Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943)

After being awakened, Larry Talbot chips Frankenstein's Monster out of a block of ice. When Talbot changes to the Wolf Man, the two creatures battle each other.

Director:

Roy William Neill

Writer:

Curt Siodmak (original screenplay)

Stars:

Ilona Massey, Patric Knowles, Lionel Atwill

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ilona Massey	...	Baroness Elsa Frankenstein
Patric Knowles	...	Dr. Frank Mannering
Lionel Atwill	...	Mayor
Bela Lugosi	...	Monster
Maria Ouspenskaya	...	Maleva
Dennis Hoey	...	Inspector Owen
Don Barclay	...	Franzec
Rex Evans	...	Vazec
Dwight Frye	...	Rudi
Harry Stubbs	...	Guno
Lon Chaney Jr.	...	The Wolf Man - Lawrence Talbot (as Lon Chaney)

Storyline

Larry Talbot finds himself in an asylum, recovering from an operation performed by the kindly Dr. Mannering. Inspector Owen finds him there, too, wanting to question him about a recent spate of murders. Talbot escapes and finds Maleva, the old gypsy woman who knows his secret: when the moon is full, he changes to a werewolf. She travels with him to locate the one man who can help him to die - Dr. Frankenstein. The brilliant doctor proves to be dead himself, but they do find Frankenstein's daughter. Talbot begs her for her father's papers containing the secrets of life and death. She doesn't have them, so he goes to the ruins of the Frankenstein castle to find them himself. There he finds the Monster, whom he chips out of a block of ice. Dr. Mannering catches up with him only to become tempted to monomania while using Frankenstein's old equipment.

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Plot Keywords:

monster | doctor | crossover | sequel | blindness | 

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Taglines:

FROZEN EVIL meets FIERY HATE (original ad - mostly caps)

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Genres:

Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 March 1943 (USA)

Also Known As:

Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

74 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Frankenstein Monster, played by Bela Lugosi, is mute in this film, even though Boris Karloff's monster spoke in the earlier Bride of Frankenstein (1935). Interestingly, Lugosi had refused the role in the original Frankenstein (1931) because he would have had no lines. When Lugosi accepted the part in this film, the original script contained dialogue for the Monster, which was later edited out.

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Goofs

When Lawrence Talbot first introduces Dr. Mannering to the Baroness, she inexplicably addresses him as Mr. Mannering.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Freddy Jolly - Graverobber: [reading from a headstone] 'Lawrence Stewart Talbot, who died at the youthful age of thirty one. R.I.P.' That's it. Give me the chisel.
Graverobber: Suppose they didn't bury him with the money on him.
Freddy Jolly - Graverobber: Everybody in the village knows about it - his gold watch and ring and money in his pockets.
Graverobber: It's a sin to bury good money when it could help people.
[both chuckle]

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Crazy Credits

A scientist's hand is shown pouring a chemical into a flask, which bubbles over in vapor that coalesces into the film's title and cast names.

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Alternate Versions

Original preview prints of the film included Lugosi speaking dialog as the Monster. Apparently, preview audiences found Lugosi's Hungarian accent hilarious coming from the Monster's mouth, so Lugosi's voice was deleted.

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Connections

Referenced in Robot Chicken: Beastmaster and Commander (2011)

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Soundtracks

Faro-La, Faro-Li
(uncredited)
Lyrics by Curt Siodmak
Music by Hans J. Salter
Sung by Adia Kuznetzoff

User Reviews

Universal Smackdown

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