Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a 1953 American Horror Comedy based on The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, starring Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, and Boris Karloff as Dr. Henry Jekyll.
A series of brutal murders has terrorized Victorian London, and the police seem stumped as to the identity of the killer. Some eyewitnesses blame a monster. Meanwhile, Tubby and Slim, two American policemen in London studying British police methods, end up interfering in a suffragette rally that turns into a riot. In the commotion, Tubby, Slim, reporter Bruce Adams, and young suffragette Vicky Edwards are all arrested and thrown in the same jail cell. Tubby and Slim are thrown off the force, but Bruce and Vicky are bailed out by Vicky's guardian and uncle, Dr. Henry Jekyll. Unbeknownst to anyone, Jekyll has developed a mysterious chemical formula that can transform him into the malevolent monster who has been terrorizing London — his evil alter ego, Edward Hyde. Tubby and Slim are determined to catch the mysterious killer to regain their jobs and good standing. Jekyll grows envious of the adoration Vicky is feeling for Bruce, and decides to use Hyde to take Bruce out. Tubby and Slim pursue the monster, whose true identity is closer than they think.
The film is generally seen as a somewhat middle-of-the-road Abbott and Costello picture, though it was a financial and critical success at the time. Despite being lighthearted and goofy by modern standards, it was given an "X" rating in Britain due to some scenes with Mr. Hyde.
This movie contains examples of:
- Adaptational Villainy: Jekyll has none of the good qualities he has in Stevenson's book, purposely using his murderous Mr. Hyde persona as an assassin against anyone who risks exposing his illegal experiments. Mr. Hyde himself is a near-mindless brute sought by the police as a Serial Killer.
- Alcohol-Induced Idiocy: Slim, looking for the chemical that turned Tubby into a mouse, finds a bottle labeled "Moselle" (he thinks it's "Mouse-ul"). Tubby drains it, and promptly gets drunk off his ass on the expensive wine, insisting that Slim has turned into a mouse. And when Tubby drunkenly falls into a cage, we get this:Slim: Can I do anything for you?
Tubby: Yeah... gimme a piece of cheese. - Animal Reaction Shot: After being transformed into a man-sized mouse, Tubby goes to a bar for a drink. He notices a real mouse peering out from a hole. The mouse looks up at him, and rockets right the hell back into the hole.
- Animorphism: While messing around in Dr. Jekyll's lab, Tubby drinks a concoction that temporarily turns him into a man-sized, bipedal mouse, but he retains his human intelligence and doesn't even seem to notice that he's changed at first.
- The Big Board: When Mr. Hyde (and a transformed Tubby) goes on a rampage through London at the climax, the police stick pins in a map behind the lead sergeant's desk to represent sightings of Hyde. This ends in confusion as the two monsters run in opposite directions, while the police are unaware there's more than one monster.
- Bookcase Passage: One of these in Dr. Jekyll's house leads to his secret laboratory, where he created the serum to turn him into Hyde.
- Cassandra Truth: When the boys tell Da Chief that Tubby transformed into a mouse in a pub, he naturally attributes their claim to drunkenness and kicks them out of his office.
- Cat Scare: While in a wax museum after-hours, Tubby is spooked by a cat that lands on his shoulders. A series of slapstick accidents leads to a severed wax head falling on the cat, and Tubby is horrified by the sight of the head moving across the floor on its own.
- Chorus Girls: Vicky is shown performing as one in a music hall and there's plenty of other chorus girls too.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: Dr. Jekyll is willing to commit murder as his first option to make sure he has Vicky all to himself. Made even creepier by the fact that she's his niece.
- Dirty Old Man: Dr. Jekyll, who wants to force his young niece to marry him.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Jekyll sics the brutal, murderous Hyde on anyone who offends him for any reason, even another scientist who laughed at his theories and a young reporter who seems to be mutually flirting with his niece.
- Everyone Chasing You: The climax of the film is a chase scene, with Bruce and Slim each leading a horde of policemen and angry Londoners out after Hyde and the transformed Tubby, respectively.
- Evil-Detecting Dog: At one point, a pack of stray dogs chase Tubby-as-Hyde down the street. Hyde snarls at them, and the dogs turn and flee in unison!
- Faint in Shock: Slim does this upon seeing Tubby turned into a mouse. A minute later, Tubby does it upon seeing his reflection. Vicky does it later when Hyde sneaks up behind her.
