Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man / House of Frankenstein (1943)

Some details and positive comments for 'House of Frankenstein'

I just wanted to drop in here and express my sincere enthusiasm for "House of Frankenstein," which is one of the two films on this DVD.

Director Erle (not a typo!) C. Kenton went all out on this 1944 black-and-white film to present a Frankenstein movie which all horror fans could embrace, regardless of their preference for a particular monster. Here, we get Dracula (John Carradine), Lawrence Talbot/The Wolfman (Lon Chaney, Jr.), and Frankenstein himself (Glenn Strange)!

As if that were not enough, this cake is superbly iced with Boris Karloff (as the chief protagonist, Doctor Niemann), the lovely Anne Gwynn (Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe - The Complete Saturday Morning Serial), George Zucco (playing the snake oil sideshow man, Doctor Lampini), Lionel Atwill (cast as Arnz), and J. Carrol Naish (Dr. Renault's Secret) as Daniel, Niemann's hunch-backed, Igor-like assistant! In addition to the monsters, we get a band of Gypsies, hateable monster-victims, and Doctor Lampini's (Zucco) cool sideshow of the Dracula remains.

THE STORY (Warning! Spoilers ahead!): Doctor Niemann and Daniel escape prison when a lightning bolt explodes the wall of their cells. Niemann has promised the hunch-backed Daniel that he'll give him a new body if only they can locate the original Baron Frankenstein's journal and scientific notes. With that endeavor in mind, they soon fall upon the lamentable Doctor Lampini and take over his sideshow as Niemann has a little vengeance in mind against those who had him imprisoned, prior to setting out in search of Baron Frankenstein's notes.

It's lucky that Lampini's wagon contained the remains of Dracula because Niemann removed the wooden stake which kept him dead in his casket and then utilized the vampire to kill one of Niemann's former antagonists. Unfortunately for Dracula, the authorities catch on fast and they pursue him until the sun rises... and you know what that means for Dracula! Niemann has also fled the town, just ahead of Dracula in a double-cross (pun intended), and at the next village Daniel rescues a Gypsy girl from her brutal shill. They're all run out of this village too but Niemann doesn't care a whit because the remnants of Baron Frankenstein's castle are quite nearby.

Once in the ruins of the old estate, Daniel inadvertently discovers both the Frankenstein Monster and The Wolfman in an ice cave (great effects!), deep under the castle. Niemann commences retrieval of the two and as the ice melts away from The Wolfman, he changes back into the unfortunate Lawrence Talbot who luckily knows just where to dig out Baron Frankenstein's journal. Niemann promises to replace Talbot's brain (with that of one of his local enemies) in return for his assistance in traveling to his own decrepit estate; meanwhile, Daniel has fallen for the Gypsy girl but the latter falls in love with Talbot, a ménage-à-trois which leads to big complications.

Niemann is gratified in seeing a couple more of his former antagonists done in (thank you, Mr. Wolfman!) as he sets to work on re-animating the Frankenstein Monster in his home laboratory, much to the frustration of both Talbot and Daniel who each wanted THEIR problems dealt with first. I absolutely must stop there to avoid telling the end of the movie but rest assured that it's as good as the body of the film.

The filmscore/soundtrack for this one is terrific (and appropriate) and was generated by a number of competent folks: Hans J. Salter, musical director; Paul Dessau, composer; Charles Previn, composer; Max Rapp, composer; Milton Rosen, composer, and; Frank Skinner, composer. All except for Salter went uncredited. Special effects were brilliantly handled by John P. Fulton. The aspect ratio is 1.37:1 (full-frame) and the entire movie was filmed at Universal Studios in California.

As this is a Universal Films production there was a fairly good budget established for it, but "Kharis the Mummy" was ultimately excised from the script due to a lack of available funds. Bela Lugosi was also slated to have played Dracula but Universal's producers were displeased with his most recent performance for them as The Frankenstein Monster in Frankenstein Meets Wolfman. "The House of Frankenstein" isn't perfect as there are a few silly boners, the most prevalent of which is when Larry Talbot (Chaney) transforms into the Wolf Man for the final time, his hands aren't made up. The astute viewer can spot this just before he crashes through the glass door. Also, while not really a goof, no member of "Baron Frankenstein's family" (the Monster excepted!) ever appears in this film!

If I have a problem at all with this film it's only that I wish George Zucco's role as Doctor Lampini would have played out just a little longer before Daniel (Naish) strangled him to death. I'm Zucco's biggest fan on the planet (see my Amazon Listmania list: "George Zucco... almost live!!!") and I think that they could have carried him in the story for a bit longer. But we can't have everything.

In summary, this 71-minute treasure exudes mega-action and the filmscore/soundtrack has become quite renowned: House of Frankenstein, a rare actuality for an older horror movie. You'll also see one of the better vampire transformations (from man to bat and vice-versa) ever filmed in one of these older horror flicks. Unfortunately, "House of Frankenstein" is not available by itself on a single DVD so you either get this one or: Frankenstein - The Legacy Collection (Frankenstein / Bride of / Son of / Ghost of / House of).

