House of Frankenstein

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 ****

House of Frankenstein features Lon Chaney Jr. and John Carradine alongside the masterful Boris Karloff -- who is absolutely amazing for sheer presence alone -- as an enthusiastic, budding mad-scientist named Dr. Niemann who escapes from prison after a bolt of lightning inexplicably strikes the granite reformatory that he and his servant -- a hunchback assistant played by J. Carrol Naish -- are bound in.

Fortunately, after his escape, Niemann comes across the creepy Professor Bruno Lampini, who is conveniently taking a traveling show of horrors across the country. His main attraction is the skeletal remains of Count Dracula (complete with wooden stake jutting from ribs). As expected, Niemann kills Lampini, poses as the renowned crackpot, and revives the vampire (played by a 'princely' young Carradine), who, in turn, takes revenge on one of Niemann's enemies as a favor. Oh, and then Dracula dies like a wussy and his dull little role is over as if it never existed since it never helped move along or even remotely create a plot out of this revolving-door mishmash of monster cameos (read on).

Though this is essentially a sequel to 1943's Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman, the title sort of refers to Neimann's aspiration to carry on Dr. Henry Frankenstein's work (speaking of which, the Monster doesn't appear until about 45 minutes into the film), though Neimann's objectives are never quite revealed to the viewer. Nevertheless, while exploring the ruins of the great doctor's decimated Vasarian castle and to generate some semblance of plot, Neimann finds the monster offspring of Frankenstein frozen in a block of ice near the Wolfman (Chaney), who is quickly unthawed and put to work by Neimann. For some reason, the escaped doctor intends to switch the brain of Frankenstein's Monster with the brain of the Wolf Man, which, in itself, might have been funny. I just wonder if the Wolfman's curse would have followed the brain or the body, and how a Wolfman with poor motor-skills would have convincingly frightened someone - `I'll rip you to shreds like a wild dog as soon as I make my way over to the other side of this room!')

Again, aside from revenge, I couldn't really detect a plot, and the film has the single most abrupt ending I've ever seen! Plus, Frankenstein's Monster (played by cowboy actor Glenn Strange rather than Karloff) does absolutely nothing as the film plods on! Besides getting to toss a hunchback through a window (and who doesn't enjoy doing just that every now and again), he descends - quite dramatically -- into quicksand and lies around comatose the rest of the time (how about a cross-promotion film with the Weekend At Bernie's franchise -- Bernie Does Vasaria?).

As the famous Universal Studios monsters continued to parade out, I began to think of the marketing possibilities this film might have had if the whole state of affairs would have been placed in the here-and-now - playsets, lunch-boxes, limited-edition bobble-heads, House of Frankenstein-flavored fruit bars, Taco Bell Wolfman Burrito tie-ins, Dr. Neimann chemistry sets, etc.! In short, House of Frankenstein was obviously a crass attempt to bleed quick dollars out of a highly profitable franchise. There was no attempt at veiled artistry, and you can almost hear executives counting out the money beneath the hackneyed layer of canned shrieks! On a lighter note, the film would have easily qualified for 'self-parody' status with a bonus appearance from the Mummy! I certainly wouldn't have been surprised if he had been worked into the plot somewhere!!

Despite all the film's shortcomings, I was truly mesmerized by Karloff's hammy staging. In fact, his best performance comes during the film's opening scene, where his peculiar character strangles a prison guard for a piece of chalk just so he can continue to draw scientific diagrams on his wall. If only a screenwriter had been so arduous with the script for this film!

"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.

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.