Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman [VHS]

A strong performance for the winner's circle.

Saw this for the first time years ago. Sick of waiting for it be aired on TV, so finally bought it. Just as good as I remembered seeing it the first time.

My favorite of Universal's second cycle of horror films. A direct sequel to 1941's The Wolf Man. Grave robbers out to steal gold rings & cash from the Talbot crypt accidently expose Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney) to the full moon reviving the wolf man. This film follows Larry Talbot on his search to find a cure to his curse. His journey takes him to the ruins of Castle frankenstein where he encounters the frankenstein monster played for the only time by Bela Lugosi.Great sets, moody music and solid acting make this one perhaps the best of the 1940's horror series. Some trivia: The previous "frankenstien" movie was Ghost of Frankenstein in which Chaney played the monster and Lugosi played "Igor" whose brain wound up transplanted in the monster. Also Lon Chaney was the only actor to play all of Universals classic monsters and the only actor to play the wolf man in the universal films. Chaney played the wolf man ( in 5 films ), Dracula in Son Of Dracula, The Mummy (Kharis) in 3 films, and the Frankenstein monster in Ghost Of Frankenstein. He also double as the monster in place of Glenn Strange for certain scenes in House of Frankenstein and Abbott & Costello meet Frankenstein. Stock footage of Chaney as the monster also appeared at the climax of House of Dracula. In that film Chaney's Talbot character is cured of his werewolfism and is the hero of the film. Ironically the last scene has Chaney fighting the frankenstein monster in a burning lab which uses stock footage from Ghost Of Frankenstein. Essentially Chaney plays Talbot fighting Chaney playing the monster.By this point in the series ( House Of Dracula being the final film in the series excluding A&C meet Frankenstein) and the budget was very low and lots of stock footage was used.

Despite its inconsistencies and problems with continuity, anyone who is a fan of the Universal Studios classic monsters and horror movies of the 1940's and '30's will undoubtedly enjoy "Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman" released in March of 1943. Brilliantly reprising his role as the tormented lycanthrope Larry Talbot, Lon Chaney Jr. gives a heartfelt and moving performance. Bela Lugosi plays the Frankenstein monster in what I will describe here as an underrated and controversial performance. Fans of classic cinema and the Universal monster rallies of the '40's may already be aware of the unique problem with this film which was caused by Universal execs cutting and deleting an extremely important plot point in this film. At the end of 1942's "The Ghost of Frankenstein" the Frankenstein monster's (played by Lon Chaney Jr. for the first time) brain was removed and the second son of Frankenstein Ludwig (played by Cedric Hardwicke) was manipulated by his assistant (played by Lionel Atwill) and unknowingly replaced it with the brain of the evil megalomaniac Ygor (played by Bela Lugosi). However the operation wasn't totally successful and left the Ygor-Monster blind before he wrecked the mansion and a fire destroyed everything. Now after Larry Talbot discovers the monster in an ice cavern below the ruins of the mansion (now a castle) and thaws him out. What happened next was supposed to be a series of scenes and interesting plot dialogue where Bela Lugosi as the Ygor-Monster talks to Larry about what happened in the previous film and how he wants to be rejuvenated and given full power and have his blindness cured and so forth. For some reason, Universal execs weren't happy with Bela's performance, his Hungarian accent coming out of the monster's mouth, etc. which is odd since at the end of "Ghost of Frankenstein" Bela as the Ygor/Monster gives a chilling performance. Anyways, all those scenes were cut, no references to him being blind were mentioned, no references to the monster being Ygor, and what's left is he walks around with the what is now famous outstretched arms groping through the scenery. Stills exist and dialogue from the original script can be viewed on the web and in books. Somewhere in the Universal vaults the footage may be around but as of 2013 it has never been found. Personally, I think they made a big mistake but the film is still enjoyable but its one of those movies which COULD have been so much better. There are more scenes cut, like between Dr. Mannering (played by Patric Knowles) and Bela Lugosi's monster where Bela convinces the doctor not to drain off his energy but to restore him to full power. right at the beginning of the climactic operation/ Wolfman vs. Monster fight scene we can luckily still see a smidgeon of Bela's genius which Universal didn't cut thankfully, as the doctor does indeed begins to restore the monster to full power, a chilling close-up of Bela's face as he gives a knowing, totally evil, satisfied grin of recognition at the doctor as he now knows he is about to be unleashed with full power. The movie is beautifully photographed, the opening Llanwelly Village cemetery scene is atmospheric and ghostly. Unfortunately Universal often tampered with their monsters, leaving important stuff out, not explaining previous plot points, not bothering to explain continuity in the sequels etc..

