(Review originally written at 10 September 2006)
In this comical version of the classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello team up with Boris Karloff for the second time. The end result is a very well made movie that throughout its entire running time always remains pleasant to watch.
I'm probably not the biggest fan around of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello as a comedy duo but still their movies have some great and well timed and placed comical sequences that are highly effective when it comes down to the humor of the movie. This movie its humor is spot-on although it at moments goes a bit too over-the-top, which is in contrast with the rest of the movie. Luckily this only mainly occurs in the beginning of the movie, which means that the rest of the movie is for most part a well timed and made comedy that never fails to amuse. It's not an hilarious movie or a movie that makes you laugh out loud constantly but nevertheless the movie always remains highly entertaining to watch.
I'm actually a person that always has been quite fond of Karloff's more 'serious' roles. The role of both Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a hard one to play and Karloff shows with this movie that he has more than enough adequate abilities to play a more heavy and serious role. It's too bad he had never been given a change in a true serious and heavy movie. In that time it still was; once an horror actor, always an horror actor. Something that had probably prevented him from getting any bigger and more serious roles. His presence of him in this movie truly uplifts the movie to an higher level. It might not be his best role but his presence alone- and acting is more than enough to make a lasting impression.
The movie is made in a good style which reminded me of the good old horror classics from the '30's. The movie looks good in both style, as well as its costumes, sets and cinematography.
The story always flows well and is actually also quite well written. It makes the movie just as amusing as interesting to watch. It obviously takes lots of liberties with the classic Robert Louis Stevenson novel but it has been done all for the good of the movie and its humor. It has some well written humor and comical characters, which both works out equally well in the movie. It makes this movie as a comedy an highly effective and successful one.
A really great- and well made comedy, that too be honest, surpassed my expectations.
8/10
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