When famous criminal lawyer Amos Strickland (Nicholas Joy) turns up dead at Crandall's Lost Caverns Hotel, bumbling busboy Freddie Phillips (Lou Costello) finds himself chief suspect, having earlier threatened the victim for getting him sacked. With the help of hotel detective Casey Edwards (Bud Abbott), Freddie tries to prove his innocence, but finds himself getting even deeper in trouble, dead bodies turning up wherever he goes.Comedy duo Abbott and Costello go through their usual broad comedy routine, Bud playing straight man to foolish funny man Lou. If you like their schtick, you'll probably have a whale of a time with this caper, but I found it all a bit repetitive, much of the humour revolving around the dead bodies repeatedly turning up in unexpected places, with Costello struggling to remain calm. Amusing the first time, perhaps, but wearing extremely thin after an hour of the same thing over and over again.A change of scenery for the final act is very welcome, as Costello goes to the Lost Caverns to meet the killer (who is keen to get his hands on a vital piece of evidence), but it doesn't make up for the monotony of what has gone before. It says a lot that Universal horror star Boris Karloff, as a sinister swami, is funnier than the leading men, uttering the best line of the whole film with a marvellous deadpan delivery: "You're going to commit suicide if it's the last thing you do".

Despite the title of the movie, Boris Karloff isn't in it much. He's fun when he is, though. He was the one thing missing in Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein, so it's nice that the boys could finally do a movie with him. The story here finds the duo working at a hotel. Abbott's the hotel detective and Costello's a bellboy who keeps getting into trouble. Suddenly dead bodies are popping up all over the hotel and all clues point to poor dumb Lou. Very funny comedy murder mystery. Lou seems to be having a great time in this one. Nice support from Alan Mowbray, James Flavin, Roland Winters, and Lenore Aubert. More Karloff would've been nice but the movie succeeds anyway.

Costello plays a bellhop who gets himself caught up in a murder and soon becomes the number one suspect. His only alibi is that the police think he's too stupid to have done it. Over the next few days, more murders pop up, and Costello may be the only one who can crack the case.I have to admit that this was my first Abbott and Costello film. Outside of "Who's on First", I didn't really know who they were. But this was a fine introduction, as it was funny, and a pretty good mystery. Even after it was solved, I'm still not completely sure I understand it. But that's just more reason to watch it again.Anyone who is going to watch this one should be made aware of one thing: the title, as written sometimes, is misleading. Boris Karloff is not the killer. In fact Boris Karloff isn't even in the movie. He does play a character in the film, but that character is not himself. (Exactly what role he plays in the film is hard to say... his motives are quite odd.)

I'm a big A&C fan and have been since I was ten. I saw this A&C film many times in the 1980s (I recorded it once and watched it over and over again). It turns out that this film is included in Volume 3 of the Best of Abbott and Costello DVD set. After purchasing the set, I had a chance to watch it again recently. There are some genuinely outstanding gags here. Of all the movies made after A&C MEET FRANKENSTEIN (the duo's high point), this is one of the best. The chase scene through the caverns is actually very well made and has withstood the test of time. It remains one of the best climaxes from an A&C movie. Unfortunately, Boris Karloff isn't put to very good use in the film. This is a surprisingly atmospheric film, though, and at times it even contains elements of noir. It reminds me of a cross between WHO DONE IT and HOLD THAT GHOST, although it's not as good as either of those films. Still, unlike A&C GO TO MARS or Africa SCREAMS, it's certainly not a blemish on their filmography.