Movie Review: Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955)

Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955) directed by Charles Lamont

As a follow-up to the successful Mummy franchise and the monster cross-over movies with Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, the boys have an adventure in Egypt with Klaris (Eddie Parker), a mummy from ancient times with an ancient curse who is also the guardian of another secret tomb full of fabulous wealth. Bud and Lou are looking for a way to get back to America. Bud overhears one professor saying he needs some men to escort a mummy's remains to the USA. The duo head over to the professor's house where they get stuck inbetween various other groups who want the mummy for their own purposes. The professor is killed and suspicion lands on Bud, so they are highly motivated to sort things out. The plot is definitely copied from the other Mummy movies even if Kharis's name has been changed to Klaris. Bud and Lou go through typical shenanigans and routines as the story moves along.

This is definitely more of a comedy than a horror. The mummy is not much of a character, the rest of the cast is the focus. A group of Klaris devotees led by Semu (Richard Deacon) try to keep Klaris's secret situation from getting out, so they are after Bud and Lou. Some grave robber/gold diggers led by Madame Rontru (Marie Windsor) are after the treasure and thereby after Bud and Lou, who have a key piece of information for both pursuers. The comic antics are fun but not up to the duo's best standards. The movie is fun to watch but not endlessly rewatchable like their ...Meet Frankenstein. 

Mildly recommended, more so if you are a Mummy or an Abbott and Costello fan. I'm both, so I had a good time.