149 recensioni
Of all of the later Frankenstein movies made by Universal, this one seems to be overlooked when compared to the previous "Ghost of Frankenstein" or the campy fun of "House of Frankenstein". Nevertheless, "Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman" is probably the best of the bunch.
A direct sequel to both "The Wolf Man" and "Ghost of Frankenstein", the plot follows Larry Talbot (played again by Lon Chaney Jr.), the werewolf, who realizes that he can't die. In order to find inner peace he is on a quest for death, and Maleva, the gypsy, takes him to Vasaria, in order to fin Dr. Frankenstein. When they realize that Frankenstein is dead, Talbot finds the Creature (Bela Lugosi), now with Ygor's brain but severely damaged. When a doctor teams up with Talbot in order to help him, the Wolf Man won't be happy to discover the doctor's true intentions.
This movie is carried by Chaney Jr. who is totally inside the character of the Wolf Man. It is probably Chaney's best performance as beast, and he steals every scene he is in. As Talbot, he shows the horrible trauma of being an unwilling murderer, giving the character a greater presence that fills the screen with charm.
Bela Lugosi, as the creature, has more troubles to be satisfying, but it is important to note that most of his scenes were changed as the previous subplot of Ygor's brain was abandoned. Bad choice since the first scenes with the monster show him confused and blind without giving any explanation. The poor editing is responsible of Lugosi's apparent bad performance.
The rest of the cast is surprisingly good, with old friends like Lionel Atwill and Dwight Frye in small supporting roles. Beautiful Ilona Massey plays Elsa Frankenstein who in an odd change appears as a cold smart businesswoman vastly different from the character's traits in "Ghost of Frankenstein". Nevertheless, Massey plays the role with grace and her beauty shines in the screen.
Director Roy William Neill, known for his Sherlock Holmes movies, does a superior work than predecessor Erle C. Kenton and makes the most of his actors. Depsite the plot holes of the story and the awful changes the studio made to the original script, the movie flows with a good pace.
The whole atmosphere is an improvement that while it never reaches the levels of "Bride" or "Son", works very well and give the film a distinctive look.
Overall, a worthy addition to the Frankenstein saga, that even when it certainly could have been better, it is an enjoyable underrated movie. 7/10
A direct sequel to both "The Wolf Man" and "Ghost of Frankenstein", the plot follows Larry Talbot (played again by Lon Chaney Jr.), the werewolf, who realizes that he can't die. In order to find inner peace he is on a quest for death, and Maleva, the gypsy, takes him to Vasaria, in order to fin Dr. Frankenstein. When they realize that Frankenstein is dead, Talbot finds the Creature (Bela Lugosi), now with Ygor's brain but severely damaged. When a doctor teams up with Talbot in order to help him, the Wolf Man won't be happy to discover the doctor's true intentions.
This movie is carried by Chaney Jr. who is totally inside the character of the Wolf Man. It is probably Chaney's best performance as beast, and he steals every scene he is in. As Talbot, he shows the horrible trauma of being an unwilling murderer, giving the character a greater presence that fills the screen with charm.
Bela Lugosi, as the creature, has more troubles to be satisfying, but it is important to note that most of his scenes were changed as the previous subplot of Ygor's brain was abandoned. Bad choice since the first scenes with the monster show him confused and blind without giving any explanation. The poor editing is responsible of Lugosi's apparent bad performance.
The rest of the cast is surprisingly good, with old friends like Lionel Atwill and Dwight Frye in small supporting roles. Beautiful Ilona Massey plays Elsa Frankenstein who in an odd change appears as a cold smart businesswoman vastly different from the character's traits in "Ghost of Frankenstein". Nevertheless, Massey plays the role with grace and her beauty shines in the screen.
Director Roy William Neill, known for his Sherlock Holmes movies, does a superior work than predecessor Erle C. Kenton and makes the most of his actors. Depsite the plot holes of the story and the awful changes the studio made to the original script, the movie flows with a good pace.
The whole atmosphere is an improvement that while it never reaches the levels of "Bride" or "Son", works very well and give the film a distinctive look.
Overall, a worthy addition to the Frankenstein saga, that even when it certainly could have been better, it is an enjoyable underrated movie. 7/10
Not one of Universal's best horror entries (it's not as good as its predecessor The Wolf Man, which is a very good film indeed), but it holds up well as a fun and charming film with a lot of atmosphere. It does end too abruptly for my tastes and Bela Lugosi looks very ill at ease, too sharp-featured and far from imposing as the Frankenstein monster. To be fair though to Lugosi it is not entirely his fault, as the character is poorly developed and written and you can actually tell that his screen time was intended to have been longer, hence why some of the story was in want of more explanation(the blindness was important and that was literally ignored). Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man is a very good-looking film, it's beautifully shot with eerie lighting and the sets give off a real Gothic horror atmosphere but look sumptuous at the same time. The music fits well, complimenting the thrills without sounding overbearing and stock. The script is very witty and cohesive with only with the monster where it felt incomplete, while the story is always compelling filled with entertainment and the scares positively thrill. Especially good is the opening sequence which is brilliant, so chilling and effectively atmospheric that you are excited to see what follows afterwards, to me it is one of the best openings to a Universal horror during this period and even after. The monster brawl is a lot of fun as well. Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man is skilfully directed throughout, is briskly paced, the characters are engaging without being fully dimensional and the acting is mostly solid apart from Lugosi. Illona Massey is a smouldering and unusually smart Elsa and Dwight Frye and Lionel Atwill provide entertaining support. Coming off best is Lon Chaney Jnr as Talbot aka The Wolf Man who's superb, goose bump-inducing but movingly sympathetic as well. His makeup is just as good as it was in The Wolf Man. Overall, fun, charming and atmospheric, not perfect by any stretch but well worth the watch and goes very well with The Wolf Man. 7/10 Bethany Cox
- TheLittleSongbird
- 21 dic 2014
- Permalink
A year after The Wolf Man became a huge success, Lon Chaney Jr played the part of Frankenstein in the latest sequel "Ghost of Frankenstein". He was excellent in the role, and from that you can clearly see where the inspiration came from to combine the two strands and have these characters meet each other. Incidentally, Chaney also played a vampire later that year in "Son of Dracula", even though he was completely unsuited to the part, but that makes him the only actor to play all three of Universal's main monsters. Oh, and he also played the Mummy in "The Mummy's Tomb".
