Abbott and Costello Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff
Two employees of a secluded hotel investigate a murder on the premises in which the goofy bellboy is the prime suspect.
- Director: Charles Barton
- Genre:Comedy / Mystery / Thriller
- Runtime:84 minutes
Cast
Bud Abbott : Casey Edwards
Lou Costello : Freddie Phillips
Boris Karloff : Swami Talpur
Lenore Aubert : Angela Gordon
Gar Moore : Jeff Wilson
Prominent criminal attorney Amos Strickland (Nicholas Joy) checks into the Lost Caverns Resort Hotel, and is later discovered murdered by the bellboy, Freddie Phillips (Lou Costello), who is implicated in the crime. Casey Edwards (Bud Abbott), the house detective, tries to clear Freddie, but Inspector Wellman (James Flavin) and Sergeant Stone (Mikel Conrad) keep him in custody.
Seven of Strickland’s former clients happen to be at the resort, and they are all suspects. These former clients are Swami Talpur (Boris Karloff), Angela Gordon (Lénore Aubert), Mrs. Hargreave (Victoria Horne), T. Hanley Brooks (Roland Winters), Lawrence Crandall (Harry Hayden), Mrs. Grimsby (Claire DuBrey) and Mike Relia (Vincent Renno). They gather for a meeting, and decide that they must conceal their pasts and that Freddie must take the blame for Strickland’s murder. They try unsuccessfully to get Freddie to sign a confession, e.g., Angela tries to seduce him, but the police stop her when they fear she’s poisoned the champagne. Then the Swami attempts to hypnotize him into committing suicide, but his stupidity saves him.
Freddie and the two police officers, in an attempt to lure the real killer, inform everyone that Freddie is in possession of a blood-stained handkerchief that was found at the murder scene. Soon afterwards, several attempts to kill Freddie are made, including gun shots at window of his booby trapped room, and locking him in a steam cabinet. Eventually Freddie hears a voice that calls him to bring the handkerchief to the Lost Cavern. There he meets up with a masked figure who offers to save him from the hole he has just fallen into in exchange for the handkerchief. Freddie makes the mistake of telling the mysterious figure that he left it in his room. He is left in the hole, but is eventually rescued by the two police officers. Read more
