La guarida de Frankenstein

I grew up in the 60s, and my dad introduced me to the Universal Horror movies through TV reruns. Among the attractions: the mysterious atmosphere, the B&W photography, the convincing and committed performances, the occasional wit and humor. These films never fail to please me and put me in a good mood, and this one is one of my favorites. Lots of fun with the monsters, moods and music. Call me old-fashioned, but I'd rather watch just one of these old chestnuts than a year's worth of Freddies, Jasons, etc.

Mad scientist Boris Karloff escapes from prison with hunchbacked assistant Daniel (J. Carrol Naish). He plans revenge against the men who put him there and wants to revive the Frankenstein monster. Along the way they revive Dracula (John Carradine) and Lawrence Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) pops up as the Wolf Man. Silly but enjoyable all-star monster mash. Naish, Karloff, Carradine are all very good as is Elena Verdugo as a gypsy who falls in love with Talbot. Chaney Jr. just walks through his role. No great shakes (or scares) but there's tons of atmosphere, beautiful sets, pretty good special effects and it moves quickly. Worth seeing.

"House of Frankenstein" is salvaged by a great cast of seasoned performers who make this movie better than it should be, given it's split "B" movie story. In a move to re-generate interest in its fading horror series, Universal gives us Dracula, the Frankenstein monster, the Wolf Man, the Hunchback and the Mad Doctor all in the same film. But where's the Mummy? It is essentially divided into two parts.

We begin with the notorious Dr. Gustav Niemann (Boris Karloff) and his hunchback assistant Daniel (J. Carroll Naish) escaping from the prison in which they have been held for the past 15 years. They come upon a traveling Chamber of Horrors that supposedly includes the remains of the infamous Count Dracula, run by a Professor Lampini (George Zucco). Neimann wants to return to his home and resume his work of creating life from dead bodies and take revenge upon his accusers. The unfortunate Professor is quickly dispatched and Neimann takes his place.

It turns out that the remains of Dracula are genuine and Neimann brings him back to life in the form of John Carradine. Neimann plans to use Dracula as the instrument of his revenge. He is sent to murder the local Burgomeister (Sig Ruman) and is attracted to his grand daughter Rita (Anne Gwynne). When Rita is abducted by Dracula, her husband (Peter Coe) and the local police Inspector (Lionel Atwill) give chase and .....

Meanwhile Neimann plans to go to the ruins of Frankenstein's castle to seek out the scientist's notes on the creation of his creature. Along the way they stop at a gypsy camp and Daniel becomes infatuated with a gypsy girl Ilonka (Elena Verdugo). At the castle Daniel falls into a frozen cave where they find the Wolf Man (Lon Chaney Jr.) and the Frankenstein monster (Glenn Strange). The Wolf Man changes back into Lawrence Talbot and pleads with Neimann to help rid him of his werewolf curse.

Neimann takes them both back to his laboratory but becomes pre-occupied with restoring the monster rather than helping Talbot. Ilonka begins to fall in love with Talbot but is warned of Talbot's curse. The full moon comes up and you know what happens next. Daniel attacks Neimann because of his broken promises to him. The monster suddenly awakens and.....

The teaming of Karloff and Chaney makes this film work. Karloff is great as the mad doctor and Chaney brings pathos and sympathy to his portrayal of the doomed Talbot. Carradine makes a surprisingly good Dracula in an all too brief appearance. Naish almost steals the film as the tragic Daniel whose love for the gypsy girl is doomed from the start. Cowboy actor and former stuntman Glenn Strange takes over as the monster but has little to do until the last reel. Atwill and Zucco sadly, make only brief appearances in minor roles.

Followed by "House of Dracula" (1945) a similar but inferior film.

This is the first time Universal Studios tried a Monster Mash by incorporating three of their most popular creatures into one film: Dracula, The Wolf Man and Frankenstein's Monster. The results are quite good, mostly due to the performers chosen for their parts. This is not supposed to be sophisticated film-making or storytelling; just a fun ghoulish romp, perfectly suited for a Halloween Night. And it succeeds admirably.

