When people stop breathing all over a resort hotel managed by Alan Mowbray, the place could get a bad reputation. As if its reputation wasn't bad enough with the help they hire there, mainly Abbott&Costello.

Bud's the house detective and Lou's a bellboy. When he breaks incoming guest Nicholas Joy's glasses and generally makes a mess of things, Joy vows to get him fired. People are always doing that to Costello, but later Joy is the first one who winds up dead.

Joy was a high powered criminal defense attorney and as it happens in all these murder mysteries there's a hotel full of suspects who might have a better motive and more upstairs to plan things better than the hapless Lou. But Lou being the patsy he always is gets the attention of police detective James Flavin. Costello being the klutz he is and getting Flavin's hair, Flavin might just want to arrest him on general principles.

One of those suspects is Boris Karloff. He plays a Middle Eastern hypnotist and swami from Brooklyn and the one bad thing in the story is how he tries to frame Lou and have him commit suicide as well. If he's not the guilty party which he isn't, than why do it?

I really did like the cavern set where Lou has an extended scene with the masked murderer who is trying to get a tell tale clue from Costello. There's even a red herring sent up that Abbott might be the murderer, but who in the world would believe that?

A lot of this ground is covered before and better in their film Who Done It where the boys are also amateur sleuths and interfering in the police investigation. Still Abbott and Costello Meet The Killer, Boris Karloff is not a bad one for the guys.

Abbott and Costello are one of the best comedy duos on film, and there are some great entries of theirs, Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein being a contender for their best. Meet the Killer, Boris Karloff is not one their high-points, there are a few draggy spots, a rather standard story and while he is eerie and commanding Boris Karloff is underused(so much for the misleading title). The gags are well-timed and funny though, especially the dressing up in drag, Costello being hypnotised by Karloff and playing cards with a corpse. There is a very nice mix of zany comedy and suspenseful mystery elements, the dialogue is snappily written, the film looks good and is directed in a way that allows the stars to have fun and the story to breathe while not leaving things out of control. Abbott and Costello are still as funny as ever and their chemistry still sparkles even with contrasting personalities. The acting is solid enough from all, Karloff is still fine in his role, you just want to see more of him considering how great an actor he was and is. Overall, not among the greats with Abbott and Costello but makes for good fun regardless. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Despite the title being 100% misleading, this is among Abbott and Costello's better films. No, Boris Karloff is NOT the killer and he is only a supporting character and so putting his name on the title (as was done in many cases) was deceptive and makes this appear to be a horror flick, while it's actually a murder mystery. I personally like this film because like some of their other better films (such as A&C Meet Frankenstein or A&C Meet Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde),the team does not rely on or fall back on worn-out old vaudeville routines but has plenty of action and excellent support. While I am not saying this is a perfect film, it does please and will appeal to both kids and adults.