Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy

1955 "They're back -- in their mummy's arms!"
6.2| 1h19m| NR| en| More Info
Released: 23 June 1955 Released
Producted By: Universal Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
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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.

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Director

Charles Lamont

Production Companies

Universal Pictures

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Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy Audience Reviews

NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!
Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.
Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.
Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
JohnHowardReid Copyright 1955 by Universal-International. No recorded New York opening. U.S. release: June 1955. U.K. release: July 1955. Australian release: 17 November 1955. Sydney opening at the Lyceum as the lower half of a double bill with Foxfire. 79 minutes. Cut to 63 minutes in Australia. Alternative title: Meet the Mummy.SYNOPSIS: Abbott and Costello play two Americans who are stranded in Egypt. They hope to return home with an archaeologist. But he is murdered by members of a secret society. NOTES: The last of the twenty-nine pictures Abbott and Costello made for Universal. A studio press release notes that for their first movie, One Night in the Tropics (1940), the comedians were each paid $8,750. This had now increased to $100,000 each, plus a 25% each share of the profits. The studio felt that Abbott and Costello's popularity was now on the wane and that a 50% share of dwindling profits was no longer worth the trouble of keeping the comics on the payroll. Accordingly, their contract was dissolved-a move the studio was later to bitterly regret. Although MCA will not disclose actual figures, it is estimated that the corporation has grossed more than $60 million over the years for licensing A&C movies to domestic television alone. In other words, more than $2 million per film.COMMENT: Entertaining A&C comedy, but not one of their best! Charles Lamont's direction hovers around the routine mark, John Grant's screenplay often amounts to self-plagiarism and producer Howard Christies's budget is not as lavish as usual), but the boys are still happily in good form and they receive adequate support (though Richard Deacon is sadly miscast as the High Priest). Attractive photography by ace cameraman George Robinson proves another big asset.OTHER VIEWS: Abbott and Costello signed off from Universal in reasonable style with some typical verbal and slapstick routines in a fairly well produced, atmospherically photographed and competently directed vehicle that cleverly combined laughs with screams in line with many of their earlier successes. A great support cast helped too. Needless to say, Messrs A&C come across as delightfully incompetent boobs. However, Bud Abbott, the perennial straight guy, looks as if the wealth he's accumulated over his past thirty-plus pictures, has all gone to his stomach. He'll have to watch out or he'll soon be mistaken for his chubby partner. In the supporting cast, villainess Marie Windsor proves quite effective; but singer Peggy King seems to lack vocal power.Summing up: Satisfyingly shuddersome.
gavin6942 Bud and Lou find themselves pursued by an Egyptian cult for a special medallion linked to a walking mummy.Abbott and Costello made a large number of films, and a good number of those involved Universal's monsters. This was towards the end of that run, but no less fun or interesting than those at the beginning. Sure, there are no big names here. No Karloff. And a mummy called Klaris rather than Kharis (not that this matters).The fun of the two heroes is still here, with a few of those word jokes we love. There is the obvious mummy / mommy joke, but then another one that might be less obvious involving a pick and a shovel. Good stuff.
AaronCapenBanner Abbott & Costello play Pete Patterson & Freddie Franklin(though refer to each other as Bud & Lou throughout!) two fortune hunters in Egypt who become mixed up in murder when they become suspects after an archaeologist is killed for a priceless Medallion that leads to the tomb of the living mummy "Klaris", which is also cursed(of course). The usual pratfalls and mishaps ensue. Sad horror spoof is entirely unfunny and utterly pointless. The mummy series ended ten years previous, and this update has terrible makeup, stale gags, and sloppy handling. This was the team's final film at Universal Studios, which unceremoniously dropped them after this flop.
MartinHafer 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.