hyped garbage

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

The brain of Igor (not Eyegor) had been implanted in the monster's body and Bela Lugosi's voice came out of him, but the monster was suddenly blind. Now the monster is back, and he's got Lugosi's face, the eye sight is back, but the voice is gone. Such is dramatic license for a Universal programmer. But he's not alone in the world of "the back from the dead". He's got company with the wolf man (Mom Chaney Jr.), repeating his role after playing Frankenstein's monster one time. Back to aide him is gypsy woman Maria Ouspenskaya, and all she can really do is pray for his soul.The fifth entry of the Frankenstein saga is the second of the wolf man saga, so it's like tying together Snow White and Cinderella. However, it's much grimmer than those fairy tales, and there's obviously no happily ever after until a writer figures out how to resurrect the monsters. Still chilling for the atmosphere, it's classic horror at its medium. Chaney, not really a great actor, is actually pretty decent here, but Lugosi has little to do. Minus his powerful Hungarian voice, he's practically an extra. References to Bela from "The Wolf Man" and Igor tie him in, but it's a far cry from what he was able to show he could do when he played Igor in the two previous films. This time, the Frankenstein heir is a woman, Ilona Massey, and the doctor is Patric Knowles. The story surrounds the wolf man, aka Larry Talbot, more than it does the Frankensteins, taking nearly half an hour to get to the castle. Lugosi does get to growl a bit, and his long arms add to the effectiveness of his casting. Another horror icon, Lionel Atwill, adds authority as the mayor. Ouspenskaya disappears mysteriously after just a couple of scenes. A big musical number comes out of nowhere, adding a touch of silliness to distract from the horror. It was only with the last two entries in the series, not counting the Abbott and Costello spoof, that real mediocrity set in.

Revived from his eternal rest, a man cursed with lycanthropy seeks out a famous doctor to help cure him only to find his still-alive monster nearby and begin fighting each other for control of the situation as they both race to come up with their own cure for their conditions.This here was quite the fun and enjoyable effort. One of the film's better elements here is the absolutely fun beginning here as this one really starts off great. The first two-thirds are brilliant, as the creepy grave-robbing of the coffin that revives him is pure Gothic charm that nicely leads into the brief institutionalization scenes in the sanitarium where they all struggle to piece his identity together alongside the fun scenes of his werewolf side out hunting the streets. There's plenty to like here with this one following the desperate search for the cure that it carries the film into a really strong part filled with lots of fun times. Since the search takes him to the legendary Frankenstein laboratory in the remote village where they are none too happy for him to be there, there's plenty of fun to be had here with his arrival there with the superstitious locals and in his efforts for help stumbles across the creature and uses it for help, this picks up that absolutely full Gothic atmosphere usually featured in these efforts and gets plenty of use here. That also leads into the reasoning for seeking out Frankenstein which is also very well conceived and plausibly plotted that really helps the film out, since it would all be lost without that crucial plot element. These are all great and are often spiced up with little parts here and there throughout this one that makes the film fun. That also means the titular fight is well conceived, rather than just being limited to a few grappling moves and strangle holds this one moves around a little causing a little destruction along the way and is one of the best parts of the film. Its finale is also one of the bright spots here, melding the action of the fight alongside the locals' plan to wash away the castle in grand fashion when their plan comes to fruition, really ending this on a high-note. Cap all of this off with a great sense of fun and it's one of the better entries in either storyline, though there are several things in this one that really doesn't work in here. The most notable is a song and dance section in the middle that seems really out of place and at a very odd point in the film. It sticks out like a sore thumb and isn't quite for everyone with its cheesy appearances, lame choreography and really slows the film down. The second half is also a little bit of a disappointment, at least until the final showdown, as it veers off course and becomes a sad mixture of several different story lines showing his intention of doing away the curse and their growing distrust of them at the castle that are quite clichéd trappings which don't quite gel at all. Overall, though, these are all to really complain about.Today's Rating/PG: Violence.

