Filed under: Reviews | Tags: 1954, edward bernds, the bowery boys meet the monsters
Director: Edward Bernds
Following in the tradition of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein and The Cat and the Canary, The Bowery Boys Meet the Monsters places the titular clowns in a horror setting in which each laugh is complimented by an equal scare. It’s an effective blend, thanks in particular to the outlandish cast of monsters–man, beast, and machine alike! Without access to Universal’s cast of creatures, the filmmakers invent a bizarre family which includes a pair of scientists (John Dehner and Lloyd Carrigan) who want to transplant human brains into both a gorilla and a robot, a racy vampire (Laura Mason) who seems as interested in sex as she is in a meal, and a mischievous grandmother (Ellen Corby) who wants the boys to satiate her man-eating plant. It’s fairly low-grade slapstick and clearly shot on a shoestring budget (there are only a few sets in the whole picture), but it’s fairly irresistible for its offbeat cast of grotesqueries. Leo Gorcy and Huntz Hall do an admirable job at rehashing Abbott and Costello routines–much of the humor derives from the two being oblivious to the dangers around them–and the brief running time keeps things from growing stale.
Leave a Comment so far
Leave a comment
For Reel 