Anyway, I digress ... here we have Curt Siodmak, writer of The Wolf Man, returning again as screenwriter. All of the ingredients are there for a great sequel. It opens in Larry Talbot's tomb, with two graverobbers breaking in and disturbing his resting place. The moonlight comes through the window and falls on Larry's corpse, waking him from his slumber as the wolf man. He then gets taken to a hospital where he is deemed insane due to his insistence that he's a werewolf, but promptly escapes in search of the gypsy woman from the original film. She takes him to Frankenstein's town in search of his scientific expertise, and there he encounters Frankenstein's monster encased in ice ... my memory is a little hazy, but wasn't he consumed in fire at the end of the last movie? Ah, well.
It should really have been called "The Wolf Man Meets Frankenstein", because Frankenstein here is only a fairly minor character in the story. Lon Chaney Jr delivers another great performance, at least as good as that in the first film if not better. Of course, he does only have to have one mood to convey here -- desperation. Bela Lugosi, much as I love him, is a terrible Frankenstein. He's the wrong size and shape, and he clearly has no respect for the role. Thank god he doesn't appear for that long. Although having said that, it does kind of make sense that he plays the monster, as the brain of his Igor character was placed in Frankenstein's head at the end of the previous movie. Not that they have much continuity other than that.
The script certainly has it's moments, and the atmosphere of the two worlds of the Wolf Man and Frankenstein blend together fairly well, but on the whole this film just doesn't have enough interesting ideas and far too many dull moments. The set pieces are decent enough, but certainly not as striking as those in the earlier Frankenstein movies. Also, there's a fair bit of decidedly wooden acting from certain cast members, but that's to be expected from most of Universal's horror films.
This sequel is entertaining enough, but it's not half as good as it could have been. It's worth watching if you liked the original.
Anyway, I digress ... here we have Curt Siodmak, writer of The Wolf Man, returning again as screenwriter. All of the ingredients are there for a great sequel. It opens in Larry Talbot's tomb, with two graverobbers breaking in and disturbing his resting place. The moonlight comes through the window and falls on Larry's corpse, waking him from his slumber as the wolf man. He then gets taken to a hospital where he is deemed insane due to his insistence that he's a werewolf, but promptly escapes in search of the gypsy woman from the original film. She takes him to Frankenstein's town in search of his scientific expertise, and there he encounters Frankenstein's monster encased in ice ... my memory is a little hazy, but wasn't he consumed in fire at the end of the last movie? Ah, well.
It should really have been called "The Wolf Man Meets Frankenstein", because Frankenstein here is only a fairly minor character in the story. Lon Chaney Jr delivers another great performance, at least as good as that in the first film if not better. Of course, he does only have to have one mood to convey here -- desperation. Bela Lugosi, much as I love him, is a terrible Frankenstein. He's the wrong size and shape, and he clearly has no respect for the role. Thank god he doesn't appear for that long. Although having said that, it does kind of make sense that he plays the monster, as the brain of his Igor character was placed in Frankenstein's head at the end of the previous movie. Not that they have much continuity other than that.
The script certainly has it's moments, and the atmosphere of the two worlds of the Wolf Man and Frankenstein blend together fairly well, but on the whole this film just doesn't have enough interesting ideas and far too many dull moments. The set pieces are decent enough, but certainly not as striking as those in the earlier Frankenstein movies. Also, there's a fair bit of decidedly wooden acting from certain cast members, but that's to be expected from most of Universal's horror films.
This sequel is entertaining enough, but it's not half as good as it could have been. It's worth watching if you liked the original.
- Teknofobe70
- 5 apr 2005
- Permalink
"Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man" (1943) is, in the opinion of this reviewer, the last of the really good Universal monster features. It is definitely not in the same league as the the early James Whale and Todd Browning classics (e.g., "Frankenstein," "The Bride of Frankenstein," "Dracula," "The Invisible Man," etc.). Nor is it quite as strong as "The Son of Frankenstein." But it easily rivals "The Ghost of Frankenstein" and far surpasses the two House Of films ("House of Frankenstein" and "House of Dracula"). Lon Chaney Jr. is even better in this film than he is in the original "Wolf Man" (1941). And Lugosi is an impressive Frankenstein's monster, despite the studio's decision to cut references from the film to his blindness (a condition suffered by the monster in "The Ghost of Frankenstein") and his dialogue (again, from acquiring the brain of Ygor in "Ghost"). The film is beautifully photographed, well acted and a unique departure from previous Universal monster fests in the way it teams up two legendary creatures. It's a splendid later entry in the Universal horror cycle. After this, the universal horror films left much to be desired, at least until the magnificent "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein" (1948). I still put "Frankenstein meets the Wolf Man" in the DVD player if I'm feeling like watching what in my opinion is the studio's finest wartime horror film.
- ANDREWEHUNT
- 28 dic 2004
- Permalink
In Llanwelly village, two grave robbers break in the crypt of Lawrence "Larry" Stewart Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) to steal his possessions. When they open the casket, they find the body covered with wolfbane and they are attacked by a creature. Soon Talbot awakes in Cardiff at the Queen's Hospital recovering from a surgery performed by Dr. Mannering (Patric Knowles) and Inspector Owen (Dennis Hoey) is ready to interrogate him about recent murders.
