Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein - Production Notes

Production Notes

• The film was originally intended to be titled The Brain of Frankenstein, but its name was changed prior to the filming schedule, which ran from February 5 through March 20, 1948.
• Walter Lantz, noted for the creation of Woody Woodpecker, provided the animation for Dracula's transformations.
• In a 1996 documentary, 100 Years of Horror, hosted by Christopher Lee, it was revealed that the studio hired two additional comedians to add laughs between takes on the set.
• Costello hated the script. He said that his five-year-old daughter could have written something better, but later warmed to the film during production.
• During filming, Glenn Strange found Costello so funny he would often break up laughing, necessitating many retakes (this is readily apparent in the scene where Costello sits on the Monster's lap). There were several pie fights between takes as well, but Abbott and Costello respected the three monsters (Chaney as the Wolfman, Lugosi as Dracula and Strange as the Monster) and made sure no pies were flung at the heavily made-up actors.
• Boris Karloff was approached to play the Monster once again but declined. He did, however, help promote the film and can be seen in several publicity photos, including one where he is buying a ticket, even though he refused to actually see the film (considering it an insult to horror movies).
• During the scene in the laboratory where the Monster comes after Chick and Wilbur after throwing Sandra through the window, Glenn Strange stepped on a camera cable, causing the camera to fall and break some bones in his foot. Lon Chaney, who was not working that day and who had previously played the Monster in Ghost of Frankenstein, took over the role of the Monster for that scene as well as the scene where the monster is throwing barrels and crates at Wilbur and Chick while they are trying to escape in a rowboat at the pier.
• The Australian film board required that almost every scene involving a monster be removed before release.
• This was the only time Béla Lugosi reprised the famous role he had created in Dracula (1931). He had previously portrayed vampires in Mark of the Vampire (1935), The Return of the Vampire (1944) and would do so again in Mother Riley Meets the Vampire (1952) ( and made a gag cameo as Dracula in a 1933 Hollywood on Parade short), but this was the only other time he played Dracula as a sustained role on film.

• The final scene with the Invisible Man presaged Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man (1951), though Price did not star, and all characters were different. Vincent Price had appeared however in The Invisible Man Returns (1940).