For a second-tier horror film only running 74 minutes, 'Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man' certainly had a tortured history, most having to do with Bela Lugosi's much-maligned portrayal of Frankenstein's Monster. Lugosi, who was considered for the role in the original 'Frankenstein' but ultimately dropped in favor of Boris Karloff, finally got the opportunity here at age 60. Let's just say Karloff's reputation is safe as the definitive Monster. Lugosi stumbles around, flailing his stiff arms in what seems at times a parody. There were reasons for this though, which are not explained in the finished film, and which are not all Lugosi's fault. As originally intended, it would be explained that the creature is practically blind from the experiment which ended the previous film. Also, Lugosi's version would have quite a bit of spoken dialogue. Screenwriter Curt Siodmak claims that audiences in test screenings laughed at the Monster speaking with Lugosi's thick Hungarian accent. Lugosi had no less than THREE stand-ins; in fact, the opening close-up of the Monster trapped in the ice is clearly not Lugosi. Eventually, the part of the story involving the Monster was heavily trimmed in favor of a new first half dealing with the Wolf Man. Lon Chaney Jr. reprises his role as Larry Talbot aka the Wolf Man, and we are reminded that this character must be one of the most miserably unhappy ones ever to grace the silver screen. There is a certain grim humor in hearing Talbot say, "But what can you do to end MY life?" in what seems the umpteenth variation of that line. Talbot's morbid yet sometimes cheerful insistence on being put to death (in fact, about the only time he seems cheerful in any of the films) is a trademark of the character. 'Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man,' as finally released, is split almost exactly in half. The first concerns the Wolf Man's reappearance, Talbot's stay in an English hospital, and ultimately his meeting up with the old gypsy woman Maleva (Maria Ouspenskay's signature role). From there, they head to Dr. Frankenstein's castle in Germany (hell, I guess it's in Germany) to find his notebook, "The Secrets of Life and Death." After a point, they are joined by Talbot's doctor (Patrick Knowles) and guess what? He decides that he can make Frankenstein's experiment a success, because HE won't make the same mistakes. This is a perennial feature of the Frankenstein films. 'Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man' is an entertaining entry in the venerable series, despite Lugosi's lumbering portrayal and a seemingly interminable musical number halfway through the film. Though both monsters are swept away by a flood after a brief, pitched battle at the end, they would return for two more sequels and, finally, to meet Abbott & Costello.
Review of Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