Talbot flees from the hospital and seeks out the gypsy Maleva (Maria Ouspenskaya), who knows that he is a werewolf, asking her to help him. Talbot wants to die and they travel to find Dr. Frankenstein. Talbot transforms into the werewolf and falls into the frozen catacombs of Dr. Frankenstein's castle. He finds the Monster (Bela Lugosi) frozen and he breaks the ice and release it. Soon Talbot discovers that Dr. Frankenstein is dead and he seeks out the daughter of Dr. Frankenstein, Baroness Elsa Frankenstein (Ilona Massey), expecting to borrow his journal that contains the secret of life and death. Meanwhile Dr. Mannering arrives in the village following the blood track left by the werewolf. When Elsa lends the diary of her father, Dr. Mannering prepares the equipment to drain power from Talbot to the Monster. But he becomes insane with the power on his hands and the experiment goes wrong.
"Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man" is a movie by Universal with a creepy beginning in the environment of the cemetery and a sensational transformation of Talbot into the werewolf in slow motion. The development of the plot is dramatic and funny, with the encounter of the Wolf Man with the Monster and Talbot wishing to die. Unfortunately the lame conclusion is terrible. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Frankenstein Encontra o Lobisomem" ("Frankenstein Meets the Werewolf")
Talbot flees from the hospital and seeks out the gypsy Maleva (Maria Ouspenskaya), who knows that he is a werewolf, asking her to help him. Talbot wants to die and they travel to find Dr. Frankenstein. Talbot transforms into the werewolf and falls into the frozen catacombs of Dr. Frankenstein's castle. He finds the Monster (Bela Lugosi) frozen and he breaks the ice and release it. Soon Talbot discovers that Dr. Frankenstein is dead and he seeks out the daughter of Dr. Frankenstein, Baroness Elsa Frankenstein (Ilona Massey), expecting to borrow his journal that contains the secret of life and death. Meanwhile Dr. Mannering arrives in the village following the blood track left by the werewolf. When Elsa lends the diary of her father, Dr. Mannering prepares the equipment to drain power from Talbot to the Monster. But he becomes insane with the power on his hands and the experiment goes wrong.
"Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man" is a movie by Universal with a creepy beginning in the environment of the cemetery and a sensational transformation of Talbot into the werewolf in slow motion. The development of the plot is dramatic and funny, with the encounter of the Wolf Man with the Monster and Talbot wishing to die. Unfortunately the lame conclusion is terrible. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Frankenstein Encontra o Lobisomem" ("Frankenstein Meets the Werewolf")
- claudio_carvalho
- 20 nov 2013
- Permalink
Poor Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) can't even get to rest in peace. As this movie opens, two grave robbers enter his crypt, searching for money and valuables. When Larry awakes, he's all too aware of the situation facing him, and he desperately wants to learn how he might be permanently laid to rest. He seeks out the gypsy woman Maleva (Maria Ouspenskaya), who gives him the name of Dr. Frankenstein. After some more digging, Larry learns that Dr. F is dead...but his Monster (Bela Lugosi) isn't.
A sequel to both "The Ghost of Frankenstein" and "The Wolf Man", this movie is good fun for any devotee of this era of Universal horror. It's not as thickly atmospheric as their best works, but Curt Siodmaks' screenplay is good. The story is a believable enough extension of the preceding movies, and the creation of Old World flavour by producer George Waggner (director of "The Wolf Man") and director Roy William Neill is impressive. The opening sequence is spooky and well executed, nicely setting up the action that follows.
Chaney Jr. again earns our sympathies as the bedevilled Larry. You wonder if he'll ever catch a break. Ilona Massey has an appropriately aloof and aristocratic air about her as Frankensteins' daughter Elsa. Knowles is very fine in support, as is Lionel Atwill as a solicitous mayor, Dennis Hoey as a police inspector, and Rex Evans and Dwight Frye as villagers. It sure is nice seeing Maleva again, and Ouspenskaya is appealing in her performance as Maleva earnestly tries to assist Larry. Lugosi shambles adequately, but he leaves little to no impression as the Monster.
The title fight between the iconic creatures is a long time coming, and is over fairly quickly, but it's still entertaining when it happens.
Seven out of 10.
A sequel to both "The Ghost of Frankenstein" and "The Wolf Man", this movie is good fun for any devotee of this era of Universal horror. It's not as thickly atmospheric as their best works, but Curt Siodmaks' screenplay is good. The story is a believable enough extension of the preceding movies, and the creation of Old World flavour by producer George Waggner (director of "The Wolf Man") and director Roy William Neill is impressive. The opening sequence is spooky and well executed, nicely setting up the action that follows.
Chaney Jr. again earns our sympathies as the bedevilled Larry. You wonder if he'll ever catch a break. Ilona Massey has an appropriately aloof and aristocratic air about her as Frankensteins' daughter Elsa. Knowles is very fine in support, as is Lionel Atwill as a solicitous mayor, Dennis Hoey as a police inspector, and Rex Evans and Dwight Frye as villagers. It sure is nice seeing Maleva again, and Ouspenskaya is appealing in her performance as Maleva earnestly tries to assist Larry. Lugosi shambles adequately, but he leaves little to no impression as the Monster.
The title fight between the iconic creatures is a long time coming, and is over fairly quickly, but it's still entertaining when it happens.
Seven out of 10.
- Hey_Sweden
- 20 ott 2015
- Permalink
It's almost hysterical that this movie's existence is a result of a joke made by Curt Siodmak (screen writer for 'The Wolf Man') to George Waggner (producer/director to 'The Wolf Man') as George was passing by Curt's luncheon table at Universal Studios. To impress actress Yvonne DeCarlo (future Mrs. Munster 'Lilly' of the 'The 'Munsters' TV show; 1965 -67?) and actress Mary MacDonald; Curt blurted out "George...why don't we make a picture 'Frankenstein Wolfs the Meat Man'...I mean 'Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man'?"
