House of Frankenstein

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.

This has some of the best vintage sequences in the series, great George Robinson photography, eerie sets and a nice score from Hans J Salter that expands on the previous entries. And everyone does their professional best to spout the inane dialogue they're saddled with. What's wrong is the silly story that surrounds the events. A movie that promises a Monster Mash results in a collection of Monster cameos.

This is a semi remake of 'Son of Frankenstein', where broken-neck Ygor used the Monster to exact his revenge. This time around, it's mad scientist Karloff (with hunchback Naish) doing the same on those who imprisoned him. But the only 'monsters' used as his proxy for revenge are Dracula and Daniel. The Wolf Man and Frankenstein's Monster show up just long enough to do their snarls before being dispatched. A nice touch was the triangle love between Talbot, the gypsy Ilonka and Daniel. And like 'Ghost of Frankenstein', there's a difference of opinion on who should be the recipient of whose brain.

But this movie is still fun, probably because it's based more on my nostalgic memories from the first time I saw it as a kid rather than my harsh adult perception. (A & C Meet Frankenstein I saw 1st, at 5 yrs old...another movie with all these monsters in it??...too cool! [just my silly 6 yr old opinion].

This one has the best 'Wolf Man' make-up and man-to-beast transformation (the footprints & the mirror sequence). Carradine's turn as Dracula is very good, but you can't help but wonder if only Lugosi had been allowed to reprise his most famous role. And for his limited input, Strange does just fine as the Monster (better than what Chaney and Lugosi did with the role in the last two) helped by Karloff's coaching on how the monster moved and walked. And it's complete with gypsies, a castle, fog forests and an angry mob (again).

So just grab some popcorn; and double up with Universal's 'House of Dracula' for a fun double feature. Just don't swallow too hard.

A nostalgic 6 out of 10!

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 ****

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!