Pacionsbo Absolutely Fantastic

Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Orla Zuniga It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

simeon_flake I wouldn't want to accuse Universal-International of "stunt casting", but one does get the feeling Boris Karloff's sole purpose for appearing in this movie was the marquee value of his name attached to it. Given his actual role in the movie--a role by some reports that was originally supposed to be played by a woman--it's kind of hard to argue that point.Karloff is only a minor player in the overall scheme of things--and perhaps Boris' reasons for taking the part was his way of trying to make up for not playing the part of the "Frankenstein Monster" in Abbott and Costello's legendary first "Meet" picture.In any event, as I've said elsewhere, this film was produced during that time period when A & C's feature films were becoming very hit or miss. There are some funny scenes--particularly amusing was when the cops & Bud think Lou has been poisoned & Bud proceeds to pour a whole bunch of solutions down Costello's throat.Still, this film is very heavy on plot & seemingly light on Abbott and Costello action. There are some intermittent chuckles throughout, but I would say this film pales badly when compared to the "Meet Frankenstein" film--but maybe it's not fair to compare the 2. Now that I think about it, most of the "Meet" pictures, aside from the first were pretty underwhelming & this is coming from a longtime Abbott and Costello fan.5 stars

TheLittleSongbird Abbott and Costello are one of the best comedy duos on film, and there are some great entries of theirs, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein being a contender for their best. Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff is not one their high-points, there are a few draggy spots, a rather standard story and while he is eerie and commanding Boris Karloff is underused(so much for the misleading title). The gags are well-timed and funny though, especially the dressing up in drag, Costello being hypnotised by Karloff and playing cards with a corpse. There is a very nice mix of zany comedy and suspenseful mystery elements, the dialogue is snappily written, the film looks good and is directed in a way that allows the stars to have fun and the story to breathe while not leaving things out of control. Abbott and Costello are still as funny as ever and their chemistry still sparkles even with contrasting personalities. The acting is solid enough from all, Karloff is still fine in his role, you just want to see more of him considering how great an actor he was and is. Overall, not among the greats with Abbott and Costello but makes for good fun regardless. 7/10 Bethany Cox

bkoganbing When people stop breathing all over a resort hotel managed by Alan Mowbray, the place could get a bad reputation. As if its reputation wasn't bad enough with the help they hire there, mainly Abbott&Costello.Bud's the house detective and Lou's a bellboy. When he breaks incoming guest Nicholas Joy's glasses and generally makes a mess of things, Joy vows to get him fired. People are always doing that to Costello, but later Joy is the first one who winds up dead.Joy was a high powered criminal defense attorney and as it happens in all these murder mysteries there's a hotel full of suspects who might have a better motive and more upstairs to plan things better than the hapless Lou. But Lou being the patsy he always is gets the attention of police detective James Flavin. Costello being the klutz he is and getting Flavin's hair, Flavin might just want to arrest him on general principles.One of those suspects is Boris Karloff. He plays a Middle Eastern hypnotist and swami from Brooklyn and the one bad thing in the story is how he tries to frame Lou and have him commit suicide as well. If he's not the guilty party which he isn't, than why do it?I really did like the cavern set where Lou has an extended scene with the masked murderer who is trying to get a tell tale clue from Costello. There's even a red herring sent up that Abbott might be the murderer, but who in the world would believe that?A lot of this ground is covered before and better in their film Who Done It where the boys are also amateur sleuths and interfering in the police investigation. Still Abbott and Costello Meet The Killer, Boris Karloff is not a bad one for the guys.

Spikeopath 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 deliver, 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