Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man

Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943)

Runtime: 74 minutes

Directed by: Roy William Neill

Starring: Lon Chaney, Jr., Ilona Massey, Frank Mannering, Lionel Atwill, Bela Lugosi

From: Universal

I did not enjoy this film as much as many do on Letterboxd. That said, I suppose many would suffer if you had to see them after 1AM (in front of a dwindling crowd at the drive-in marathon) and you have to compare yourself to Lugosi’s Dracula, Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein, and The Wolf Man that was all watched in a row beforehand. Unlike that quartet, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man was a first-time-watch for me. It was wild to experience a Universal Horror sequel (there’s an area of the film world I’ve only dipped my toe in) in such a fashion. Overall, it was awesome to have had this experience on Friday night and was happy to support the Silver Moon Drive-In, which literally have been around for 75 years.

The small little detail that I had seen The Wolf Man but not The Ghost of Frankenstein-which this was also a sequel to-wasn’t ideal… all you need to know is that Hank Frankenstein’s granddaughter is present and the way that the Monster was revived this time was later used in a Godzilla film! The focus happened to be on The Wolf Man and Lugosi as The Monster wasn’t seen too often until the final 20 or so minutes. Chaney’s performance as Larry Talbot was better than in The Wolf Man. At least he wasn’t a horny creep who tried to steal someone’s woman. Instead, after he’s revived (which was contrived; there’s another trend that must have been present in horror sequels since the beginning) he so loathes his fate as a werewolf that he wishes to end his own life. Morbid, but understandable. However…

What I never understood was why the option of “shooting a silver bullet” or a similar scheme was never even addressed. Was that werewolf trope BS in this universe? It was mentioned as being a thing in The Wolf Man, so I’m completely confused as to why instead we had the machinations that brought together the key players to that poor village in the Bavarian Alps which has suffered so much since Hank Frankenstein first created The Monster. Note that it hasn’t been so bad that there isn’t a musical number completely out of nowhere during a festival! That was one of several surprises throughout.

While the plot and various details were at times perplexing, I can’t say it was a film I hated. There were entertaining moments & nice atmosphere and mood (as always in those movies), not to mention a pretty wild ending which includes the two monsters facing off against one another… is that actually a spoiler? Others do like this more than me so if you love Universal Horror, you may still want to give this a shot one day. As I left at 2:30 AM, it was great seeing those films at a drive-in; hopefully this gimmick returns next October.