Classic Universal horror from the 1940s. Lon Chaney Jr. As the Wolfman in all his stoic glory looking for eternal sleep-death. He gets resurrected in the opening scenes and how this happens is not explained as he was killed by a silver bullet in the earlier movie but, hey who cares. He escapes, gets into a fight, gets into a hospital, escapes, goes all over Germany. Or Eastern Europe with no one explaining to the audience how this can happen when the world was at war at the time. Anyway, he goes to find Dr. Frankenstein's granddaughter to find out how he can be killed and winds up finding the Frankenstein monster who is played by Bela Lugosi. Bela you say? Yes Bela walking around with his arms out and grunting. He doesn't say one word which is amazing considering that in the previous Frankenstein movie, The Ghost of Frankenstein, Bela played Igor and Igor's brain was put in the monster who then spoke with a Hungarian accent. Amazing! If you like horror films from this genre, then this movie from Universal is for you. It is highly enjoyable and in glorious black and white. The quality of the picture is very good and much better than the grainy dark copies that are out there. This is just one of a series of new releases of a Universal horror films so look for those as well.

From the opening crypt scene to the festival song to the climactic battle, Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman keeps on entertained on numerous levels. Chaney's portrayal of the much put upon, cursed Lawrence Talbot gives the film a sympathetic neurotic while Ilona Massey shines as an interesting leading lady who becomes as involving as the monsters with her charisma.

Buen servicio y seriedad y el producto excelente

In "House Of Frankenstein" I kept waiting for the rest of Universal Studio's monsters to show up. Nice to see Boris Karloff as a mad Doctor instead of the Frankenstein monster. For those of us that like the "old" horror movies from the 1940's these two movies are worth the price.

Lawrence Talbot is accidently ressurected by two graverobbers who break into the Talbot family crypt looking for valuables. When they remove the silver ring that keeps him a prisoner, Talbot comes to life and wakes up in Cardiff, unable to recall how he got there. Taken to hospital to recover from a head wound, Talbot is soon transforming again when the moon turns full. Desperate for a cure for his curse, Talbot travels to Europe, where he ends up at the deceased Ludwig Frankenstein's castle, burnt to the ground years earlier. However, it seems that there was a survivor from the fire, as Talbot finds when he falls into the ruins of the crypt. The Frankenstein monster is reborn!Following on from the lacklustre 'The Ghost Of Frankenstein', this is a far better film. In fact, it's a bit of a minor triumph. Carrying on the story of the cursed Lawrence Stewart Talbot, it would have worked just as well as a sequel to 'The Wolfman', as the late appearance of the Frankenstein monster, here played by Bela Lugosi, adds nothing to the story, and was clearly just a gimminck to entice audiences. Lon Chaney Jnr is once again tremendous as the tragic Talbot, a role he was born to play, part of the time hidden under Jack Pierce's great werewolf make-up. On the other hand, Lugosi brings little to the role of the Monster, though to be fair his remit is simply to stagger around smashing up the scenery. It's also nice to see Dennis Hoey, Inspector Lestrade in so many Sherlock Holmes films, appearing as a Police Inspector. This is a very atmospheric film, only dissapointing really in its rather silly climax. Universal, not realising that sometimes less is more, followed this film up with 'House Of Frankenstein' and 'House Of Dracula' two films that upped the monster quotient, but not the quality of the films.Great fun, one of my favourite Universal horrors. 5 out of 5

Deux excellents films qui se suivent et nous plongent dans le désarroi de ces deux monstres qui se rencontrent pour le meilleur...

A most enjoyable film from the early Frankenstein series. The Wolfman's body is discovered by grave-diggers and comes back to life. He wishes to be rid of his curse and meets up with an old gipsy woman. She tells him of Dr. Frankenstein who perished some time previously. It is believed that Frankenstein's notes were kept somewhere in his castle; so the Wolfman and the gipsy, journey there together. They discover the monster and employ the expertise of another Frankenstein member who agrees to help, but the local villages are not happy ... the special effects are quite good in this film and it is well worth watching to find out what happens :o]