The rest is history! And a major 'B' level classic.
One of the first sequels (is it the 1st??) to continue two separate movies into one ('The Wolf Man'[1941] & 'The Ghost of Frankenstein'[1942]).
Lon Chaney Jr is the real star of this movie, in spite of his 'and...' billing in the opening credits (same as in 'Wolf Man'). He's excellent in continuing his character's pathos in his never ending search to end his torment. And for the first time (unlike 'The Wolf Man') Talbot's face metamorphosis' on screen into the Wolf Man.
Bela Lugosi, at 60 years old, as the Monster!! A necessary continuity in wake of 'Ghost of...'!! but it's sad, partly because of the decision to erase the 'Monster's' dialogue. Partly because many movie-goers wouldn't accept a Hungarian accent coming from the Monster/Ygor that, structure wise, made sense, but in execution, provoked unintentional laughter. (TRIVIA: the first look at the 'Frankenstein Monster' is stuntman Eddie Parker enclosed in the wall of ice where 'Talbot' discovers the Monster.) It's more pity that is directed toward Lugosi's performance, than criticism, when you realize that Bela did all he could to do to meet the demands of the role (he eventually collapsed toward the end of filming). And a fact that Lugosi played the Monster's character as blind as a result of a wrong blood type transfusion from the previous 'Frankenstein' entry.
Atmospheric and Fun! Director Roy William Neil's best film(?) {He directed the last eleven 'Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce's Sherlock Holmes' films). And some very nice set-pieces: including the defiling of Talbot's grave, the Wolf man's first (& second) prowl, Chaney's reaction to his 4 year lapse, reuniting with Meleva the Gypsy, the Frankenstein Castle and discovering the Monster, the village festival of new wine... and the final battle between...!!!!
Good double feature to 'The Wolf Man'!! So many great scenes that adds to the now on-going Frankenstein/Wolf Man story line from the 1940's. After this, Dracula flies in to join the next installment in 'House of Frankenstein'.
7 out of 10! One of my favorite all time horror films!!
The rest is history! And a major 'B' level classic.
One of the first sequels (is it the 1st??) to continue two separate movies into one ('The Wolf Man'[1941] & 'The Ghost of Frankenstein'[1942]).
Lon Chaney Jr is the real star of this movie, in spite of his 'and...' billing in the opening credits (same as in 'Wolf Man'). He's excellent in continuing his character's pathos in his never ending search to end his torment. And for the first time (unlike 'The Wolf Man') Talbot's face metamorphosis' on screen into the Wolf Man.
Bela Lugosi, at 60 years old, as the Monster!! A necessary continuity in wake of 'Ghost of...'!! but it's sad, partly because of the decision to erase the 'Monster's' dialogue. Partly because many movie-goers wouldn't accept a Hungarian accent coming from the Monster/Ygor that, structure wise, made sense, but in execution, provoked unintentional laughter. (TRIVIA: the first look at the 'Frankenstein Monster' is stuntman Eddie Parker enclosed in the wall of ice where 'Talbot' discovers the Monster.) It's more pity that is directed toward Lugosi's performance, than criticism, when you realize that Bela did all he could to do to meet the demands of the role (he eventually collapsed toward the end of filming). And a fact that Lugosi played the Monster's character as blind as a result of a wrong blood type transfusion from the previous 'Frankenstein' entry.
Atmospheric and Fun! Director Roy William Neil's best film(?) {He directed the last eleven 'Basil Rathbone/Nigel Bruce's Sherlock Holmes' films). And some very nice set-pieces: including the defiling of Talbot's grave, the Wolf man's first (& second) prowl, Chaney's reaction to his 4 year lapse, reuniting with Meleva the Gypsy, the Frankenstein Castle and discovering the Monster, the village festival of new wine... and the final battle between...!!!!
Good double feature to 'The Wolf Man'!! So many great scenes that adds to the now on-going Frankenstein/Wolf Man story line from the 1940's. After this, Dracula flies in to join the next installment in 'House of Frankenstein'.
7 out of 10! One of my favorite all time horror films!!
- classicsoncall
- 12 ott 2016
- Permalink
One must pity the Wolf Man. Marked not only with the pentagram, but marked to never have a sequel that was all his own. A real shame, considering that even the likes of the Mummy got 'four' sequels. Universal begins their monster-mash rallies of the 1940s here, as Wolfie must share his sandbox with the "undying monster" & the two get along well for the most part, but eventually, even the best of friends will have their disputes....
The film begins on a very high note, with one of the most chilling and atmospheric openings in any horror movie. The potential was certainly here for a great 'Wolf Man' sequel that could've surpassed the original. Too bad the monster has to rear his ugly, stitched up head.
Speaking of that monster, "Poor Bela" always get the blame dumped on him for why this film had to be chopped up in post-production, the story always being that the monster with his voice was simply too "Hungarian funny", yet this film was produced by the same Universal that a year earlier made "Ghost of Frankenstein" which featured the monster with Bela's voice. It didn't bother anyone then, so what was the problem now? There has to be more to the story than "it was all Lugosi's fault". Would it be considered out of the realm of possibility to speculate that perhaps the great Curt Siodmak (the screenwriter) wrote some seriously crappy dialogue for the creature to recite that would've produced titters no matter who spoke it?
Also marring the proceedings a bit is some shaky continuity in regards to the monster's portion of the story if you're familiar with the previous 'Ghost' movie. How is it, that there's suddenly a Frankenstein castle in Vasaria (or is it Vi·Saria), when in the previous film, the villagers in the town called "Frankenstein" blew it up. And there are many instances where the screenwriter doesn't seem to know the difference between Ludwig Frankenstein & his father Henry who made the monster, as Talbot, the villagers, even Baroness Frankenstein speak as if Ludwig actually created the monster.
