Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943)

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Well, I have to admit that it's interesting to see what the first ever film crossover was and it did more or less set the basis for future crossovers. And well, I was kind of disappointed by this. It's mostly because the actual fight between Frankenstein's Monster and the Wolf Man is only three minutes long! When you have an entire movie being set up for that, it's a major strike against it. I still appreciate how they are setting up the story. I like how they are connecting these two popular franchises. "Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein" had a much bigger and better monster brawl.I still appreciate this movie bringing these two characters together and coming up with a single universe. It's just been done better many other times. I also think it was kind of weird how the scientist just seemed to go crazy at the end. Well, they didn't technically get the title wrong. A daughter of Frankenstein did in fact meet up with the Wolf Man. I'm sorry, but the actual interaction between the main characters was too small! I can still appreciate how the plot is good. There's just too much talking. It's still okay for what it is. **1/2

Sequel to "The Wolf Man" (1941) and Follow Up to "The Ghost of Frankenstein" (1942), War Time Audiences were Promised a Battle but were Delivered more of a Short but Energetic Encounter.The "Bela Lugosi as the Monster" Infamy, perhaps Spawns from Uninformed Viewers Unaware that the Script Originally called for Frankenstein's Creation to be Blind, a Fact Heldover from "Ghost". This Accounts for the Outstretched Gait (that ironically became synonymous with the Monster).That Information, along with "Monster Dialog" were Omitted from the Released Film (without on screen mention) and the rest is Universal Monster Movie History.Lon Chaney Jr. is Resurrected as the "Wolf Man" and burdened with even more Self-Pity along with Lycanthropy. Always with Interesting and Remarkable Casts, this Entry in the Series contains Lionel Atwill, Patrick Knowles, Ilona Massey, Maria Ouspenskaya, with Dwight Frye in a Cameo. Only the Gypsy Woman and Chaney are Reprising a Role.The Frankenstein Family Legacy is Represented by the "Baroness Elsa" (Massey) and the Doctor Succumbing to a Temptation to Play "God", is Larry Talbot's Physician, Dr. FRANK Mannering (Knowles).Overall, a Fun-Fest, the First "Monster Team-Up" (a marketing trick employed again and again), is about On Par with "Ghost" but doesn't quite have the same Impact as the Formula was Wearing Thin. More of an Injected Effort was Needed from the Studio's Serum and the Next One managed to be more Lively if Nothing Else.

Two graverobbers break into the Talbot crypt on a full moon night. Larwrence Stewart Talbot (Lon Chaney, Jr.) is awaken and kills one of the robbers. Talbot is later found in the streets of Cardiff by the police. In the hospital under the care of Dr. Mannering, he transforms one night and kills a policeman in the street. Inspector Owen investigates but nobody believes Talbot's outlandish story. Talbot escapes in search of old gypsy Maleva who leads him to the remains of Castle Frankenstein. He transforms and gets chased by the villagers down to the catacombs. He turns back and finds the monster (Bela Lugosi). With Dr. Frankenstein dead, he seeks to find the daughter Elsa.It's an early mashup and the dawn of a primordial shared monster universe. The monster comes in around the midpoint and the movie drags until it gets to the epic final battle. The middle part is too rambling. It needs to have more action during that section. The climatic action is big enough but it's a little too late.

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