Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff
MORE GHOULISH GLEE THAN WHEN THEY MET FRANKENSTEIN!
1949 | 84m | English
Popularity: 0.6 (history)
| Director: | Charles Barton |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Hugh Wedlock Jr., Howard Snyder, John Grant, Oscar Brodney |
| Staring: |
| Lost Caverns Hotel bellhop Freddie Phillips is suspected of murder. Swami Talpur tries to hypnotize Freddie into confessing, but Freddie is too stupid for the plot to work. Inspector Wellman uses Freddie to get the killer (and it isn't the Swami). | |
| Release Date: | May 26, 1949 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Charles Barton |
| Writer: | Hugh Wedlock Jr., Howard Snyder, John Grant, Oscar Brodney |
| Genres: | Comedy, Horror, Mystery |
| Keywords | hotel, blackmail, attempted murder, slapstick comedy, cross dressing, screwball comedy, hypnotism, elevator |
| Production Companies | Universal International Pictures |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $686,000 |
| Updates |
Updated: Feb 01, 2025 Entered: Apr 20, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Bud Abbott | Casey Edwards |
| Lou Costello | Freddie Phillips |
| Boris Karloff | Swami Talpur |
| Lenore Aubert | Angela Gordon |
| Gar Moore | Jeff Wilson |
| Donna Martell | Betty Crandall |
| Alan Mowbray | Melton |
| James Flavin | Insp. Wellman |
| Roland Winters | T. Hanley Brooks |
| Nicholas Joy | Amos Strickland |
| Mikel Conrad | Sgt. Stone |
| Morgan Farley | Gregory Milford |
| Victoria Horne | Mrs. Hargreave |
| Percy Helton | Abernathy |
| Claire Du Brey | Mrs. Grimsby |
| Harry Hayden | Lawrence Crandall |
| Vincent Renno | Mike Relia |
| Murray Alper | Joe, Reporter (uncredited) |
| Bobby Barber | Dry Cleaning Man (uncredited) |
| Marjorie Bennett | Second Maid (uncredited) |
| Gail Bonney | First Maid (uncredited) |
| Harry Brown | Medical Examiner (uncredited) |
| Jack Chefe | Barber (uncredited) |
| Eddie Coke | Reporter (uncredited) |
| Beatrice Gray | Woman (uncredited) |
| Billy Gray | Boy With Bow and Arrow (uncredited) |
| Patricia Hall | Manicurist (uncredited) |
| Arthur Hecht | Photographer (uncredited) |
| William H. O'Brien | Room Service Waiter (uncredited) |
| Ed Randolph | Bootblack (uncredited) |
| Phil Shepard | Bellboy (uncredited) |
| Billy Snyder | Reporter (uncredited) |
| Frankie Van | Bozzo (uncredited) |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Milton Schwarzwald | Music Director, Original Music Composer |
| Walter Schumann | Music |
| Betty A. Griffin | Script Supervisor |
| Lloyd Ward | Camera Operator |
| Hugh Wedlock Jr. | Screenplay, Story |
| Howard Snyder | Screenplay, Story |
| John Grant | Screenplay |
| Charles Van Enger | Director of Photography |
| Edward Curtiss | Editor |
| Bernard Herzbrun | Art Direction |
| Richard H. Riedel | Art Direction |
| Oliver Emert | Set Decoration |
| Russell A. Gausman | Set Decoration |
| Rosemary Odell | Costume Design |
| Joan St. Oegger | Hairstylist |
| David S. Horsley | Special Effects |
| Oscar Brodney | Writer |
| Layne Britton | Makeup Artist |
| Lillian Burkhart | Hairstylist |
| Gilbert Kurland | Production Manager |
| Joseph E. Kenney | Assistant Director |
| Leslie I. Carey | Sound |
| Robert Pritchard | Sound |
| Fred Buckley | Grip |
| Sherman Clark | Still Photographer |
| Ross Saxon | Gaffer |
| Daniele Amfitheatrof | Music |
| Ethmer Roten | Musician |
| Hans J. Salter | Music |
| Paul Sawtell | Music |
| Charles Barton | Director |
| Bud Westmore | Makeup Artist |
| Johnny Green | Music |
| Frank Skinner | Music |
| Leith Stevens | Music |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Robert Arthur | Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 4 |
| 2024 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 3 |
| 2024 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 3 |
| 2024 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 3 |
| 2024 | 8 | 7 | 16 | 3 |
| 2024 | 9 | 4 | 6 | 2 |
| 2024 | 10 | 7 | 16 | 3 |
| 2024 | 11 | 6 | 12 | 3 |
| 2024 | 12 | 6 | 9 | 3 |
| 2025 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 4 |
| 2025 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| 2025 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Trending Position
Tidy comedy, great mystery! Bud & Lou find themselves at the center of a murder mystery, the chief suspect? Why Lou Costello of course. As a comedy, Meet The Killer offers nothing fresh to what we haven't seen before from the boys prior to this 1949 offering, not that the comedy doesn't delive ... r, because it does, very much so. Be it Freddie (Costello) being too stupid to be hypnotised by the shifty Swami (Boris Karloff), or a wonderful sequence of events down in the creepy caverns, it's fun and very diverting. However, the strength in "Meet The Killer" is that it works very well as a whodunit mystery, a ream of characters, all acting oddly, come and go to keep the viewer guessing right through to the cheery pay off. It's entertaining on two fronts and has a cast clearly having fun into the bargain. Super shadowy photography by Charles Van Enger as well. Enjoy! Now, about that Tortoise? 7/10