And yet, in spite of its inconsistencies (not to mention the heavy editing done to it), the whole of 'FMTWM' still turns out very good, and the ending clash of the monsters is very entertaining. While Frankenstein fans may be disappointed, this picture definitely works as a great 'Wolf Man' sequel & one of the top Universal romps from the 1940s. After this picture, Dracula and a few other fiends would get invited to the monster party.
8/10
The film begins on a very high note, with one of the most chilling and atmospheric openings in any horror movie. The potential was certainly here for a great 'Wolf Man' sequel that could've surpassed the original. Too bad the monster has to rear his ugly, stitched up head.
Speaking of that monster, "Poor Bela" always get the blame dumped on him for why this film had to be chopped up in post-production, the story always being that the monster with his voice was simply too "Hungarian funny", yet this film was produced by the same Universal that a year earlier made "Ghost of Frankenstein" which featured the monster with Bela's voice. It didn't bother anyone then, so what was the problem now? There has to be more to the story than "it was all Lugosi's fault". Would it be considered out of the realm of possibility to speculate that perhaps the great Curt Siodmak (the screenwriter) wrote some seriously crappy dialogue for the creature to recite that would've produced titters no matter who spoke it?
Also marring the proceedings a bit is some shaky continuity in regards to the monster's portion of the story if you're familiar with the previous 'Ghost' movie. How is it, that there's suddenly a Frankenstein castle in Vasaria (or is it Vi·Saria), when in the previous film, the villagers in the town called "Frankenstein" blew it up. And there are many instances where the screenwriter doesn't seem to know the difference between Ludwig Frankenstein & his father Henry who made the monster, as Talbot, the villagers, even Baroness Frankenstein speak as if Ludwig actually created the monster.
And yet, in spite of its inconsistencies (not to mention the heavy editing done to it), the whole of 'FMTWM' still turns out very good, and the ending clash of the monsters is very entertaining. While Frankenstein fans may be disappointed, this picture definitely works as a great 'Wolf Man' sequel & one of the top Universal romps from the 1940s. After this picture, Dracula and a few other fiends would get invited to the monster party.
8/10
- simeon_flake
- 7 feb 2005
- Permalink
In the early 1940s, Universal found that interest in their horror films was declining. At the time there were far worse horrors going on in the real world. In an effort to re-kindle fan interest the studio decided to feature two of their monsters in the same film.
The result was "Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman" which was a sequel to both "The Wolfman" (1941) and "The Ghost of Frankenstein" (1942). Lon Chaney Jr. repeated his role as the werewolf and Bela Lugosi played the Frankenstein monster.
The film opens with a chilling graveyard sequence where two grave robbers break into the Talbot crypt in order to rob the grave of Lawrence Talbot (Chaney). Talbot "awakens" , murders one of the grave robbers and escapes into the night. He is found unconscious in a town several miles away and is taken to the local hospital where he is treated by Dr. Frank Mannering (Patric Knowles) while Police Inspector Owen (Dennis Hoey) checks out his story.
Talbot becomes a werewolf that night and murders a policeman. Unable to convince the doctor and the police that he is a murderer he escapes from the hospital and seeks out the old gypsy woman Maleva (Maria Ouspensskaya) whose werewolf son had put the curse on Talbot in the first film. Unable to help him herself, she takes him to the village of Vasaria in search of Dr. Frankenstein whom they hope will be able to help Talbot.
They discover that Dr. Frankenstein had perished in a fire in his laboratory. Talbot then goes to the ruins in search of Frankenstein's notes. What he finds in an icy cave below is the monster (Lugosi) frozen in the ice. Talbot frees the monster hoping that he will know where to find his creator's notes.
Talbot learns that Frankenstein had a daughter Elsa (Ilona Massey) whom he contacts to see if she knows where the notes are. At the local wine festival later on, Dr. Mannering finds Talbot and the Baroness Elsa. As they are talking, the monster wonders into the crowd but Talbot helps him escape. Mannering is curious, so he and the Baroness go to the castle. The Baroness finds the notes and Mannering decides that he must destroy the monster and help Talbot. He repairs Frankenstein's equipment but decides instead to restore the monster to his full strength and.......
Bela Lugosi had been offered the part of the monster in the original 1931 film but turned it down. After 12 years he finally got to play the monster but played him only as a grunting killer with no sympathetic qualities. It's really Chaney's film and he gives an excellent performance as the doomed Talbot. Knowles makes a clean cut mad doctor and the fetching Massey has little to do but look beautiful as the Baroness. Lionel Atwill appears as the Mayor of Vasaria and Dwight Frye as Rudi, a villager. Director Roy William Neill also directed many of Universal's Sherlock Holmes films and Dennis Hoey also appeared in that series as Inspector Lestrade.
Followed by "House of Frankenstein" (1944) and "House of Dracula" (1945) two similar films but with Dracula added to the mix.
The result was "Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman" which was a sequel to both "The Wolfman" (1941) and "The Ghost of Frankenstein" (1942). Lon Chaney Jr. repeated his role as the werewolf and Bela Lugosi played the Frankenstein monster.
The film opens with a chilling graveyard sequence where two grave robbers break into the Talbot crypt in order to rob the grave of Lawrence Talbot (Chaney). Talbot "awakens" , murders one of the grave robbers and escapes into the night. He is found unconscious in a town several miles away and is taken to the local hospital where he is treated by Dr. Frank Mannering (Patric Knowles) while Police Inspector Owen (Dennis Hoey) checks out his story.
