La guarida de Frankenstein

The movie begins with evil Dr. Gustav Niemann and his sidekick, Daniel roaming the countryside doing evil and making a few bucks on the side. It's a simple life traveling the countryside and creating mayhem, but somebody's gotta do it, right?! Well, the maniacal doctor has a lot of unforeseen luck, as he stumbles first upon the skeleton of Dracula (who he wisely decides to revive). For some odd reason, the long-dead Dracula comes back not as Bela Lugosi but John Carradine. While a decent enough villain, it just made no sense why Lugosi didn't reprise the role. Anyway, they later discover the Frankenstein monster and the Wolfman frozen in a cave (since their last film) and spend much of their time trying to revive them--so they can kick butt and spread terror. Well, they did not foresee that the Wolfman, when in the form of nice-guy Larry Talbot, didn't want to spread terror and death (shucks). Well, the plan is shot and evil is thwarted. Cool.

Strengths of the film are the evil doctor--he's a really nasty menace, having three monsters instead of the usual one and the fact that it is a Universal horror film with all its campy fun. The weaknesses are that the series is getting a little old, the pathos concerning Daniel falling for the gypsy girl is a tad annoying, and John Carradine just isn't and never could be Dracula!

Instead of being the usual "monster-fest", the film focuses on Boris Karloff, who uses the creatures to murder the people who sent him to an asylum.

The "Dracula" bit (in the beginning of the film) doesn't quite seem to "fit" the film; it looks as if it was added as an after-thought. (Plus, Carradine's Dracula is VERY "sloppy" about self-preservation; he is "discovred" and destroyed in the very beginning of the film. I don't think that LUGOSI'S Dracula would've let that happen! I wonder if that's why Lugosi

didn't play Dracula).

A new "twist" is added to the "killing a werewolf with a silver bullet" theme....it must be done by someone "who loves him enuff to do it".

The Frankenstein monster is "wasted", too -- only coming to life in the last 10 mins. of the film.

But, forget all it's shortcomings. Just sit back and enjoy Karloff's performance. (I like the bit where he tries to strangle the asylum guard for a piece of chalk!).

An "odd little film". Norm

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.

House of Frankenstein was the first of the monster free for alls with all three Universal monster legends, the Frankenstein monster, the wolfman, and Dracula. It is not the most coherent story around, but you won't care because the film has a brisk pace, imaginative scenes, creative sets, and some first-rate acting. Boris Karloff plays a doctor in the Dr. Frankenstein tradition trying to resurrect the Monster and appease the wolfman by finding him a path to death. He is the epitome of evil and has no moral compass whatsoever. Karloff does a fine job in his role, and Lon Chaney, as ever saddened at his lunar plight, does a wonderful job again as Larry Talbot(his third time in the role). Glenn Strange plays the monster..and plays him well although really has little to do in the film till the last five minutes. Dracula is played by John Carradine. The shining stars of the cast, however, are J. Carroll Naish playing a poor murdering hunchback with low self-esteem, and the bubbly and beautiful Elena Verdugo as a gypsy girl. Naish gives a very poignant portrayal. Look for cameos by Lionel Atwill and George Zucco(wish his part had been larger). House of Frankenstein is a great film in the Universal tradition of its monsters and mayhem. One of its other outstanding virtues is its famous score.