Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953)

Directed by: Charles Lamont

Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this film!

Synopsis: Slim (Bud Abbott) and Tubby (Lou Costello) are American policemen thrown off the London force for incompetence. They hope to mend their reputations by catching the killer, Mr. Hyde (Boris Karloff).

Cat Burglar (Scene Stealer): Tubby chases Mr. Hyde into a wax museum and nervously looks for the elusive beast. He is startled by wax figures of Dracula and Frankenstein. A white cat is standing above him and jumps down.

Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde - longhair white cat on shelf

Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde - longhair white cat jumping down from shelf

The cat lands on Tubby’s shoulder, having been “catapulted” into the scene from above. This scares Tubby into running away.

Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde - longhair white cat landing on Tubby Lou Costello's shoulder

Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde - longhair white cat jumping down from Tubby Lou Costello's shoulder

Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde - longhair white cat jumping down onto Tubby Lou Costello's shoulder animated gif

Tubby bumps into a display of an Indian about to be executed. The Indian’s head drops into Tubby’s arms and he panics, throwing it up into the air. It lands on the cat and then appears to move across the floor by itself.

Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde - longhair white cat lying on floor

Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde - Tubby Lou Costello throwing Indian wax head onto longhair white cat lying on floor animated gif

This effect was cleverly achieved by using reverse footage of the Indian head being pulled off the cat. The special effects team even took into account the Indian’s hair being up as if falling down from above.