’ infamous radio broadcast.) BOBBY ZIER has a passion for Dracula and runs a TikTok and YouTube channel called Lugosi Theatre. He recently received his second “Monster Kid of the Year” Rondo Award for his efforts in keeping classic horror alive and well.------------------------------------------------------------------------- Keep Searching, Keep Exploring, and, most of all, Keep Sharing the Scare!