For all its flaws, "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man" is an interesting landmark in filmic shared universes, which has become all the more fascinating today with the popularity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the DC Extended Universe and the currently floundering Dark Universe, a reboot of the monster rally movies that began here. Plus, it's a rather fun flick on its own terms, especially if you've seen "The Wolf Man" (1941), for which this is a decent sequel, and the four 1931-1942 Frankenstein films, for which this is a frustrating and relatively inconsistent continuation of "The Ghost of Frankenstein" (1942).
That it's more faithful to "The Wolf Man" isn't surprising given that the same writer, Curt Siodmak, penned both films. On the other hand, he had no prior involvement with the Frankenstein series, which may explain how this film is so much different than "The Ghost of Frankenstein," even though it was released only the previous year. Although inconsistent in the particulars of continuation of the series, Siodmak and company were true to many of the themes of those films, and they even altered some of the tropes of Frankenstein films to repurpose them for the Wolf Man, which, in turn, is cleverly rather faithful to Universal's werewolf pictures, as well. That's because both the prior "Werewolf of London" (1935) and "The Wolf Man" borrowed heavily from other monster movies and their Gothic horror novel sources. Both, but especially the 1935 one, were reworkings of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," with a man who loses control to transforming into his heinous dopplegänger. The 1941 film altered this further by making the werewolf a supernatural and mythological figure like Dracula, and they even cast Dracula himself, Bela Lugosi, in the role of the first werewolf who bites and turns Larry Talbot. Gypsies, who were important in Bram Stoker's novel, also became central to Universal's werewolf.
Now, with the werewolf meeting the Frankenstein creature, there's a shift back towards the science, but electricity rather than the magical potions and antidotes of "Jekyll and Hyde" and "Werewolf of London," although there's still the mad doctor, the cautionary tale of the dangers of science and Gothic dopplegängers. Moreover, electricity is even more central than in prior Frankenstein films, which also contained notions of cosmic rays, sulfur pits and the notion that to destroy the monster required dissection. The electric part also tended to rely on a lightning bolt or other unrevealed sources powering the usual flashing gizmos, which we again see here. In this film, however, the laboratory's source of power is from a dam and its stream that powers the turbines.
None of this was in "The Ghost of Frankenstein," which considered dissection and brain transplants to destroy the monster and which is completely contrary to the same doctor's notes regarding energy and poles in this one. Furthermore, that doctor's burned-down house occupying flat land is turned into a castle in ruins on a hill here, which is more like that of "Son of Frankenstein" (1939). That house, however, did contain many secret rooms and hiding places, as does this castle, including a secret hiding spot within a secret hiding spot. How the castle and monster are frozen within the castle when there's no such wintry signs in the rest of the town remains inexplicable. Additionally, the ancillary character carried over from "The Ghost of Frankenstein," the daughter Elsa Frankenstein, is played by a different actress with a different accent (sound familiar, Rachel Dawes (The Dark Knight trilogy), Bruce Banner, Rhodey (both MCU)?). Actors who were in both films, like Lionel Atwill and Lugosi, play different roles, the former now the mayor instead of a doctor, and Lugosi, whose Ygor had his brain transplanted into the creature, now inhabits him bodily, as well--a role that was played by Lon Chaney Jr., who's also the Wolf Man. Meanwhile, Elsa's lover, Erik, from "The Ghost of Frankenstein," is dropped like MCU's Betty Ross and Jane Foster.
More consistently, Maria Ouspenskaya returns from "The Wolf Man" as Maleva, the old Gypsy woman, and she's quite impressive and sympathetic in this one, including her suffering a series of discriminations from the townsfolk (being arrested and ridiculed as a "beggar," "your kind" and a "witch") as she looks after Larry, as though he were her own son--the role Lugosi played in "The Wolf Man." Her presence, as much as Chaney's, provides a firm continuation within this sequel. To a lesser extent, I think Lugosi fits that role, too, although his performance as the creature is mostly farcical, including walking like he's blind (which he was in the prior film), with outstretched arms, but also inconsistently moving about as though he can see at other times, such as when he leads Larry to Frankenstein's notes. To be fair, though, both Boris Karloff and Chaney's mute monsters were out-shined by Lugosi's Ygor in the last two Frankenstein films, and the character would never again be what he was for Universal in the 1931 and 1935 entries. Plus, I like how Bela's eyes light up and a smirk emerges on his face as he's given more power in the finale.
Universes colliding, the picture begins like the 1931 "Frankenstein" with grave-robbers reanimating a corpse, but this time it's the inadvertent raising of the dead Wolf Man (by the full moon, of course). Later, a scene of a man carrying a dead young girl through the centre of town also recalls the 1931 original, but, again, this also is turned into an episode involving the werewolf. An angry mob, another hallmark of the Frankenstein series, soon forms, and the electric climax also has Larry hooked up on a table like his double, the creature. (This adoption of the style of another series in the shared universe reminds me of how the MCU adapted that of "The Guardians of the Galaxy" films, stylized to popular music, to enliven "Thor: Ragnarok" (2017), among other cross-series fertilizations.)
Indeed, this early experiment in a cinematic shared universe has its faults. All of Europe seems to speak English, which wasn't a problem when the series were separate, but becomes unrealistic when combined. I'm not sure how the Inspector (a carryover from the director's Sherlock Holmes films, it seems) knows to ask about the old Gypsy woman. And there's the commonly poor rear-projection shots. Regardless, this monster rally is a pleasure to view, and for all of its B-picture aesthetics, it also includes some nice filmmaking. The scene of the monster interrupting the festival and terrorizing the townsfolk is a highlight, including a nice moving camera shot that begins on Larry in a foreground close-up, moves up and racks focus, to reveal Frankenstein's monster in the background.
