Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy

source: Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy

Trailer—Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy

Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy

I really am surprised that this movie has a rating of only 6.5. I admit that it's not as good as "Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein" but it's still quite funny. We even get a nice call back to the "Who's On First" routine. This time it's done with picks and shovels. I'm glad to be more familiar with Abbott and Costello. For a film made in the 1950's, I think it holds up pretty well. They're quite funny, even if they're not as good as the Marx Brothers. This movie features Abbott and Costello finding a magic medallion getting themselves involved in a mummy's curse. The movie is nicely paced. I believe this was the last Abbott and Costello movie. I don't see why people consider it one of their lesser films. There's great slapstick, especially with the people bursting through the ceiling. It's a nice looking film too. ***

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello are in Egypt and they get caught up in a murder caper with a mummy and a medallion. It's general mayhem fun although I only truly laughed in one scene. The cursed medallion is funny because Lou is so silly. They try to do another who's on first with the pick. It's cute but derivative and inferior. I don't care that much about the other characters or the story in general. It's all window dressing anyways whenever Abbott and Costello are not on the screen.

"How stupid can you get?" "How stupid do you want me to be?" I thought this movie was better than I anticipated. It's a gentle comedy of 2 buffoons who stumble into an adventure in Egypt after one is mistaken for a murderer. It is relaxing and laid back but if you want funny Abbott and Costello then look else where. There's a cute scene which uses their poisoned drink routine where instead they use hamburgers and a cursed medallion. Again, Costello directed his comedy at the children by pulling faces and doing far too much talking at the camera. This was funny in some of their other films but not in this one. Another good scene is where Abbott and one of the bad guys dress up as the Mummy, this isn't laugh out loud comedy but one or two scenes should put a smile of any fan's face. Their last film for universal.

This is the last hurrah for Universal Pictures from the dynamic duo of Bud & Lou. Tho the film finds them long past their best, with the overall material having to be severely stretched to sustain a feature length movie, it does however have some merit. The plot sees the lads mixed up in a murder mystery with an Egyptian cult. Cue lots of Mummy like staple scenario's as our bumbling duo bluster their way thru by luck more than any sort of guile. In the hands of lesser comedians this production would have sank without trace, but such is the vibrancy and comedic knowing of the pair the film at least remains watchable to the end. It may well find them on auto-pilot, but a couple of scenes show why they were such well loved comedians. With medallion hamburgers and a triple whammy of Mummies for the typically frenetic finale, the movie, if not even close to doing justice to their great careers, does remain engaging and thankfully stays above average. 6/10

This was the boys last picture for Universal. Actually it is better than some of the prior ones. It has a better supporting cast than some with Marie Windsor & Richard Deacon. It has a better drawn story line than others too, as the script almost gets the idea right. For the first time in many pictures, it has some of Abbott & Costellos better comic dialog which had been missing for several films. It includes the crisp "take your pick" routine and it is a breath of fresh air for the first time in a while. There is a clever sequence where A & C pull a clever escape using some stunts that are cleverly done. There is a little music but it is not as obtrusive as some previous films. Overall, this is just slightly below their best films, much better than their worst ones.

When the murder of an archaeologist puts a valuable medallion into their hands, Abbott and Costello waste little time in trying to sell it--only to find themselves pursued by police, a slinky adventuress, an Egyptian high priest, and the mummy himself. The concept is amusing, but the real charm of any Abbott and Costello film is the charismatic comic interplay between the stars. Unfortunately, the 1955 MEET THE MUMMY finds the two at a creative low ebb. Featuring such notable character actors as Richard Deacon and Marie Windsor, the film is competently made and very easy to watch, but to say it lacks the inspiration of Abbott and Costello's best work would be a tremendous understatement. At most, MEET THE MUMMY is mildly amusing in a broadly slapstick sort of way, good for an occasional chuckle at best. It would be their last film at Universal and their next-to-last screen appearance together, so it might be best regarded as a fond farewell. Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Considering how late in their career this came, and how lame some of its predecessors were, this one is not too bad. And it's a joy to see some of the wordplay they were famous for make a welcome return amidst the routine slapstick. Sure, "Take your pick" "The shovel is my pick" is not on the same level as "Who's On First?", but it's still amusing enough, and it's fun to see them deal with one last Universal monster. 6/10