Sixty-years before Freddy beefed with Jason, and sixty-one years before the Alien brawled with the Predator, Frankenstein met the Wolf Man. This 1943 monster movie from Universal Studios not only served as the first big screen crossover, but established the concept of the cinematic universe, uniting two previously unconnected franchises, seven decades before Marvel Studios. Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man is both the fifth installment in Universal’s Frankenstein franchise as well as the direct sequel to The Wolf Man.
When grave robbers open the tomb of Lawrence Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.), shot dead by a silver bullet, they allow the moonlight to resurrect him and his cursed alter-ego, the Wolf Man. Wanting nothing more than to die and stay dead, Talbot searches out the one man who might be able to help him: Dr. Frankenstein. Though the doctor is long dead, the monster that bears his name (now played by Bela Lugosi) still roams the ruins of Frankenstein’s castle, setting the stage for the inevitable clash between the two titular monsters.
Following the success of The Wolf Man in 1941, Chaney Jr. became the breakout star of Universal horror films, just as Boris Karloff and Lugosi were in the 1930s. Several actors played Frankenstein’s monster, Dracula, and the Mummy over the course of the original films, but only one, Chaney Jr., played Larry “The Wolf Man” Talbot in all five of his classic cinematic appearances (until 2010’s remake with Benicio del Toro). Despite the enormous success of The Wolf Man, Larry Talbot never got his own standalone sequel, having to share the screen in subsequent appearances with an ever growing roster of the undead.
Chaney Jr. gives a strong (if not superior) performance in this film as he did in The Wolf Man. He embodies Talbot’s unyielding torment and sadness; his acting still feels as raw and fresh as it must have in 1941. Chaney Jr. magnetically earns our sympathy; he is the everyman, kind and gentle but dealt unfair and brutal hands in life. The film belongs to him. Lugosi’s performance fairs less well, thanks in large part to a heavy hand in the editing.
Originally, his Frankenstein monster was to speak but test audiences found Lugosi’s heavy Hungarian accent unintentionally funny coming out of the creature’s mouth. His scenes were hacked away, removing not only his voice but any reference to the monster’s blindness (as following the ending of the previous film, The Ghost of Frankenstein, where the Monster lost his sight due to a brain operation gone screwy).
With this crucial information missing, Lugosi’s performance, with half-shut eyes and outstretched arms, was rendered awkward and overly snarling. Ironically, Lugosi was offered the part of the Monster for the original 1931 film but turned it down; the part would, of course, go to Karloff, who became Lugosi’s chief rival for horror roles in the 1930s. But there’s a further irony to that: when someone does a stereotypical impression of the Frankenstein Monster, with arms outstretched and a stiff gait, they are not doing Karloff’s version of the monster but Lugosi’s.
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man may not rank as one of Universal’s better monster movies, but it is still a wonderfully enjoyable time and remains a favorite for monster buffs. It’s also a perfect “gateway” movie for anyone who has yet to partake in the pleasures of black-and-white horror films. And whether you end up liking the film or not, it’s hard to deny the exhilaration of seeing the Frankenstein Monster duke it out with the Wolf Man, toe-to-paw.
-T.Z.
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