''Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy'' is a 1955 American

horror comedy Comedy horror, also known as horror comedy, is a literary, television, and film genre that combines elements of comedy and horror fiction. Comedy horror has been described as able to be categorized under three types: "black comedy, parody and spo ...

film directed by

Charles Lamont Charles Lamont (May 5, 1895 – September 11, 1993) was a prolific filmmaker, directing over 200 titles and producing and writing many others. He directed several Abbott and Costello comedies and many Ma and Pa Kettle films. Biography A Calif ...

and starring the comedy team of

Abbott and Costello Abbott may refer to: People *Abbott (surname) *Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849–1921), American painter and naturalist * Abbott and Costello, famous American vaudeville act Places Argentina * Abbott, Buenos Aires United States * Abbott, Arkansas ...

. It is the 28th and final Abbott and Costello film produced by

Universal-International Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

Plot

Two Americans who are stranded in Cairo, Egypt, happen to overhear Dr. Gustav Zoomer discussing the mummy Klaris, the guardian of the Tomb of Princess Ara. Apparently, the mummy has a sacred medallion that shows where the treasure of Princess Ara can be found. The followers of Klaris, led by Semu, overhear the conversation along with Madame Rontru, a businesswoman interested in stealing the treasure of Princess Ara. Abbott and Costello go to the doctor's house to apply for the position to accompany the mummy back to America. However, two of Semu's men, Iben and Hetsut, murder the doctor and steal the mummy just before Abbott and Costello arrive. The medallion has been left behind, though, and is found by Abbott and Costello, who attempt to sell it. Rontru offers them $100, but Abbott suspects it is worth much more and asks for $5,000, which Rontru agrees to pay. She tells them to meet her at the Cairo Café, where Abbott and Costello learn from a waiter that the medallion is cursed. They frantically try to give it to one another, until it winds up in Costello's hamburger and he swallows it. Rontru arrives and drags them to a doctor's office to get a look at the medallion under a fluoroscope. However, she cannot read the medallion's inscribed instructions, which are in hieroglyphics. Semu arrives, posing as an archaeologist, and offers to guide them all to the tomb. Meanwhile, Semu's followers have returned life to Klaris. They arrive at the tomb, where Costello learns of Semu's plans to murder them all. Rontru captures Semu, and one of her men, Charlie, disguises himself as a

mummy A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay fu ...

and enters the temple. Abbott follows suit by disguising himself as a mummy, and he and Costello rescue Semu. Eventually all three mummies are in the same place at the same time, and the dynamite that Rontru intends to use to dig up the treasure detonates, killing Klaris and revealing the treasure. Abbott and Costello convince Semu to turn the temple into a nightclub to preserve the legend of Klaris and the three criminals who wanted to steal the treasure are presumably arrested.

Cast

Bud Abbott William Alexander "Bud" Abbott (October 2, 1897 – April 24, 1974) was an American comedian, actor and producer. He was best known as the straight man half of the comedy duo Abbott and Costello. Early life Abbott was born in Asbury Park, New ...

as himself *

Lou Costello Louis Francis Cristillo (March 6, 1906 – March 3, 1959), professionally known as Lou Costello, was an American comedian, actor and producer. He was best known for his double act with straight man Bud Abbott and their routine "Who's on First?" ...

as himself *

Marie Windsor Marie Windsor (born Emily Marie Bertelsen; December 11, 1919 – December 10, 2000) was an American actress known for her femme fatale characters in the classic film noir features ''Force of Evil'', ''The Narrow Margin'' and '' The Killing''. Wi ...

as Madame Rontru *

Michael Ansara Michael George Ansara (April 15, 1922 – July 31, 2013) was an American actor. He portrayed Cochise in the television series '' Broken Arrow'', Kane in the 1979–1981 series '' Buck Rogers in the 25th Century'', Commander Kang in ''Star Trek ...

as Charlie *

Dan Seymour Dan Seymour (February 22, 1915 – May 25, 1993) was an American character actor who frequently played villains in Warner Bros. films. He appeared in several Humphrey Bogart films, including ''Casablanca'' (1942), ''To Have and Have Not'' ...