- "Freaky Friday" Flip: Most of Jekyll's experiments involve swapping the brains of different animals. For example, a rabbit snaps at Tubby like a dog.
- A Glass in the Hand: Upon seeing Vicky kissing Bruce, Jekyll grips his glass so hard it shatters.
- Horrifying the Horror: Hyde and the Monster-Tubby panic at the sight of each other on a London roof. A minute later, Monster-Tubby similarly panics at the sight of a chimney sweep.
- The Igor: Batley is a rather unusual example, being a looming Dumb Muscle type who otherwise ticks all the boxes working for Dr. Jekyll as The Dragon.
- Intrepid Reporter: Bruce Adams, who gets involved in the plot when he happens to find one of Mr. Hyde's victims, a prominent doctor.
- It Was Here, I Swear!: When the boys show Jekyll's lab to Bruce and Vicky, they find an innocent-looking wine cellar instead. Subverted earlier when he willingly shows Slim and Tubby the lab with the intent to murder them soon after.
- Jekyll & Hyde: Albeit a rather unusual example; Jekyll is a soft-spoken doctor with excellent manners and an impeccable public reputation, but has serious anger issues in private, lusts after his much younger niece, and abuses his assistant. Hyde is vicious and monstrous to the point of being basically feral, and is largely used as a blunt instrument by Jekyll to destroy anyone he doesn't like. Jekyll justifies it to himself by claiming that Hyde is responsible for everything, but unlike most interpretations, he's clearly making excuses. Both Jekyll and Hyde are bad, Jekyll is just better at hiding it. That said, when Tubby turns into a Hyde-like monster, he's effectively identical to the transformed Jekyll (albeit as clumsy as his normal self), showing that the formula will also turn a decent person into a monster.
- The Jekyll Is a Jerk: Much like his book counterpart, Dr. Jekyll willingly turns into Hyde to indulge in his darker impulses - in this case, killing anyone who mocks his theories or comes between him and his ward, Vicky. And unlike his book counterpart, there's no regret for any of it. When he finally confesses his love to Vicky and she spurns him, he decides to inject her boyfriend, Bruce, with the Hyde formula to frame him for the murders and have her all to himself, doing so right in front of her to indicate he's not giving her a choice in the matter.
- Kick the Dog: While in his lab, Jekyll viciously berates and strikes his assistant Batley for neglecting an experiment, showing that this version of Jekyll is already a Bitch in Sheep's Clothing even before Hyde gets involved.
- Mad Scientist Laboratory: Dr. Jekyll has one hidden in his house, complete with the usual Gratuitous Laboratory Flasks and test animals. If someone finds it, the equipment can be hidden and huge barrels pulled out, turning it into a wine cellar.
- Offscreen Teleportation: While stalking Tubby through Jekyll's house, Batley somehow gets from the top of the staircase to the inside of the Bookcase Passage in the library in less than a minute.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Tubby and Slim.
- Powder Keg Crowd: The suffragette rally turns into a riot when a bunch of obnoxious Stay in the Kitchen-type hecklers attack them. The suffragettes fight back, and things go out of control when the police on the scene fail to contain the situation (That said, it's more Played for Laughs and slapstick humor).
- Straw Feminist: One of the suffragettes who works with Vicky is seen giving a speech towards the end about how women are the stronger sex. Then, when she sees the Hyde-ified Tubby, she screams and drops over in a faint.
- Sudden Downer Ending: Though Played for Laughs, the transformed Tubby bites several bobbies while being hauled into police custody, and after he transforms back, the bobbies abruptly transform into monsters themselves, and chase Tubby and Slim out into the street.
- This Was His True Form: After Hyde's Disney Villain Death, he transforms back into Jekyll in front of onlookers.
- There Is Another: After getting a dose of Jekyll's formula, Tubby is transformed into a Hyde-like monster who rampages across London at the same time as the real Hyde.
- Turn in Your Badge: Tubby and Slim are thrown off the police force after their mishandling the riot leads to them being publicly humiliated.
- The Unintelligible: Batley generally "speaks" in low grunts and swift gestures, though Jekyll seems to have no problem understanding him.
- Villain with Good Publicity: When Tubby locks up Hyde and he reverts back to Jekyll, the inspector scolds him for locking up one of London's most distinguished citizens.
- The Virus: It turns out this version of Hyde can "infect" others by biting them, temporarily transforming them into Hyde-like monsters themselves.