Talbot becomes a werewolf that night and murders a policeman. Unable to convince the doctor and the police that he is a murderer he escapes from the hospital and seeks out the old gypsy woman Maleva (Maria Ouspensskaya) whose werewolf son had put the curse on Talbot in the first film. Unable to help him herself, she takes him to the village of Vasaria in search of Dr. Frankenstein whom they hope will be able to help Talbot.
They discover that Dr. Frankenstein had perished in a fire in his laboratory. Talbot then goes to the ruins in search of Frankenstein's notes. What he finds in an icy cave below is the monster (Lugosi) frozen in the ice. Talbot frees the monster hoping that he will know where to find his creator's notes.
Talbot learns that Frankenstein had a daughter Elsa (Ilona Massey) whom he contacts to see if she knows where the notes are. At the local wine festival later on, Dr. Mannering finds Talbot and the Baroness Elsa. As they are talking, the monster wonders into the crowd but Talbot helps him escape. Mannering is curious, so he and the Baroness go to the castle. The Baroness finds the notes and Mannering decides that he must destroy the monster and help Talbot. He repairs Frankenstein's equipment but decides instead to restore the monster to his full strength and.......
Bela Lugosi had been offered the part of the monster in the original 1931 film but turned it down. After 12 years he finally got to play the monster but played him only as a grunting killer with no sympathetic qualities. It's really Chaney's film and he gives an excellent performance as the doomed Talbot. Knowles makes a clean cut mad doctor and the fetching Massey has little to do but look beautiful as the Baroness. Lionel Atwill appears as the Mayor of Vasaria and Dwight Frye as Rudi, a villager. Director Roy William Neill also directed many of Universal's Sherlock Holmes films and Dennis Hoey also appeared in that series as Inspector Lestrade.
Followed by "House of Frankenstein" (1944) and "House of Dracula" (1945) two similar films but with Dracula added to the mix.
- bsmith5552
- 21 mag 2004
- Permalink
When grave robbers break into Larry Talbot's family crypt and demolish his final resting place, the Wolf Man is inexplicably resurrected and once again doomed to go on a violent killing spree whenever the moon is full. Larry realizes the horror he causes and wants to die, but there's no one who can help him. Personally, I would consider shooting myself through the head using a silver bullet, but that doesn't really deliver a worthwhile and long enough film, so the uncanny gypsy woman of the original advises him to travel across Europe and search for the notorious Dr. Frankenstein who holds in his knowledge the secret of life and death. By the time they arrive in Vasaria, the Baron already got lynched by an angry mob of villagers and only his monstrous creation still dwells around in the ruins of Castle Frankenstein. "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man" is a classic Universal horror production starring some of my all-time favorite actors and, even though I can't bring myself to speak overly negative about it, it's a truly silly and redundant accomplishment. Those who are expecting to see a ancient predecessor of, say, "Freddy vs. Jason" will be sorely disappointed as the two legendary monsters don't fight each other except maybe briefly near the end -, they just MEET like the title implies. Hence what this film is lacking is a truly evil character! Whenever the werewolf devours a new victim, he spends the next fifteen minutes whining about how sorry he is (which kind of spoils the fun of it) and Frankenstein's monster is even more pathetic as he just stumbles across the little town for no apparent reason. Larry Talbot's dedicated doctor seems to reincarnate as Baron Frankenstein for a moment, worshiping his experiments and being reluctant to destroy his creation, but this sub plot doesn't really go anywhere as it's interfered with an incredibly implausible love story. But the saddest and most painful establishment of them all is to witness how aimlessly Bela Lugosi walks around in this film... Boris Karloff wisely decided to stop associating his charisma with that of the monster after "Son of Frankenstein" in 1939 and Lugosi inherited a nearly washed up character that didn't petrify anyone anymore. Bela, once a highly respected and acclaimed horror icon, stood at the beginning of his career's downfall here and his further life story is one of the saddest ones in history. And yet, as stated before, I really can't be TOO harsh on this little film! Lon Chaney Jr tries really hard to provide his wolf man character with depth and emotion, Roy William Neill's direction is professional & fast-paced and several sequences are beautifully filmed. The werewolf's make-up effects have also seemly improved and the transformation scenes are the only times when the film is still a little creepy. I guess the most essential message this production communicates is that cinematic greed and exploitation are of all times! People are nowadays complaining about the overload of needless sequels, rip-offs and remakes of inventive horror films, but "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man" proves that this certainly isn't a new trend.
- Prichards12345
- 3 feb 2011
- Permalink
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man may not be the most interesting film that Universal studios made in their horror golden era, but it's worth noting for the fact that it was the first of their films to merge the studio's popular horror characters into one film. There's no Dracula here, and it's actually the least famous of the three major players, the Wolfman, that takes the centre stage. Naturally, Lon Chaney Jr. has returned to play the doomed unfortunate with the curse, and as ever; his performance is good, but not to the same extent that it was in the original Wolfman film. The film was released during the Second World War, and must have been intended as something fun to take people's mind off more important issues; and it at least succeeds on that front. The plot is rather silly, and sees Lawrence Talbot (a.k.a. The Wolfman) being awakened by grave robbers. He doesn't like the fact that he's immortal and feels the need to kill people, so he sets out to find Dr Frankenstein for help. However, the doctor is dead; and Talbot finds only a relative of Frankenstein's, and the Monster...
It has to be said that there's a bit too much going on in this film, and the hour runtime isn't enough to cover it all. Aside from the main plot revolving around the Wolfman and his discovery of Frankenstein's Monster, we've also got threads involving Frankenstein's relatives, a gypsy woman, Talbot's own personal battle and the common angry/frightened villagers theme that Universal horror does so well. Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman is never boring, but if the plot line could have been streamlined; the film would have worked better. The film features the only performance from Bela Lugosi as the Monster. Lugosi was, apparently, offered the role of the Monster in James Whale's original film; and I'm glad he didn't take it, as he doesn't bring the same feel to the role as Karloff ended up doing. Series regular Lionel Atwill also makes an appearance, and I was pleased to see Dennis Hoey in the film; an actor most recognised for his performances as the inept Inspector Lestrade in Universal's Sherlock Holmes films. Overall, I have to say that I preferred the later films, House of Frankenstein and House of Dracula; but this one is still worth seeing.
