15. In order to lure the public, Universal used Karloff’s name in the title of the next Abbott and Costello film
Universal was so pleased with the results of the first pairing of the monsters with the comedians that it made another film in similar style the following year. Rather than relying on the drawing power of the name Frankenstein in the title, the film was called Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff. Karloff did not play one of the classic monsters, but appears as a mysterious visitor from the east, Swami Talpur. The Swami possesses powers of hypnotism strong enough to induce victims under his spell to commit suicide. When he tried to have Costello’s character kill himself he finds him too stupid to hypnotize.
The success of the film with the public, as well as that of its predecessor, was due more to the comic mugging of Lou Costello with the monsters and the evil Swami than the monsters themselves. Several more Abbott and Costello adventure films appeared during the 1950s, and led to reissues of the films which had created the monsters, as well as their appearance on television towards the end of the decade. Meanwhile, low-budget films from other studios took over the idea of presenting Dracula as a fearsome figure, rather than a comic foil.