Abbott and Costello would throw pies at crew members to keep their spirits up while filming ''Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein''

The duo had this sweet way of lightening the mood.

Some of the greatest comedies were doubted during their development, and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein was no different. However, it turns out that one of the naysayers was actually Lou Costello, one of the stars of the film. An article in The Orlando Sentinel revealed that Costello had his doubts about the project, specifically the story. It stated, "Costello didn't want to make Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. He didn't think the script was particularly funny."

Apparently, the film's producer, Robert Arthur, was charged with convincing Costello to do the feature, but that didn't mean that there were bright skies throughout the entire film shoot. However, Abbott and Costello had their own personal method of livening things up. The article stated, "Arthur later said that Costello and Abbott kept their spirits up during the making of the film by throwing cream pies at crew members."

Let's be clear: Pie-throwing is not a new art form, and it certainly wasn't new to Abbott and Costello. However, it also wasn't the first time their pie-throwing escapades had been written about. In a 1949 article, reporter Betty Tyson detailed her experience meeting Abbott and Costello in The Boston Globe. She observed, "I guess it harks back to their days in slapstick vaudeville — but pie throwing (gooey, squishy, hits) is their idea of something really funny. So, for their own amusement, the Abbott-and-Costello pair hire stooges to toss pies. The joke, and the pies, of course, are not on the comedy team footing the bill."

She continued, "The day I visited the set, the A. & C. stooges were wielding banana cream pies. They really messed each other up. I'm afraid Messrs. Abbott and Costello are not quite mature. You should have heard them squeal and howl when a stooge was splattered from head to foot with pie, but the sight only made me squirm uncomfortably."

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32 Comments

musicman37 12 months ago
The monsters were definitely off-limits to any "shenanigans" Bud & Lou might have thought up. They were played "straight". It only made the comedy stand out that much more.
rb5391 12 months ago
i tell you what...the scene where bela lugosi as dracula coming out of the coffin was one of the most scariest things filmed in hollywood history...
Grunt 12 months ago
Now there’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time…Soupy Sales.
forthekids 12 months ago
Obviously..Ms.Tyson is not a fan of pie throwing and she had no sense of humor..Pie throwing is funny and it's a classic bit of comedy. It became a popular form of Schtik for "The Three Stooges" and Soupy Sales.
forthekids 12 months ago
According to "The Abbott & Costello Book"written by vetrain tv comedy scriptwriter Jim Mullholland..The boys would buy those pies at a bakery in Encino,Cal. every morning..during the filming of "A&C Meet Frankenstein". The baker..who was something of a braggart..kept on telling his customers..that he was becoming the most popular baker in Southern,California..because.."Abbott & Costello buy my pies every day..they must really love my pies". (LOL!)the baker didn't know that the boys were not eating the pies..they were engaging in a pie tossing contest every day on the set.
AgingDisgracefully 12 months ago
Lou also kept the mood loosey and, oh yes, goosey by relentlessly employing the classic, "Pull my finger..."
MichaelPowers 12 months ago
Oddly enough, I cannot recall any of the Abbott & Costello movies having an on screen pie fight.
I’m kind of surprised they didn’t include some pies too! They did have at least a few. Costello got creamed from above at the end of A&C Go to Mars and a drill sergeant got splatted with a big cake in Buck Privates Come Home.
Deleted 12 months ago
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forthekids 12 months ago
Actually? Lonnie's "Larry Talbot"/"The Wolf Man"said to Chic & Wilbur"(Bud And Lou)"I know that you'll think..I'm crazy..but?..In half an hour..the moon will rise..and..I'll turn into a wolf".."Wilbur"replied"You and 20 million other guys".
Grandma22 12 months ago
It is good movie. Pie throwing is an interesting way to do that.
Cougar90 12 months ago
A classic story for a classic movie.
MrsPhilHarris 12 months ago
I know they hired a comedian to keep things light on the set of Africa Screams, his name escapes me.
Bobby Barber was Bud & Lou's court jester on many of their films; he sometimes would appear with them in their movie. On A&CMF, Bobby is the men's locker room attendant wearing a white jacket. The in-joke scene has Lawrence Talbot asking him if Chick Young and Wilbur Gray are there? Bobby replies that he doesn't even know them.
forthekids MichaelPowers 12 months ago
There is an outtake..where Bobby Barber..enters "Chic & Wilbur's"(Bud and Lou's)room in a costume..replete with a grey top and a feather in it..disrupting the scene.
You are probably right. He had a part in Africa Screams. I have seen some outtakes and he shows up a few times in costume.
Bapa1 12 months ago
Frankenstein, Dracula, and The Wolfman getting hit with a pie to the face would have been hilarious.
MichaelPowers Bapa1 12 months ago
Well, I would have found it demeaning to those classic Universal horror icons to have them hit in the face with a pie. The director of the film, Charles Barton, made sure that Bud & Lou knew that the monsters were all off limits regarding any pie throwing antics off camera. Their make-up took hours to apply and was too expensive to be ruined by pies.
forthekids MichaelPowers 12 months ago
According to the film history book..Lugosi and Strange were not hit with pies..or with anything else during the filming..Because it would spoil the costumes and make ups..although? Some film historians and fans..speculate? That Chaney may have participated in the boys pranks.
Runeshaper 12 months ago
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein was an EXCELLENT film! Pie throwing = classic (-:
LoveMETV22 12 months ago
" The article stated, "Arthur later said that Costello and Abbott kept their spirits up during the making of the film by throwing cream pies at crew members."
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Abbott and Costello would have made a great addition to the cast or crew of "The Great Race.."
They spared no expense on pastry or money when filming the pie fight scene in the film.:
cperrynaples LoveMETV22 12 months ago
Yes, the producers claimed they set the record for the longest pie fight! Watching this scene confirms it! They gave the crew whatever pies were saved!
LoveMETV22 12 months ago
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forthekids LoveMETV22 12 months ago
Sadly..Lou Costello..passed away in 1959..Laurel & Hardy were also long gone and "The Three Stooges"had just completed their last feature film"The Outlaws Is Coming"a year before(The spring 0f 1964)and that film was released..at the start of 1965. So these three comedy teams couldn't participate in this classic pie fight in Blake Edwards"The Great Race".
forthekids LoveMETV22 12 months ago
Bud Abbott also retired from performing..His last performing gig was doing voice overs for "The Abbott & Costello"tv cartoon series in 1967.
LoveMETV22 forthekids 12 months ago
Very kind of you to provide the history of Abbott /Costello, Laurel/Hardy as well as
The Three Stooges. Goes without saying they couldn't participate in that pie scene, but it would have been funny if they had.
forthekids LoveMETV22 12 months ago
It would have been great..if? Stan And Ollie,Bud and Lou,"The Three Stooges" and..even Soupy Sales would have become involved in that pie fight in"The Great Race"..Love ME TV..but..as they say? It just wasn't to be.
waz922 forthekids 12 months ago
The Three Stooges were also in It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World! which came out in 1963, so they could have been in the pie fight scene.
cperrynaples 12 months ago
Well, why didn't they film the pie fights? After all, it worked for the 3 Stooges...Nyuk,Nyuk,Nyuk!
forthekids Runeshaper 12 months ago
The only pie tossing scene that was filmed for an Abbott & Costello film..was "A&C Meet The Keystone Cops".
Runeshaper forthekids 12 months ago
Very interesting! Thanks!
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