The movie was a little disappointing for this fan of both Abbott and Costello and Boris Karloff. I've held off watching it for the longest time but with great anticipation regarding the title, wondering how dastardly Karloff would be in this one, and it turns out he's not a killer at all. OK, I guess one could point to a dubious acquittal Swami Talpur received some time before the story opens, but that's almost lost once things get under way. The Swami is at his best in that sequence where he tries to get Freddie Phillips (Costello) to commit suicide, but as literal as Lou's character is, things just never work out. Fortunately so, I might add. Say, did you notice how the Swami used the old Jedi mind trick on Freddie at one point? Maybe that's where Obi Wan Kenobi got the idea from.
The story, taking place at an out of the way hotel, is loaded with murder victims and even more suspects, a lot like the Charlie Chan films of an earlier era. Even bumbling hotel bellboy Freddie becomes a suspect, but not a very credible one. Bud Abbott plays the hotel detective Casey Edwards here, and isn't nearly as antagonistic to Lou as he'd been in other movies. In fact, he's Freddie's strongest ally, helping him dispose of dead bodies that keep popping up after the one that initially got the investigation going.
Well after a number of false leads and red herrings, the murderer is eventually revealed. Of all the reviews I read here on this site, no one seems to have mentioned who he was, so I'll just drop the hint that it was hotel manager Melton (Alan Mowbray). Just to give you an idea how inconsequential that was, the reason for him knocking off his victims was mentioned and I can't even remember why.
Something that I've been curious curious about - Boris Karloff was mentioned by name in a couple movies back in his heyday in which he appeared, but not as himself. They were "Charlie Chan at the Opera" in 1936, and "Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome" from 1947. Here his name shows up right in the title, so I always thought that was kind of cool. Speaking of dropping names, I also thought it was cool when Costello mentioned fellow actor and comedian Red Skelton by name in the story. It came up when the comic duo was looking for a 'skelton' key.
The story, taking place at an out of the way hotel, is loaded with murder victims and even more suspects, a lot like the Charlie Chan films of an earlier era. Even bumbling hotel bellboy Freddie becomes a suspect, but not a very credible one. Bud Abbott plays the hotel detective Casey Edwards here, and isn't nearly as antagonistic to Lou as he'd been in other movies. In fact, he's Freddie's strongest ally, helping him dispose of dead bodies that keep popping up after the one that initially got the investigation going.
Well after a number of false leads and red herrings, the murderer is eventually revealed. Of all the reviews I read here on this site, no one seems to have mentioned who he was, so I'll just drop the hint that it was hotel manager Melton (Alan Mowbray). Just to give you an idea how inconsequential that was, the reason for him knocking off his victims was mentioned and I can't even remember why.
Something that I've been curious curious about - Boris Karloff was mentioned by name in a couple movies back in his heyday in which he appeared, but not as himself. They were "Charlie Chan at the Opera" in 1936, and "Dick Tracy Meets Gruesome" from 1947. Here his name shows up right in the title, so I always thought that was kind of cool. Speaking of dropping names, I also thought it was cool when Costello mentioned fellow actor and comedian Red Skelton by name in the story. It came up when the comic duo was looking for a 'skelton' key.