In a celebrated opening scene, two grave-robbers scamper over an impressive night-time cemetery scene, into the tomb of the Talbots. They plan to steal valuables from the corpse of Laurence Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr), four years dead – and see the plaque bearing the rhyme: 'Even a man who's pure of heart, and says his prayers at night, may become a wolf when the wolfs bane blooms, and the moon is full and bright.'As the camera reveals, that night boasts a full moon. Not only that, but removing the wolfs bane appears to bring Talbot back to life.It doesn't matter that Talbot's left hand reaches out of the tomb for one of the grave robbers, Freddy (Cyril Delevanti), and yet the hand that grabs him is revealed to be his right. It doesn't matter that the Welsh village of Llanwelly is peopled with Scots, cockneys and Americans, but no Welsh. It doesn't even matter that Talbot, in his white nightwear, changes into a black shirt and trousers-sporting Wolfman and then back again. Because, despite the first two Universal Frankenstein films being my favourite movies ever, this is the most 'fun' of all the entries. And yet, the finished picture could have been so much different.As at the end of the previous 'Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)', The Monster has Ygor's (Bela Lugosi) brain in his head, and speaks with his voice. After considering using Chaney to play both Wolfman and Monster (both roles he had played before), it was decided subsequently to use Lugosi. Scriptwriter Curt Siodmak wrote dialogue for the Monster ("Help me to get up ... Once I had the strength of a hundred men … it's gone ... I'm sick …"), but at a premier, studio executives found a talking Monster hilarious (displaying a lack of memory and imagination, it seems) and all dialogue, and scenes including it, was cut. There's a POV that says the Monster's dialogue was removed because it sounded too much like the rantings of Hitler. Siodmak says Lugosi's accent made the words too 'Hungarian funny'. A little ungenerous of him. Also cut were references to the Monster's blindness, and the restoration of sight and strength at the film's climax.Lugosi, who was over 60, suffered from exhaustion during filming, and reportedly collapsed on set at one point. This is the main reason extensive use was made of stuntmen to double for him. His opening scene, with The Monster trapped in ice, features a close-up of stuntman Gil Perkins instead, despite the scene featuring Lugosi in a promotional photograph. Understandably, the rigours of the climactic fight between the two titans of terror featured Perkins and Edwin Parker in long shots, with close-ups featuring the billed actors (there have been suggestions that close-ups of Lugosi were spliced in from an earlier scene, where the Monster escapes his bonds on the slab, which were subsequently substituted for similar actions from Chaney's Wolfman).So, does Frankenstein actually meet the Wolf Man? Yes, she does. Ilona Massey, lovely as Baroness Elsa Frankenstein, is visited by Talbot, who is desperate to find her father's books, believing they can help rid him of his lycanthropic curse. Talbot is a morose, moody figure, a far cry from the buoyant flirt from his first outing. Lugosi's much criticised Monster, is a spitting, snarling thing. His uncertain stretch-armed stiffness seems over-the-top with all explanation for his blind groping removed – none of which is Lugosi's fault. He is the wrong shape for the Monster, and Jack Pierce's make-up (a make-up designed for more slender features) but is performance does not deserve the criticism it gets; he breathes life into the creature, more so than Chaney did in the previous instalment.Lon Chaney is excellent as Talbot, in what is essentially his film (with the Monster's role sadly reduced). He is intense and brought low by his predicament, and Chaney does a good job of some exposition-heavy lines.Maleva the gypsy woman, who had appeared in 'The Wolfman (1940)' was due to carriage-ride off into the night following the destruction of the laboratory, but Maria Ouspenskaya proved unavailable due to an accident which lead to temporary hospitalisation. This meant that Maleva disappears without mention.The rest of the cast comprise of stalwarts Lionel Atwill, Dwight Frye and Patric Knowles as all-rounder Doctor Mannering. Beginning the picture as the doctor tending to Talbot, he then becomes an investigator who follows him to Vaseria and finally, for no particular reason, the mad scientist who cannot resist bringing the Monster to full strength before the tremendous and hugely entertaining final battle.

In an effort to revitalise their monster franchise at the box offices, Universal hit on the idea of of featuring more than one monster in a movie. Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man was to be the first of many such ventures.Lon Chaney Jr is back as Larry Talbot/The Wolf Man, who after being awoken by unsuspecting grave robbers, is once again tortured by his curse and desperately wants an end to his misery. Seeking out the Gypsy woman Maleva (Maria Ouspenskaya), the pair of them head off to find Dr. Frankenstein in the hope of finding a solution. He's dead, though, but there's another scientist on hand for help and as the villagers once again take unkindly to someone rekindling old nightmares, while the Frankenstein Monster (Bela Lugosi) is found preserved in ice...It's in effect a sequel to both The Wolf Man and The Ghost of Frankenstein, though as would become the norm, Monster Frank is a bit part player in a film bearing his name. The film is delightfully brisk and with Chaney doing good work as the tortured Talbot - with the relationship between Maleva and himself quite touching - the story carries emotional weight. However, Lugosi doesn't look right for the role of the monster, Patrick Knowles' switcharoo to a mad scientist is ill thought out, while the big smack down finale is sadly all too brief.Nobody in the film, except maybe Chaney, was done any favours in the editing and writing rooms, but it's still a whole bunch of fun for fans of the Universal Monsters series. 6/10