Professor Butter Beard’s “Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein”
Chick Young (Abbott): What's the matter?
Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney, Jr.): I know you'll think I'm crazy, but... in a half-an-hour the moon will rise and I'll turn into a wolf.
Wilbur Grey (Costello): You and 20 million other guys!
Friday nights were my favorite as a youngster growing up in the early 70’s. I would run home after school to try and sneak in the weekly 4pm cliffhanger of “Dark Shadows” before my parents would catch me. I know they were attempting to protect me from my almost certain nightmares of being bitten by Barnabas Collins, or being hypnotized by Quentin’s smoldering eyes, or being chased through the woods by the screaming witch Angelique. But that never stopped me. The evening would progress with take-away fish and chips from the local Moose lodge. And then, I would anxiously await (with popcorn, and Pepsi and my father’s teddy bear) the 11:30pm arrival of “Houlihan and Big Chuck” on the tv as they hosted their weekly horror movie selection on channel 61.
I would squirm and scream (a little) as I was swept into the worlds of Dracula, his wives, the mummy, the “monster” or the invisible man. But my favorites were when I got to giggle a bit as Bud Abbott and Lou Costello bumbled their way through their encounters with horrifying villains. I cheered out loud every time Big Chuck announced this week’s offering would be “Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein.”
In this 1948 classic, the world of freight handlers Wilbur Grey (Costello) and Chick Young (Abbott) is turned upside down when the remains of Frankenstein's monster and Dracula arrive from Europe to be used in a house of horrors. Dracula awakens and escapes with the weakened monster, who he plans to re-energize with a new brain courtesy of Wilbur Grey. The Wolfman arrives from London in an attempt to thwart Dracula, the beautiful Dr. Sandra Mornay is Dracula’s reluctant aide (and blood donor), and we even get a “glimpse” of the Invisible Man in the closing moments of the journey. Hail, hail! The gang’s all here!
A few scrumptious trivia notes….Lou Costello did not want to make the movie, declaring, "No way I'll do that crap. My little girl could write something better than this." A $50,000 advance in salary and the signing of director Charles Barton convinced him otherwise. Boris Karloff refused to play the monster (gloriously played by Glenn Strange), but as a favor to Universal he agreed to do publicity for this film - as long as he didn't have to see it. The scene in which Wilbur (Costello) is unknowingly sitting on the lap of Frankenstein's monster required multiple takes. The scene allowed Costello to improvise wildly, which caused Glenn Strange to constantly break up laughing during the takes. Ian Keith was originally considered for the role of Count Dracula because Universal originally wasn't interested in hiring Bela Lugosi. According to film historian Gregory W. Mank, Lugosi's manager met with the head of Universal and shamed him into giving Lugosi the role by saying, "He IS Dracula! You owe this role to Lugosi!" And for reasons yet to be explained, for many years this movie was banned in Finland.
My friends Susanne and Tony are in the midst of re-opening the Atlantic Highlands movie theater this week (links below in their picture). My heart swelled a little as I saw they rewarded their young son with a private screening of “A and C meet Frankie” as a reward for his cleaning slave labor. I’m throwing in my offering of a movie-worthy mash-up of my favorite brownie and buttery popcorn. Wrap up a slice, grab a icy soda from the candy counter, and get back to the movies. And I promise not to tell anyone if you sneak in your father’s teddy bear.
Popcorn Brownies
Use an 8” square pan (I use a 10” round)
Ingredients:
1 bag of your favorite microwave popcorn, popped according to package directions (yields roughly 4 cups popcorn)
12 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup chopped chocolate (I use dark chocolate chips)
4 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla paste
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 Tbsp dark cocoa
1 tsp instant espresso powder
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp kosher salt
1) Preheat the oven to 325 degrees
2) Line your baking dish with parchment paper leaving at least one inch overflow along all edges
3) Pop your microwave popcorn and while still hot, toss with 1 tsp kosher salt and 1 tsp granulated sugar. Discard any remaining un-popped kernels.
4) Slowly melt together the butter and chocolate. I use a microwave and a glass measuring cup for this step. Zap thirty seconds at a time, stirring after each zap, until melted and smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.
5) In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, espresso powder, cinnamon, chili powder and salt.
6) In a standing mixer on low speed, mix together the eggs, sugars and vanilla paste.
7) On low speed, mix the dry into the egg mix until just combined.
8) Remove the bowl from the mixer and fold half of your popcorn into the batter. Pour the batter into the pan and place the remaining popcorn on the top, pressing in slightly.
9) Bake the brownie for roughly 40 minutes until the brownie is slightly puffed and top popcorn is slightly browned. Remove from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack.
