Movies in May: Abbott and Costello Meet The Killer Boris Karloff

The new tradition on Saturday nights has turned into watching Svengoolie on METV. He's the male version of Elvira, full of bad puns weaving in and out around the movie segments. It's as cheesy as any of those other movie gimmicks, like Dinner and a Movie that used to be on some channel, yet he has grown on me.

His favorite movies to play are the old horror movies and thrillers. Some of the movies are absolutely horrendous; but some actually are entertaining. The one that was on a few weeks ago was Abbott & Costello Meet the Killer Boris Karloff.


I was intrigued by it because at the time I was in the middle of watching the TV show Thriller on Netflix (before they decided to remove it from Watch Instantly, those bastards!). The show was a sort of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, but with longer and darker episodes. You can actually catch some episodes on METV on occasion.


I was also interested in finally watching a full-length Abbott & Costello movie. I don't think I had seen one all the way through before.

I actually really liked this movie. Sure, it is corny, but that is part of the charm of the comedy team. When attorney Amos Strickland is found murdered in his hotel room, the bellboy, played by Lou Costello, is considered the primary suspect. He is the one who happened to find the body, though, and had nothing to do with the murder. Bud Abbott plays the house detective who is determined to clear Costello's name and to find the real murderer. Boris Karloff is the swami who keeps trying to hypnotize Costello to make him confess to the murder. Costello keeps finding a dead body in various rooms of the hotel, but every time he tries to show Abbott, the body disappears. The hilarity ensues as they try to track down this moving dead body while determining the real killer. The comedic routines are familiar, yet worth watching. Out of all of their movies I have watched since this, this one is at the top of my list.

This movie is currently only available for purchase as a part of a collection.