It has to be said that there's a bit too much going on in this film, and the hour runtime isn't enough to cover it all. Aside from the main plot revolving around the Wolfman and his discovery of Frankenstein's Monster, we've also got threads involving Frankenstein's relatives, a gypsy woman, Talbot's own personal battle and the common angry/frightened villagers theme that Universal horror does so well. Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman is never boring, but if the plot line could have been streamlined; the film would have worked better. The film features the only performance from Bela Lugosi as the Monster. Lugosi was, apparently, offered the role of the Monster in James Whale's original film; and I'm glad he didn't take it, as he doesn't bring the same feel to the role as Karloff ended up doing. Series regular Lionel Atwill also makes an appearance, and I was pleased to see Dennis Hoey in the film; an actor most recognised for his performances as the inept Inspector Lestrade in Universal's Sherlock Holmes films. Overall, I have to say that I preferred the later films, House of Frankenstein and House of Dracula; but this one is still worth seeing.
Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr) chips Frankenstein's monster (Bela Lugosi) out of a block of ice. When Talbot changes to the Wolf Man, the two creatures do battle.
First of all, the title is more than a little misleading. It seems to imply this is a Frankenstein story with the Wolf Man thrown in. On the contrary, it is almost exclusively a story about the Wolf Man, with a few minutes of Frankenstein's monster and a story arc with the doctor's daughter (played excellently by Ilona Massey).
As for being the further adventures of Talbot, it is okay and the script from Curt Siodmak is relatively well-written, with direction from Roy William Neill being quite good. But it goes downhill once Lugosi arrives, with his Frankenstein paling in comparison to the work of Boris Karloff. (Much of this, particularly Lugosi's wild gestures, can be explained by the monster's blindness, but this is not obvious to the audience and Lugosi's face is just not right in the way Karloff -- or even Glenn Strange -- was.)
First of all, the title is more than a little misleading. It seems to imply this is a Frankenstein story with the Wolf Man thrown in. On the contrary, it is almost exclusively a story about the Wolf Man, with a few minutes of Frankenstein's monster and a story arc with the doctor's daughter (played excellently by Ilona Massey).
As for being the further adventures of Talbot, it is okay and the script from Curt Siodmak is relatively well-written, with direction from Roy William Neill being quite good. But it goes downhill once Lugosi arrives, with his Frankenstein paling in comparison to the work of Boris Karloff. (Much of this, particularly Lugosi's wild gestures, can be explained by the monster's blindness, but this is not obvious to the audience and Lugosi's face is just not right in the way Karloff -- or even Glenn Strange -- was.)
Poor Bela Lugosi. After achieving big-screen stardom in 1931's "Dracula," he turned down the role of the Monster in "Frankenstein," calling the inaudible creature a part for an "idiot" or a "tall extra" (according to William Gregory Manks' fine book on the Frankenstein series, "It's Alive"). As a result, a bit player named Boris Karloff accepted the part and became the cinema's number one boogieman, far eclipsing the proud Hungarian actor who would soon be reduced to supporting roles, often second-billed to the lisping Englishman he is often said to have envied and despised. For Lugosi, "Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman" may have been more traumatic and embarrassing than the Ed Wood films he would soon be reduced to appearing in, because here the rarely employed actor was cast in the very role he so proudly declined, the role that helped put his more successful rival on the map.
As the Monster, Lugosi is pretty terrible but his ineffective performance was made worse in the editing room where his dialogue was cut out after it was decided that the Monster should not have an Hungarian accent. Yet Lugosi's lips move and he flails his arms about as if he were speaking. It's a rather sad footnote to what is an enjoyable horror yarn, albeit one that was perhaps the first step in turning Universal's classic horror characters into a joke, ones that would soon have no choice but to meet Abbott and Costello. What really makes this one memorable is the atmosphere provided by the great and unheralded Roy William Neill, then taking a break from the studio's Sherlock Holmes series. This film has a wonderful look that helps make it the best of the later Frankenstein films produced by the studio (although everything after 1939's "Son of Frankenstein" represented a steady and steep decline for the series).
As the Monster, Lugosi is pretty terrible but his ineffective performance was made worse in the editing room where his dialogue was cut out after it was decided that the Monster should not have an Hungarian accent. Yet Lugosi's lips move and he flails his arms about as if he were speaking. It's a rather sad footnote to what is an enjoyable horror yarn, albeit one that was perhaps the first step in turning Universal's classic horror characters into a joke, ones that would soon have no choice but to meet Abbott and Costello. What really makes this one memorable is the atmosphere provided by the great and unheralded Roy William Neill, then taking a break from the studio's Sherlock Holmes series. This film has a wonderful look that helps make it the best of the later Frankenstein films produced by the studio (although everything after 1939's "Son of Frankenstein" represented a steady and steep decline for the series).
I confess that I had low expectations when I watched this. Sequels generally don't blow me away to begin with, and my guess was that Universal Pictures was going a bit over the top in trying to milk the "monster cow" by putting these two together. I suppose that one of the great benefits of low expectations, however, is that you stand a chance of being pleasantly surprised, and I was. This was actually a pretty good movie, which has a decent, if far fetched, story line (of course it is about a werewolf and Frankenstein's monster, so far-fetched was inevitable) and it moves along at a very good pace, since there's really no need for significant character development.
