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| Chick Young | |
| Aliases: | None |
| Continuity: | Universal Monsters |
| Notability: | Main character |
| Gender: | Male |
| Race: | Human |
| Location: | La Mirada, Florida |
| Status: | Deceased by virtue of time era |
| Born: | 1897 (approx) [1] |
| First: | Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein |
| Actor: | Bud Abbott |
Chick Young is a character played by burlesque comedian Bud Abbott and featured in the 1948 comedy-horror film Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. As always, Abbott teamed up with his longtime partner Lou Costello, this time to match wits and barbs against not only the Frankenstein Monster, but Dracula and the Wolf Man as well.
Biography[]
In the late 1940s, Chick Young and his friend Wilbur Grey were working as baggage handlers at a shipping and receiving station in La Mirada, Florida. In 1948, they were charged with inspecting two highly valuable crates owned by Mister McDougal, proprietor of the McDougal House of Horrors. Inside the crates were the remains of the original Count Dracula and the Frankenstein Monster. A cynic, Chick Young didn't believe that the contents of the crates were actually what McDougal claimed, but Wilbur certainly did. Wilbur inspected the crate containing the coffin of Dracula and had a terrifying encounter with the legendary vampire. He tried to tell Chick about it, but Chick scoffed at him. Inspecting the coffin himself, he found it to be empty. By the time McDougal arrived at the museum, the monsters were gone. Blaming the two handlers for their disappearance, he had Chick and Wilbur arrested.
An insurance agent named Joan Raymond bailed them out of prison in the hopes of investigating them more closely. She feined being attracted to the portly Wilbur Grey, which confused Chick beyond all measure; particularly since Wilbur already had a beautiful woman fawning for his attention named Sandra Mornay. He tried to get Wilbur to share the wealth by allowing him to date one of the girls, but Wilbur wouldn't allow it.
At this time, Chick met a man named Larry Talbot. Talbot claimed to be a werewolf and warned the two men about the truth behind Dracula and the Frankenstein Monster. Still believing the stories to be phony, he chastised Talbot, and warned him against filling Wilbur's head with "ideas", because he wasn't used to them.
Chick then reluctantly agreed to be part of an untraditional double-date to a masquerade party with Wilbur bringing both Joan and Sandra, and Chick brining no one. They went to Sandra Mornay's residence, which was a huge castle on a nearby island. Sandra was a scientist who was working alongside two assocites; Professor Stevens and the mysterious Doctor Lejos. Chick, Wilbur and Joan arrived at the castle to pick Sandra up. After introductions were made, Sandra and Joan went into a bedroom to change into their masquerade costumes.
Chick and Wilbur received a telephone call from Larry Talbot who warned Wilbur that they were actually inside Dracula's castle. Wilbur ran for the door, but Chick restrained him. Certain that there was no such thing as Dracula or Frankenstein, Chick decided that the two of them would explore the castle while waiting for Joan and Sandra to finish getting ready. While Wilbur had several disagreeable encounters with Dracula and the monster, Chick didn't see anything, which only reinforced his belief that Wilbur was crazy.
The two eventually met Doctor Lejos, though neither of them realized that this was actually Dracula. Lejos encouraged them to go to the masquerade party and have a good time.
At the party, Chick ran across Mister McDougal. McDougal was still angry over his missing exhibits and took his frustration out on Wilbur by pushing him to the ground. Chick retorted, telling him that they would file assault and battery charges. McDougal told him that he had no witnesses. Chick grabbed a man dressed as a knight and asked him to be a witness, then dared McDougal to push Wilbur down again. He did so, but unfortunately, the knight's helmet obscured his vision and he didn't see a thing.
A short time later, the two met up with Larry Talbot. Talbot continued to warn them about Dracula and the monster, but Chick scoffed at him. As the moon rose, Talbot turned into a werewolf. He attacked Mister McDougal, but McDougal managed to survive. He told the authorities that he was attacked by someone wearing a wolf mask. Coincidentally, Chick was wearing a wolf mask as his masquerade costume. It didn't help his case that he was wearing clothing similar to Larry Talbot's wardrobe and people began to accuse him of attacking McDougal.
As things grew crazier, Chick finally saw witnessed Dracula turning into a vampire bat shortly before he kidnapped Wilbur Grey. He was now convinced that Wilbur had been telling him the truth all along. Chick, Joan Raymond and Professor Stevens all returned to the castle to rescue Wilbur. Chick found Wilbur bound inside a pair of stocks and worked to free him (during which, he managed to injure Wilbur's hand). The two ran around the castle trying to avoid Dracula, the Wolf Man and the Frankenstein Monster. They eventually made their way outside and managed to get onto a row boat tied to the dock. Chick yelled at Wilbur to untie the boat as the Frankenstein Monster approached them. Professor Stevens set fire to the dock and the monster was engulfed in flames. Chick and Wilbur breathed a sigh of relief, confidant that they were now out of danger. A surprise encounter with the Invisible Man however, proved them wrong and the two men dived into the water and swam away.
Notes & Trivia[]
- The character of Chick Young was created by director Charles T. Barton and screenwriters Robert Lees, Frederic I. Rinaldo and John Grant.
External Links[]
References[]
- ↑ Date based upon the relative age of actor Bud Abbott.