10 Best Abbott & Costello Movies, Ranked By IMDb

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were the most popular comedy duo in the golden age of Hollywood. Each got their start on the vaudeville and burlesque circuits and preserved their classic routines on film, including the “Who’s on first?” sketch.

Of the dozens of films they starred in together, some hold up better than others, and long after their peak of popularity, they still have plenty of fans. These are the best collaborations between the serious and conniving character of Bud Abbott and the child-like simpleton character of Lou Costello.

10 Abbott And Costello Meet The Invisible Man (1951) – 6.8

A boxer named Tommy Nelson is accused of killing his manager and so he takes an invisibility formula instead of facing the police. Luckily, the two private eyes investigating the crime have a plan to trap the real killer, but unluckily, they are the bumbling Bud and Lou.

Universal Studios produced most of the Abbott and Costello movies, and would occasionally team them with their classic monsters. The only relation to the original Invisible Man movies is the fact that the character takes an invisibility formula, and it takes more direct inspiration from Abbott and Costello’s burlesque comedy and the film noir genre.

9 Buck Privates Come Home (1947) – 6.9

Herbie and Slick are returning home from fighting in World War II, and have brought a french orphan home with them. Sergeant Collins has it out for these two bumbling soldiers and discovers Evey the orphan in Herbie’s duffle bag. Now to get custody of Evey, Herbie must find a wife and decent job, before Collins, now a police officer, arrests them for peddling ties in Times Square.

A sequel to Buck Privates, the film features Abbott and Costello in starring roles and Nat Pendelton reprising his role of Sergeant Collins. This service comedy intentionally shows the troubles of readjusting to life back home, since it came out after the end of WWII, making this a relatable story for ex-soldiers and just as funny today.

8 Pardon My Sarong (1942) – 6.9

Two drivers mistakenly steal their own bus, and the company issues a warrant for their arrest. To avoid prison, they tag along with a wealthy man on a boat trip and crash on an uncharted island. The native inhabitants mistake Wellington (Lou Costello) for a great hero, but the plans of a mad doctor threaten to kill them all.

Following the very common comedy-of-errors plot of many Abbott and Costello movies, the absurd situations they find themselves in are timelessly funny, like driving their own bus into the ocean and immediately getting hired aboard a yacht. It also features a cameo from the vocal jazz group The Ink Spots.

7 Abbott And Costello Meet The Killer Boris Karloff (1949) – 6.9

Bellhop Freddie Phillips (Costello) discovers the murdered body of an attorney in his room. The cops suspect him but the hotel detective, Casey Edwards (Abbott), wants to prove his innocence. Swami Talpur (Boris Karloff) and a number of other guests are former clients of the deceased attorney, and they conspire to pin the murder on the hapless Freddie.

The famous horror star was teamed with the comedy duo in a way not dissimilar to the monster team-ups, and his name was included in the title for marketing appeal, as he is not playing himself. While dark humor would occasionally make its way into their comedies, this is the closest to a black comedy in their filmography, and the dark comedy movie would dominate by the 1970s.

6 Buck Privates (1941) – 7.1

Abbott and Costello star as two street peddlers that are arrested for illegal vending, but they choose military service as opposed to jail time. When they arrive at basic training, they discover their drill instructor is none other than the cop who was trying to jail them.

A year previously, Abbott and Costello were featured in One Night in the Tropics, and were a hit with audiences, and Buck Privates launched them from supporting actors to movie stars. It set the formula used by many of the films that followed, including Costello’s character being the emotional core of the movie and incorporating musical breaks from a popular act, in this case, The Andrews Sisters. Classic service comedies secured an enduring place with the best comedy war films that came out of Hollywood.

5 The Naughty Nineties (1945) – 7.2

In the 1890s, a kindly showboat captain is swindled by a group of gamblers who take over his business. The family-friendly performances are fazed out in favor of crooked gambling tables. It’s up to the star of the show, Dexter (Abbott), and his bumbling sidekick (Costello) to get the rights to the boat back.

This film is a homage to the burlesque origins of Abbott and Costello’s act and a love letter to those who did it before. The duo performs a number of classic burlesque acts, including the “lower/higher” routine, where a singer confuses stagehand directions for his own, and the “Who’s on first?” performance that is still well known today.

4 Who Done It? (1942) – 7.4

A couple of soda jerks, Abbott and Costello dream of writing radio mysteries. When they go to a radio station to pitch a story, the president of the station is killed and they become stuck in the middle of a very real murder mystery that they plan to help solve.

Like many of their films, the story and every character play the story completely straight and serious, with the comedy coming from the stars. This is done very effectively in this film, thanks to the inclusion of William Bendix, who played many hard-nosed cops in crime and mystery films, and the contrast makes the classic buddy comedy all the funnier.

3 Hold That Ghost (1941) – 7.4

Abbott and Costello play gas station attendants who service the car of a notorious gangster. Being with the gangster at his death, they become the sole inheriters in his will. They head to the seemingly haunted tavern they inherited, and a storm traps them there with an odd conglomerate of travelers, some looking for the gangster’s hidden fortune.

The second picture made starring Abbott and Costello is still remembered as one of their best. The blend of genres, including gangster films and the old house horror films, with the musical numbers from the Andrews Sisters and Ted Lewis, pair with the slapstick heavy comedy to make a truly unique comedy film.

2 Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) – 7.4

Two bumbling train station bag boys are delivering crates to the local house of horrors, initially think nothing of the contents being the bodies of Frankenstein’s monster and Count Dracula. The reanimated Dracula plots to use Wilbur’s (Costello) brain to recharge the monster, and the only one that can save him is the Wolfman.

This remains the most popular feature from the famous comedy duo, thanks in large part to Bela Lugosi donning Dracula’s robes and Lon Chaney Jr. appearing as the Wolfman for the last time on screen. These horror heavyweights bring authenticity to the horror aspects and it helps elevate the comedic absurdity that Abbott and Costello bring to the picture, a classic and entertaining comedy-horror movie.

1 The Time Of Their Lives (1946) – 7.7

In 1780, two lovers are mistaken as traitors to the republic and their spirits are unable to achieve peace. In 1946, a young couple, their aunt, and their psychiatrist move into the newly restored house and are subject to playful hauntings from the two ghosts, who are searching for a letter to clear their names.

This film was far more ambitious for the comedy duo and the risks taken made for one of their most enduring movies. Instead of playing friends, Abbott plays the man responsible for soiling Costello’s name, and the descendent of that man. Playful ghosts were used in other Abbott and Costello films, but in this one, Costello was playing the ghost instead of its victim.

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