Lon Chaney reprised his role as Larry Talbot here, the unfortunate man bitten by a werewolf, who was killed at the end of "The Wolf Man." In this movie, grave robbers open his casket, but unfortunately they do it during a full moon, which somehow brings him back to life. This movie introduces the significance of the full moon (as I recall in the original, it was an autumn moon that was significant.) Chaney is more heavily made up in this one, and after some unfortunate incidents in Wales, he leaves for Europe to try to find the Gypsy woman Maleva (Maria Oustenskaya) from the first movie, who he believes can help him. Instead, she directs him to Dr. Frankenstein. Unfortunately, he's dead, but his monster (played here by Bela Lugosi instead of Boris Karloff) isn't, and the movie eventually leads up to a confrontation between the monster and the werewolf - and the monster seems to get the best of the fight actually! The supporting cast in this includes Patrick Knowles as Dr. Mannering, the doctor who first treats Talbot in Wales and then finally searches him out in Europe - and who essentially is the Dr. Frankenstein of this movie. Introduced to Frankenstein's experiments, he also becomes obsessed with them which leads to the clash between the creatures. Ilona Massey played Baroness Frankenstein, the late doctor's daughter. It's pretty good, and the story works far better than I thought it would, although I thought Baroness Frankenstein was received far too civilly by the villagers who hated her father. The musical scene at the village festival also seemed out of place to me. The ending seemed unsatisfying, as well. Without giving too much away, I find it hard to believe that either creature was killed by what happened at the end, given that neither seemed able to be killed! Still, it's enjoyable, and a good job of blending two otherwise unrelated horror stories. 7/10
Lon Chaney reprised his role as Larry Talbot here, the unfortunate man bitten by a werewolf, who was killed at the end of "The Wolf Man." In this movie, grave robbers open his casket, but unfortunately they do it during a full moon, which somehow brings him back to life. This movie introduces the significance of the full moon (as I recall in the original, it was an autumn moon that was significant.) Chaney is more heavily made up in this one, and after some unfortunate incidents in Wales, he leaves for Europe to try to find the Gypsy woman Maleva (Maria Oustenskaya) from the first movie, who he believes can help him. Instead, she directs him to Dr. Frankenstein. Unfortunately, he's dead, but his monster (played here by Bela Lugosi instead of Boris Karloff) isn't, and the movie eventually leads up to a confrontation between the monster and the werewolf - and the monster seems to get the best of the fight actually! The supporting cast in this includes Patrick Knowles as Dr. Mannering, the doctor who first treats Talbot in Wales and then finally searches him out in Europe - and who essentially is the Dr. Frankenstein of this movie. Introduced to Frankenstein's experiments, he also becomes obsessed with them which leads to the clash between the creatures. Ilona Massey played Baroness Frankenstein, the late doctor's daughter. It's pretty good, and the story works far better than I thought it would, although I thought Baroness Frankenstein was received far too civilly by the villagers who hated her father. The musical scene at the village festival also seemed out of place to me. The ending seemed unsatisfying, as well. Without giving too much away, I find it hard to believe that either creature was killed by what happened at the end, given that neither seemed able to be killed! Still, it's enjoyable, and a good job of blending two otherwise unrelated horror stories. 7/10
Actually surprisingly good, considering that this movie and the previous Frankenstein Monster film (The Ghost of Frankenstein) don't really tie together. (Up until this movie they had done a pretty good job of doing that.) I love the village of Vasaria. All the villagers (who were probably supposed to have lived there their entire lives) have assorted accents. ALso because the background villagers dress in a Tyrolean style while the main characters dress in modern clothes. Lon Chaney's performance as the Wolf Man is actually better than it was in the first film because Larry Talbot has become more tortured as a result of his werewolf-ism.The actress that plays Frankenstein's daughter isn't that good at all. Overall, this is an entertaining entry in the Frankenstein series.
- Theo Robertson
- 17 gen 2010
- Permalink
- planktonrules
- 29 mar 2006
- Permalink
- TheRedDeath30
- 15 ago 2014
- Permalink
In order to subside a new car Curt Siodmak put the idea to his employers at Universal Studios to capitalise on two of their top earners by combining them in one film entrusted to the dependable Roy William Neill (who brought along Lestrade from his Sherlock Holmes films) with a title frequently copied thereafter by fly-by-night producers.
Lon Chaney built upon his new-found fame as Lawrence Talbot while Bela Lugosi (who originally found the original Frankenstein makeup too onerous to bother with but by this time unable to afford to be so choosy) bequeaths posterity a unique record of him as Frankenstein's monster.
Dwight Frye and Lionel Atwill both make welcome returns while the film's biggest mystery is how Colin Clive managed to sire a daughter who looked and sounded like Ilona Massey.
Lon Chaney built upon his new-found fame as Lawrence Talbot while Bela Lugosi (who originally found the original Frankenstein makeup too onerous to bother with but by this time unable to afford to be so choosy) bequeaths posterity a unique record of him as Frankenstein's monster.
Dwight Frye and Lionel Atwill both make welcome returns while the film's biggest mystery is how Colin Clive managed to sire a daughter who looked and sounded like Ilona Massey.
- richardchatten
- 15 lug 2023
- Permalink
In the film's finale, two photogenic people flee to safety, apparently leaving behind a helpful older Gypsy (Maria Ouspenskaya). I guess it was two awkward to have three escape. The music is the best thing in these Universal classics, composed by mostly European talents, catchy, thrilling scores that greatly move the action. The title could refer to Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney) seeking the chic Baroness Franklenstein (top-billed Ilona Massey) to assist in his peaceful death, rather than his encounter with the Monster (inadequately played by the smallish, round-faced Bela Lugosi). Supporting cast includes the dependable Patric Knowles, Lionel Atwill, Dwight Frye. The sets and photography are top-notch, as usual, and there's a nice musical interlude of "The New Wine Festival" that ends in chaos. It's no surprise these charming, timeless pictures are constantly re-shown on cable and released to glorious DVD.