as Josef * Richard Deacon as Semu *

Kurt Katch Kurt Katch (born Isser Kac; January 28, 1893 – August 14, 1958) was a Polish film and television actor. He appeared in ''Quiet Please, Murder'', ''The Purple V'', ''The Mask of Dimitrios'', ''Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves'', among many o ...

as Dr. Gustav Zoomer *

Richard Karlan Richard Karlan (April 24, 1919 – September 10, 2004) was an American actor. He appeared in the films ''Snow Dog'', ''Union Station'', '' Between Midnight and Dawn'', ''The Lemon Drop Kid'', ''Love Is Better Than Ever'', '' The Racket'', '' Wai ...

as Hetsut *

Mel Welles Mel Welles (February 17, 1924 – August 19, 2005) was an American film actor and director. His best-remembered role may be that of hapless flower shop owner Gravis Mushnick in the 1960 low-budget Roger Corman dark comedy, ''The Little Shop of ...

as Iben *George Khoury as Habid * Eddie Parker as Klaris, the Mummy *Mazzone-Abbott Dancers as dance troupe *Chandra Kaly and His Dancers as dance troupe *

Peggy King Peggy King (born February 16, 1930) is a jazz vocalist and television personality. She was a member of big bands led by Charlie Spivak, Ralph Flanagan, and Ray Anthony. Career "Pretty Perky Peggy King", as she was called, appeared on ''The Geo ...

as vocalist

Cast notes

Costello's daughter, Carole Costello, has a small part as a flower girl. She was 16 years old at the time. Although Abbott and Costello were called "Pete Patterson" and "Freddie Franklin" in the script and in the closing credits, they used their real names onscreen during filming.

Production

''Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy'' was filmed from October 28 through November 24, 1954 and is the last film that Abbott and Costello made for

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

, although Universal released a compilation film of clips from their films, titled ''

The World of Abbott and Costello ''The World of Abbott and Costello'' is a 1965 American compilation film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. Plot This film is a compilation of scenes from eighteen films that Abbott and Costello made for Universal Pictures between ...

'' in 1965. The day after filming completed, Abbott and Costello arrived in New York City to ride on the first float of the annual

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the U.S.-based department store chain Macy's. The Parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States with ...

. In Universal's previous ''Mummy'' films, the Mummy was called "Kharis", but in this film it is called "Klaris". Stuntman Eddie Parker (billed as "Edwin") played the mummy. He had previously doubled

Lon Chaney, Jr. Creighton Tull Chaney (February10, 1906 – July12, 1973), known by his stage name Lon Chaney Jr., was an American actor known for playing Larry Talbot in the film '' The Wolf Man'' (1941) and its various crossovers, Count Alucard (Dra ...

in Universal's earlier ''Mummy'' films.

Home media

This film has been released several times on DVD. Originally released as a single DVD on August 28, 2001, it was released three times as part of different Abbott and Costello collections: ''The Best of Abbott and Costello Volume Four'', on October 4, 2005; on October 28, 2008, as part of ''Abbott and Costello: The Complete Universal Pictures Collection''; and in 2015 in the ''Abbott and Costello Meet the Monsters Collection''. The film was released as part of the 3-disc ''The Mummy: The Complete Legacy Collection'' and the 21-disc ''Universal Classic Monsters: Complete 30-Film Collection'' on September 2, 2014.

Merchandise

The design for the Mummy figure in the 1986 Universal-licensed ''Classic Movie Monsters'' series from Imperial Toys was based on the monster from this film.

References

;Notes

External links

* * * *
Joe Dante on ''Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy''
at

Trailers From Hell ''Trailers from Hell'' (branded as ''Trailers from Hell!'') is a web series in which filmmakers discuss and promote individual movies through commenting on their trailers. While the series emphasizes horror, science fiction, fantasy, cult, and expl ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbott And Costello Meet The Mummy 1955 films 1955 horror films American black-and-white films Abbott and Costello films 1950s English-language films Mummy films Films directed by Charles Lamont American sequel films American parody films American comedy horror films American buddy comedy films 1950s buddy comedy films 1950s parody films 1950s fantasy comedy films Universal Pictures films Universal Classic Monsters films American crossover films Films about lizards Films set in Egypt 1950s comedy horror films Films scored by Hans J. Salter Films scored by Henry Mancini 1955 comedy films Comedy crossover films Fantasy crossover films Horror crossover films 1950s American films