Boris Karloff returned to the Frankenstein Series with this installment, and it's an asset to the picture to have him. Some fans have accused him of walking through his part as a mad scientist here, but I've always found this to be a very understated kind of calculated evil, and he's very good here. He portrays the mad Dr. Niemann, who once dared to follow in the footsteps of the original Frankenstein, and as a result was jailed for his unethical experiments along with his hunchbacked assistant, Daniel. When a severe thunderstorm destroys the foundation of the prison he's housed in, Niemann manages an escape and attempts to locate the original diary of Dr. Frankenstein, running into Dracula, the Wolf Man, and the Frankenstein Monster along the way.

J. Carrol Naish scores high points with his portrayal of the sympathetic hunchbacked assistant to Karloff, and manages to stir up our emotions as he pines away for cute gypsy girl Elena Verdugo. Lon Chaney plays The Wolf Man for a third time here, and though he's saddled with some silly dialogue ("why have you freed me from the ice that imprisoned the beast that lived within me?") he has now made the tragic character of Larry Talbot the werewolf all his own. He is desperate to aid Dr. Niemann however he can, in the hopes that the scientist may be able to return the favor by curing him of his curse.

John Carradine is exceptional as Dracula, playing the part differently than Bela Lugosi had. What Carradine lacked in the creepy "otherworldliness" of Bela, he made up for with aristocratic evil. His physical look is actually much closer to how Bram Stoker described the character in his novel, "Dracula". Glenn Strange takes on the role of the hulking and imposing Frankenstein Monster for the first time, and is the next best to Karloff's interpretation of the creature, in terms of appearance. Hans J. Salter again provides a wonderfully haunting music score. Director Erle C. Kenton accentuates the proceedings with gloomy sets, dark nights and the customary thunder and lightning.

This monster fest is light and breezy, packing much into its brief 70 minute running time. If there is any quibble to be made for HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, it would be with regard to the episodic way in which its three monsters are worked into the plot. Dracula has an early segment all his own, and then the second half switches to the Wolf Man and the Frankenstein Monster. None of the creatures cross paths with another, and their screen time as ghouls is limited (especially the case for the Monster). But this is just a technicality; for those who don't go into it expecting High Art, there is still much fun to be had within the House of Frankenstein. *** out of ****

Dr. Gustav Newmann (Boris Karloff) is jailed for accusation as a body snatcher. He breaks-out and along with hunchback Daniel (J.Carroll Naish) take the ¨chamber of horrors showside¨ of Professor Lampini (George Zucco) containing the skeleton of count Dracula (John Carradine) . They are going to Frankenstein's village and later they return to Vesaria . His aim is taking the experiments on life of the deceased Henry Frankestein found into archives of the castle . The doctor tries some scientific experiments to cure various Universal monsters but results that their bad habits emerge again . The second half has them dealing with the werewolf called Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney) and monster Frankenstein (Glen Strange in his first appearance as monster) . Meanwhile , the hunchback falls in love with a Zingara (Elena Verdugo) and developing a loving triangle with the werewolf , the beast marked for the pentagram .

The classic player of horror movies Boris Karloff is magnificent and his strong portrayal of the scientific attempting to create a new monster changing brains is awesome . Filmmaker Erl C. Kenton creates some really chilling scenes, with amazing moments , and several powerful images, especially when the creatures are reborn , including an interesting and twisted script . ¨Frankenstein¨and ¨The bride of Frankenstein¨ by James Whale were the definitive expressionist Gothic Horror movies that set the mold for successive terror movies just like this ¨House of Frankentein¨and many others . Atmospheric , slick terror film , creaky at times but it's still impressive . Film displays excellent set design , ambitious screenplay with too many monsters and enjoyable and sensitive interpretation of all casting . Lon Chaney Jr.'s top-notch acting in the role which made him a terror movie legend . J Carroll Naish is excellent as a hunchback similar to Igor . The movie is also called ¨The Zingara and the monsters¨, as the title suggests , various of Universal's most famous monsters confront and fight each other . Creepy and adjusted music by Hans J. Salter and eerie black and white cinematography , filled with lights and shades . The motion picture was well directed Erle C. Kenton who already directed various horror films . The prequel was ¨Frankestein meet the wolf man¨ and was followed by a sequel : ¨House of Dracula¨.