Figuring out a novel method of breathing new life into their horror franchise, Universal teamed a consortium of their most popular monsters—and the actors who played them—with their wildly successful comedy duo. Abbot and Costello play Chick and Wilbur, baggage handlers who unwittingly transport and awaken the dormant bodies of Frankenstein and Dracula while the Wolf Man tries to warn them of their error. In Wilbur, Dracula discovers the softer, more pliable brain he requires to transplant into Frankenstein’s body. The pair have a heyday with horror movie tropes, slapstick antics and physical comedy, but the monsters all play it straight. Handling most of the film’s thrills and chills with dignified grandeur, Bela Lugosi appears remarkably comfortable in a role he hadn’t inhabited in seventeen years.