The Horror-Comedy: From Abbott and Costello to Young Frankenstein
From early silent vampire films to the slasher movies of the seventies and eighties, horror has captivated moviegoing audiences for nearly a century. However, as the genre has progressed, audiences often find horror films boring or even predictable through overused genre conventions and repetitive plot lines. Present day horror filmmakers have had to rebrand the genre to usher in a new generation of audiences. Nevertheless, reference and parody remain an intrinsic element of horror, introducing a new genre altogether with the horror-comedy. Films like Young Frankenstein (1974), Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), and even the Scary Movie franchise appeal to both horror and comedy fans alike as they spoof traditional horror conventions and reference the films of the past. By using classic horror tropes and iconography, these films shine a light on the malleable nature of the horror genre in American cinema.
The Classic Hollywood era saw an unprecedented influx of horror films, due largely to Universal Pictures’ monster films. Starring classic literary villains such as Count Dracula and Frankenstein’s Monster, the films were immensely popular. Previously unknown actors such as Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney, and Bela Lugosi became Hollywood stars and household names. Studios churned out horror films in a factory-like manner, quickly developing an instantly recognizable visual style for the genre that lingered for decades. Universal Pictures even began doing crossover monster films such as House of Frankenstein (1944) and House of Dracula (1945), with multiple popular monsters sharing the same screen. As more of these movies were produced, the classic horror tropes that we find comedic today developed, from characters finding themselves alone in a haunted castle to Dr. Frankenstein exclaiming, “It’s alive!”
In many ways, comedy’s subgenre of parody developed alongside the horror genre. Universal cast Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, two well-known comedians of the classical and postclassical eras, in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948). This was the first of many instances of Universal parodying their once-popular monster films with Abbott and Costello. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is a textbook example of parody, “...a classic example of a sustained film parody” (Harries). Furthermore, while the pair later acted in Universal’s parodies of other genres, “…none seem to affectionately embrace their target as does the Frankenstein picture” (Harries). Perhaps horror has always been prime material for comedy. Later films, where the pair meets Captain Kidd or goes to Mars, never had the same effect as the first.
Decades later, films like Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein (1974) continued to spoof the classic horror of the 1930s and 40s. For a genre as beloved as horror, returning to these classic films in a new or comedic way appeals to audiences. Furthermore, parodying them allows us to laugh at their flaws. The special effects, dialogue, and plotlines of classic horror do not necessarily hold up through a 21st century lens. Yet Mel Brooks is adept in “…recalling the clichés of horror films of the nineteen-thirties as lovingly as someone remembering the small sins of youth” (Canby). Through horror-comedy’s intentional continuation of classic horror genre conventions, viewers can continue to appreciate earlier incarnations of the horror genre.
In Young Frankenstein, Mel Brooks spoofs typical horror characters to parody the cinematic tropes within early incarnations of the horror genre. For example, Gene Wilder’s young Dr. Frankenstein is a blown-up, exaggerated version of the mad scientist character. He is overdramatic, overplayed, and just a little crazier than his Frankenstein (1931) relative. Conversely, Brooks plays with our expectations for comedic effect in characters such as Igor and the Monster. Given classic horror iconography, we would expect the cloaked hunchbacked figure to be foreboding, scary, or villainous. However, Igor is funny and good-natured, strange as he is. Audiences expect the Monster to be like Frankenstein’s Monster of the book and previous movies, yet in Brooks’ film, he is defined by his love of violin music and skills in bed. The absurd juxtaposition of audiences’ expectations for these characters and their onscreen personas creates the comedy.
While Young Frankenstein employs exaggerated character conventions, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein positions traditional horror actors like Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney Jr. across from comedians. As Melvin Helitzer writes, “…good humor is a paradox, the juxtaposition of putting the reasonable next to the unreasonable.” The comedy of this film stems from the juxtaposition between monstrous characters and comedic ones. Dan Harries writes in Film Parody, “…this film also stars the original actors reprising their now famous monster roles…It is their (the actors) ability to play the monsters ‘straight’ that makes this film so effective in critiquing the horror genre itself.” The monster’s performances alone do not make the film a horror-comedy. But when acting next to Abbott and Costello, the audience views classic horror conventions in a different, comedic light. Where in Young Frankenstein they exaggerate or understate horror characters, here they insert characters completely incongruous with the horror genre. Both Young Frankenstein and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein play into audiences’ expectations of performance in horror and comedy films.
By employing both horror and comedy conventions and iconography, Young Frankenstein and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein exemplify genre combination. They are both horror and comedy combined, and beyond that are relevant to subgenres such as parody, spoof, or satire. Film scholar Janet Staiger writes that genres have not always fallen under one category, even in the classical and postclassical eras, although we often believe the opposite to be true. She writes, “…the routine effect of combination…is obvious not only for apparent cases such as Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein but even for films that have been labeled as classics in a particular genre.” (Staiger). Both films employ conflicted characters, lightning, dark shadows, haunted buildings, monsters, and feelings of fear – horror conventions. However, they also contain exaggerations, parodies, slapstick, lovable characters, and moments of pure absurdity – comedy conventions. The two films expand traditional ideas about genre by employing the conventions and iconography of multiple genres.
Although horror has changed, parody and reference remain vital elements of the genre, even creating new subgenres like the horror-comedy. Certain films remain so beloved and emblematic of their genre that they continue to impact those genres long after their eras have ended. By parodying the genre conventions and clichés of classic horror, Young Frankenstein and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein pay homage to these films’ cultural impact. Furthermore, the two films show audiences how genres can adapt and change in only a few decades. Traditional monster movies are uncommon today. But while horror has moved on to bigger, more complex themes, the genre’s classic style will forever remain in the consciousness of horror filmmakers and fans.
Works Cited
Canby, Vincent. “'Young Frankenstein' A Monster Riot.” Review of Young
Frankenstein. The New York Times, 16 Dec. 1974, p. 48.
Harries, Dan. Film Parody. BFI Pub., 2000.
Helitzer, Melvin. Comedy Techniques for Writers and Performers: the HEARTS Theory of Humor Writing. Lawhead Press, 1984.
Staiger, Janet, and Barry Keith Grant. “Hybrid or Inbred: The Purity Hypothesis and
Hollywood Genre History.” Film Genre Reader IV, vol. 19, no. 1, 2012, pp. 203–211.