That it's more faithful to "The Wolf Man" isn't surprising given that the same writer, Curt Siodmak, penned both films. On the other hand, he had no prior involvement with the Frankenstein series, which may explain how this film is so much different than "The Ghost of Frankenstein," even though it was released only the previous year. Although inconsistent in the particulars of continuation of the series, Siodmak and company were true to many of the themes of those films, and they even altered some of the tropes of Frankenstein films to repurpose them for the Wolf Man, which, in turn, is cleverly rather faithful to Universal's werewolf pictures, as well. That's because both the prior "Werewolf of London" (1935) and "The Wolf Man" borrowed heavily from other monster movies and their Gothic horror novel sources. Both, but especially the 1935 one, were reworkings of "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," with a man who loses control to transforming into his heinous dopplegänger. The 1941 film altered this further by making the werewolf a supernatural and mythological figure like Dracula, and they even cast Dracula himself, Bela Lugosi, in the role of the first werewolf who bites and turns Larry Talbot. Gypsies, who were important in Bram Stoker's novel, also became central to Universal's werewolf.
Now, with the werewolf meeting the Frankenstein creature, there's a shift back towards the science, but electricity rather than the magical potions and antidotes of "Jekyll and Hyde" and "Werewolf of London," although there's still the mad doctor, the cautionary tale of the dangers of science and Gothic dopplegängers. Moreover, electricity is even more central than in prior Frankenstein films, which also contained notions of cosmic rays, sulfur pits and the notion that to destroy the monster required dissection. The electric part also tended to rely on a lightning bolt or other unrevealed sources powering the usual flashing gizmos, which we again see here. In this film, however, the laboratory's source of power is from a dam and its stream that powers the turbines.
None of this was in "The Ghost of Frankenstein," which considered dissection and brain transplants to destroy the monster and which is completely contrary to the same doctor's notes regarding energy and poles in this one. Furthermore, that doctor's burned-down house occupying flat land is turned into a castle in ruins on a hill here, which is more like that of "Son of Frankenstein" (1939). That house, however, did contain many secret rooms and hiding places, as does this castle, including a secret hiding spot within a secret hiding spot. How the castle and monster are frozen within the castle when there's no such wintry signs in the rest of the town remains inexplicable. Additionally, the ancillary character carried over from "The Ghost of Frankenstein," the daughter Elsa Frankenstein, is played by a different actress with a different accent (sound familiar, Rachel Dawes (The Dark Knight trilogy), Bruce Banner, Rhodey (both MCU)?). Actors who were in both films, like Lionel Atwill and Lugosi, play different roles, the former now the mayor instead of a doctor, and Lugosi, whose Ygor had his brain transplanted into the creature, now inhabits him bodily, as well--a role that was played by Lon Chaney Jr., who's also the Wolf Man. Meanwhile, Elsa's lover, Erik, from "The Ghost of Frankenstein," is dropped like MCU's Betty Ross and Jane Foster.
More consistently, Maria Ouspenskaya returns from "The Wolf Man" as Maleva, the old Gypsy woman, and she's quite impressive and sympathetic in this one, including her suffering a series of discriminations from the townsfolk (being arrested and ridiculed as a "beggar," "your kind" and a "witch") as she looks after Larry, as though he were her own son--the role Lugosi played in "The Wolf Man." Her presence, as much as Chaney's, provides a firm continuation within this sequel. To a lesser extent, I think Lugosi fits that role, too, although his performance as the creature is mostly farcical, including walking like he's blind (which he was in the prior film), with outstretched arms, but also inconsistently moving about as though he can see at other times, such as when he leads Larry to Frankenstein's notes. To be fair, though, both Boris Karloff and Chaney's mute monsters were out-shined by Lugosi's Ygor in the last two Frankenstein films, and the character would never again be what he was for Universal in the 1931 and 1935 entries. Plus, I like how Bela's eyes light up and a smirk emerges on his face as he's given more power in the finale.
Universes colliding, the picture begins like the 1931 "Frankenstein" with grave-robbers reanimating a corpse, but this time it's the inadvertent raising of the dead Wolf Man (by the full moon, of course). Later, a scene of a man carrying a dead young girl through the centre of town also recalls the 1931 original, but, again, this also is turned into an episode involving the werewolf. An angry mob, another hallmark of the Frankenstein series, soon forms, and the electric climax also has Larry hooked up on a table like his double, the creature. (This adoption of the style of another series in the shared universe reminds me of how the MCU adapted that of "The Guardians of the Galaxy" films, stylized to popular music, to enliven "Thor: Ragnarok" (2017), among other cross-series fertilizations.)
Indeed, this early experiment in a cinematic shared universe has its faults. All of Europe seems to speak English, which wasn't a problem when the series were separate, but becomes unrealistic when combined. I'm not sure how the Inspector (a carryover from the director's Sherlock Holmes films, it seems) knows to ask about the old Gypsy woman. And there's the commonly poor rear-projection shots. Regardless, this monster rally is a pleasure to view, and for all of its B-picture aesthetics, it also includes some nice filmmaking. The scene of the monster interrupting the festival and terrorizing the townsfolk is a highlight, including a nice moving camera shot that begins on Larry in a foreground close-up, moves up and racks focus, to reveal Frankenstein's monster in the background.