“Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman”  (1943) / Z-View

Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman  (1943)

Director:  Roy William Neill

Writers:  Curt Siodmak

Starring: Lon Chaney Jr., Ilona Massey, Patric Knowles, Lionel Atwill, Bela Lugosi and Dwight Frye.

Tagline:  All New Thrills as Frankenstein meets the Wolf Man

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Four years after the events of The Wolf Man, grave robbers break into Larry Talbot’s crypt.  When light of the full moon hits Talbot’s corpse he comes back to life as the Wolf Man!  Two days later Talbot (Chaney) awakens in a hospital. Talbot remembers killing people in his werewolf form, but is unable to convince Dr. Manning that he is a wolf man.  Thinking Talbot crazy, he is restrained.  Talbot escapes and goes in search of a cure.

Although Dr. Frankenstein is dead, Talbot believes the doctor’s journals may provide an answer.  As he searches for the notes, Talbot frees Frankenstein’s monster, who is buried in ice below the castle.  Posing as a potential buyer of the Frankenstein estate, Talbot meets Dr. Frankenstein’s daughter, Elsa. With the aide of Elsa, Dr. Frankenstein’s journals and laboratory, Dr. Manning believes he can drain the Monster and the Wolf Man of their life energy.  What could possibly go wrong?

The Frankenstein Monster and the Wolf Man in the same movie!  What kid didn’t love that?  Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man was another of our favorites when it appeared on Sammy Terry’s Nightmare Theater.  Although the Monster and the Wolf Man don’t fight until the climax (we wanted more!), their battle destroying the laboratory as flood waters rushed in was always exciting.  Every time I re-watch Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man it takes me back to being a kid excited to see two of our favorite monsters in the same movie!.

Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man rates 4 of 5 stars.