Movie Review: Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955)
Synopsis: Bud and Lou are stranded in Egypt but see a way home if they can convince Dr. Gustav Zoomer to hire them to accompany the recently discovered mummy, Klaris, back to America. They, however, find Zoomer murdered and become the top suspects. In addition, they are hunted by both Klaris' followers and businesswoman Madame Rontru, seeking a medallion Lou found that is the key to finding a hidden treasure undead Klaris is guarding. Things become even more complicated for the duo when Lou accidentally swallows the artifact.
Who's in it? The movie stars Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Marie Windsor, Richard Deacon and Eddie Parker.
Review: It had been a while since I watched Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy and while I remembered not liking it as much as their other monster-themed films, I couldn't remember the details. So, I decided to give it another try.
After re-watching it, I concluded the movie is better than I remembered, though I still stand by my earlier opinion their other monster films were better.
I'll start out by saying you know you've reached the pinnacle of your success when you can star in a movie and use your real names rather than the character names shown in the credits. Bud and Lou may have supposed to have been named Pete and Freddie, but I don't remember ever hearing those names used, even in the beginning of the film. While this in itself isn't necessarily a bad thing, it was symptomatic of the overall issue I had with the film - there's too much Abbott and Costello and not enough movie.
To elaborate, for a movie that is about the comedy team meeting a mummy (Parker), there is surprisingly little mummy. Instead, a good chunk of the film has them bumbling around Cairo and finding reasons to perform some of their comedy routines. Don't get me wrong, those routines were funny, especially the scene involving the hamburgers (which I didn't even realize was something you could buy in Cairo in the 1950s). However, a lot of those scenes were also drawn out to the point of repetition, giving the main plot even less time.
Even after Klaris finally becomes a major part of the film, he still seemed like a secondary character that was just there with the film focusing more on the conflict triangle involving Bud and Lou versus Madame Rontru (Windsor) versus the Klaris cult and physical comedy centered more around hidden rooms with bats and giant lizards. I'm not even sure if Klaris was supposed to be a good guy or a bad guy in all of this since he was just there to guard a treasure.
I did admittedly think the ending was kind of funny, with multiple people dressed as mummies, creating confusion. However, it also either forgets important details from the movie or just chooses to overlook them and hope nobody notices. This includes Bud and Lou still being wanted for murder and their decision to make a business arrangement with the people responsible for that murder.
Final Opinion: It is a movie that does have some funny scenes in it and does a good job showcasing Abbott and Costello as a duo. However, there were also quite a few times when it felt as though they were phoning it in a bit script-wise with this film, so it still isn't among my favorite Abbott & Costello features.
My Grade: B-
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Here are some reviews of other movies from 1955:
Movie Review: Killer's Kiss (1955)
Movie Review: Alias John Preston (1955)
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