I highly recommend this fine old horror film to appropriate viewers. September 4, 2008

The Wolfman parts 2 and 3

If you're looking for a good "Monster Mash" film, then you may find both of the films contained within to be a bit disappointing. While the team-up aspect of both films is what they're best remembered for, they aren't really at the heart of these stories.

"FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN" is absolutely a Wolfman film. Continuing several years after the events of the first Wolfman installment, Larry Talbot is back and taking on some strong, emotionally rich character development. Unfortunately, the Frankenstein aspect of the film is superbly disappointing. First of all, the plot depends upon yet another offspring of Henry Frankenstein, who is alternately referred to as his daughter and granddaughter throughout the film. In much the same way, previous Frankenstein continuity is alternatively adhered to and outright ignored throughout the film. For example, the monster doesn't have Ygor's brain, but the previous Dr. Frankenstein's sanitarium was burnt down by the villagers (both incidents occurred in the previous Frankenstein installment, "Ghost of Frankenstein," yet only one is acknowledged here). The entire Frankenstein aspect of this film seems almost incidental, with the creature holding more importance as an object of curiosity than an actual character. This is probably a good thing, though, since Bela Lugosi plays the worst Frankenstein monster I've ever seen. Finally, the end of the film comes out of nowhere and leaves nothing resolved. Considering all the more thorough ways in which both the Wolfman and the monster have been killed in previous films, I don't think an over-flowing river rushing through the castle is going to do much more than leave them needing a change of clothes.

"HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN," the second film in this collection, is a surprisingly excellent installment. Boris Karloff is brilliant as the mad scientist, J Carrol Naish plays a stunningly sympathetic hunchback, and the writing and directing are both truly memorable. However, like "Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman," this is not the team-up film it claims to be. A terribly executed Dracula appears in the first 30 minutes of the film (which are entirely irrelevant to the rest of the story), and the Frankenstein monster is literally animated in the last ninety seconds of the film. Beyond that, this is clearly yet another Wolfman movie, continuing directly from "Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman." Like the previous film, it spends most of its running time and dramatic focus on Larry Talbot (The Wolfman) and does a tremendous amount to build upon and enrich his story in amazing ways, but it does not do the same for Dracula or the monster, both of whom seem tacked on without any artistic considerations, included merely for advertising purposes. It's saddening to consider how Karloff must have felt watching his legacy tarnish before his very eyes.

What distinguishes The Wolfman from any other Universal Monster is how thoroughly his character and conflict are developed across each of his sequels, unlike the other Universal monster franchises, which are often disjointed, uneven in quality, and seemingly produced with no inspiration beyond the desire to pump a few more dollars out of a character concept. In these films, we can clearly see Larry Talbot transform beyond the frightened kid in "The Wolfman" to a desperate man on the verge of madness in "Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman," and finally to a mature semi-hero, resigned to his own death in "House of Frankenstein." These are great Wolfman films, but the presence of other monsters in these films is more intrusive and obligatory than worthwhile. If you want a good monster mash, then I suggest checking out Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein instead. July 30, 2008

Great classic horror from Universal

FMTW is the better of the two films and Lugosi is actually very effective as the Monster, despite what you may have heard. The film is fast moving and fun but certainly no classic.
HOF on the other hand shows that Universal had run out of steam by this point (1944). Karloff is merely adequate in a role he sleepwalks through. Surely Lugosi, an actor who gave his all, however ludicrous the script, would have been better in this part. Lon Chaney steals the movie in his Wolf Man role and John Carradine isn't a bad Dracula. It was downhill from here though with House of Dracula following in 1945/6.
However Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein in 1948 was a far more entertaining and exciting finale to Universal Horror than the two House movies. And Bela was back as Dracula - what more could you ask for? October 21, 2007

ENTERTAINING, SILLY AND MORE FUN THAN EVER! HARD TO DISLIKE!

For fans of the series we can over look a lot of the contrivances and plot lines not following through in these sequels. The first film on this set is the 5th in the series or 6th if you count "The Wolfman". Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman" This film was doomed from the start as the last film left the monster with Igor's brain and blind. Before the release of the film it was cut drastically and all of Lugosi's dialogue was removed from the film because it was thought to look ridiculous. This resulted in a confusing performance that had Lugosi looking like a sleepwalking moron. To add to the confusion they had a stunt double for Lugosi in the scenes the monster was doing anything physical. The film continues to contradict itself as some scenes the monster appears blind and some scenes he appears to have vision! This is never explained in the movie. I would love to see an uncut version of this film. It's a fun film non the less. The second film on this set is "House Of Frankenstein which picks up where "Frankenstein meets The Wolman" left off. Karloff is back in fine form, but this time he plays a mad doctor out for revenge. Glen Strange has his first outing as the monster and proves to be the best replacement in the fading series. Karloff gave Strange instructions on how to play the monster in this film and it shows. This is an all out monster rally featuring Frankenstein's monster, The Wolfman, Dracula, a hunchback and a mad doctor! It's an entertaining enrty that is fun and fast paced. The transfers for both of these features look very good on the Legacy Frankenstein and Wolfman sets. Yep, you need to buy both to get these two as they included "Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman" on the Wolfman legacy set. That's just Universal up to their old tricks! All the Legacy sets are well worth the price. September 19, 2007

This should be a fun double feature!

Looking forward to Frankie and Wolfie double feature! June 14, 2007

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