Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man
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- Release Date: March 7, 1951
- Directed by: Charles Lamont
- Written by: Robert Lees, Frederic I. Rinaldo and John Grant
- Runtime: 1 hour 22 minutes
- Series: Universal Classic Monsters
While Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, and the Wolf Man got their chance to terrorize a goofy comedy in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, there were a couple of other monsters that didn't get invited to the party. So a few years later in 1951, Universal decided to give the Invisible Man a shot in Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man. You may be tempted to think that this is just the same monster-meets-comedians shtick that the first Abbott and Costello Meet movie was. And while you may be right, I honestly find this one funnier than the first one!
Unlike the previous Abbott and Costello Meet movie, this one may follow the canon of the previous Invisible Man films, but continuity never really mattered in this series in the first place. Abbott and Costello play two detectives who are approached by a boxer who claims he was framed for murder. The boxer injects himself with invisibility serum so he can investigate who he says framed him, and shenanigans ensue from there. Much like Meet Frankenstein, simply writing about this movie can't do any of its comedy justice. This movie relies even heavier on physical comedy due to the nature of its titular monster, and the result is some laugh-out-loud slapstick. The most memorable scene features Costello getting the shit beat out of him in a boxing match, before the Invisible Man decides to jump in on his behalf. Some of the faces and actions that Costello makes as the Invisible Man is ravaging his opponent are hysterical. Much like the first movie, I'm amazed at how many laughs such an old movie can get out of me.
Each Invisible Man seems to have its own attitude. Some are normal people turned monsters, others are sympathetic victims, while another is just a straight-up murderer. This movie features a sympathetic Invisible Man who is actually a good person caught in a bad situation. It's not a very "monstrous" monster movie, but I thoroughly enjoy the Tommy Nelson version of the Invisible Man. Considering the one in The Invisible Man's Revenge was a cold-blooded killer, it's nice to have another one that we feel sorry for. The ending of this one is genuinely heartwarming, even if it does end with some more dumb physical humor.
As I said with the first film, if you're expecting scares here, you're coming to the wrong place. But as a comedy, I truly do find this one to be the funniest of the Abbott and Costello Meet films. They found what worked, and to me, perfected it.