Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein wasn’t the very first horror-comedy (that distinction probably belongs to the 1920 Harold Lloyd short Haunted Spooks), but it was the first to be met with success upon its release. And how could it not? Higher-ups at Universal conceived the film as a can’t-fail cross-promotion between their two most reliably bankable properties: a stable of iconic monsters that included Bela Lugosi’s Dracula and Lon Chaney’s Wolfman, as well as Glenn Strange as Frankenstein’s monster and the hugely beloved comedy duo of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. For MGM, the crossover appeal wasn’t between horror and comedy but household names; think Amy Schumer Meets the Avengers (or rather, in all likelihood, Amy Schumer Ogles the Avengers.) The combination of gags and ghouls didn’t just legitimize the genre hybrid as commercially viable, it helped to cement Abbott and Costello as the biggest team in postwar onscreen humor. The odd coupling yielded scarce scares, but the inspired physical humor has rightfully stood the test of time. Hollow cash-grabs don’t end up in the National Film Registry.