The Big Showdown!

FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN-1943-Two grave robbers attempt to rob the grave of the deceased Lawrence Talbot. When they open the grave they find Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) is alive and he grabs one of the robbers. Later Talbot is found on the streets of a town with a head wound. He's taken to a hospital run by Dr. Mannering (Patrick Knowles) but he's suspected of being an impostor when the police inspector (Dennis Hoey) discovers Lawrence Talbot died years ago. At night with the rise of the full moon, Larry becomes a werewolf and kills a policeman. Next day when he confesses to the crime, no one believes him. They think he's deluded. 

Later Larry escapes the hospital and finds the gypsy Maleva (Maria Ouspenskaya) also the mother of Bela, the wolfman who bite Larry originally. They go to Vasaria to find Dr. Frankenstein but he's dead. After the wolfman kills a woman, the town's people (including Dwight Frye) go after him/it. Seeking refugee in some old ruins he stumbles upon the frozen body of the infamous Frankenstein monster (Bela Lugosi). Larry thaws him out and the monster shows him where his creator kept his diary but alas it's not there. Desperate, Larry contacts Ilsa, The Baroness Frankenstein but she says she doesn't have the diary either. Never the less, the burgomaster (Lionel Atwill) invites the Baroness and Larry to “The Festival of the New Wine”. Larry freaks out when he hears a singer do a song about life being short. Dr. Mannering finds him and says he needs psychiatric care. Just then the monster invades the square but Larry helps him escape and they hide out at the ruined castle. 

Later Mannering, the baroness and Maleva go to the ruins and the baroness shows Larry where the diary is hidden. Unfortunately Mannering forgets all about helping Talbot and becomes obsessed with reviving the monster and wants to see it at “it's full power”. He botches things up completely when Ilsa tries to stop him. Talbot changes into the wolfman and the monster escapes and menaces Ilsa for a bit then the two monsters fight. During the tussle (in which Mannering and Ilsa escape) rotund bartender Vazec (Ray Evans) blows up the dam, flooding the castle and interrupting thefight. The end. Maleva is forgotten about.

The story behind FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN is that originally Universal wanted Chaney to play both monster roles. When that was scrapped Lugosi was hired to play the monster. His portrayal is often criticized heavily but once again there's a more to it. In the original story the monster had the ability to talk. However when the movie was finished nobody liked the dialogue. Some said it was laughable. It was re-cut with all of the monster's speaking parts taken out. Also the monster was blind but in the re-editing this was also taken out. They didn't shoot any additional scenes to explain any of it which left Lugosi's monster kind of looking like an arm waving buffoon at times. Although Franky's evil grin as he's being revived is the highlight scene. There's also stories of several stuntmen subbing for Lugosi. One scene of the monster in ice is definitely Eddie Parker. 

Of course back in the day, the studio wanted Lugosi to play the monster in the original FRANKENSTEIN. He fought against it and Boris Karloff got the role.  

FMTW is a sequel to both TTHE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN and THE WOLFMAN. It was directed by Roy William Neil who was already into the work he would arguably best known for: the Universal Sherlock Holmes series starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. Since it's edited down it's hard to judge. The direction and acting are good but there's really not that much of the monster and when he does finally clash with the wolfman it's a brief duel ended prematurely. Screenwriter Curt Siodmak has said that he originally came up with the title as a joke. 

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Even A Man Who Is Pure In Heart....

THE WOLFMAN-1941-In England Lawrence Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) returns home to Castle Talbot after spending 18 years in America, upon the death of his older brother. His dad Sir John (Claude Rains) wants him to become one of the family again. Cheerful Larry no sooner gets settled when he's fooling around with a telescope and spies Gwen (Evelyn Ankers) in her antique shop. When he visits she tells him about werewolves and the sign of the pentagram.

Larry wants his fortune told so he, Gwen and her friend Jenny (Fay Helm) visit a gypsy camp. There Bela (Bela Lugosi) reads Jenny's fortune and it's not good. He sees a pentagram on her palm. While Larry romances Gwen Bela turns into a werewolf and kills Jenny. Larry kills the werewolf with his silver cane but is bitten in the process. He's helped home by Maleva (Maria Ouspenskaya) . Later the chief of police (Ralph Bellamy) and Doctor Lloyd (Warren William) find Jenny and Bela (not a wolf anymore). The next day Larry recovers and his wolf bite has disappeared. Larry overhears Maleva talking to the dead Bela and finds out he was her son. Later Gwen introduces Larry to her fiance Frank Andrews (Patrick Knowles), game keeper for the estate. Maleva gives Larry the low down on his curse and the gypsies pack up and leave as Larry turns into the title character. His first victim is a gravedigger. Next time he goes out prowling he gets his foot caught in a trap planted by the constable. He passes out but doesn't get caught because Maleva finds him and somehow gets him to change back to human. Larry goes to Gwen for help but when he sees the sign of the pentagram on her palm he freaks out. He confesses his fears to his dad but Sir John doesn't believe it. He straps his son to chair in a locked room while everyone is out hunting the wolf. He transforms and escapes. Gwen winds up in the foggy woods being pursued by hairy Larry. He attacks her but Sir John confronts him and in an ironic twist beats him to death with Larry's cane. Larry turns human and Maleva declares “Your suffering is over”.

 THE WOLF MAN kind of ushered in the second era of Universal horror films. Director George Waggner also did MAN MADE MONSTER with Chaney the same year. He later made THE CLIMAX with Karloff. This has a great cast and the foggy scenes where the wolf man prowls are excellent despite being all done in the studio. Screenwriter Curt Siodmak went on to write several more in the series. Waggner later went into TV. His last work was on the BATMAN TV in the '60's.

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The Black Sleep

THE BLACK SLEEP-1956-Dr. Cadman (Basil Rathbone) has discovered the title drug and uses it on his former student Ramsey (Herb Rudley) who was suppose to be hanged for murder. Cadman needs Ramsey to assist him in his brain operations. No sooner do they get to his castle home when they meet the brutish Mongo (Lon Chaney Jr.) who's attacking Laurie (Patricia Blair), one of Cadman's nurses. It turns out Mongo is Laurie's father and once a respected doctor. Now only another nurse Daphne (Phyllis Stanley) can control him. At first Ramsey thinks Cadman is brilliant but during an operation he realizes while the black sleep can induce a coma like effect the patient can still feel pain. This doesn't seem to bother Cadman in the least and Ramsey sees that his former teacher is insane and his real goal is to cure his comatose wife. The doctor has a mute servant Casimir (Bela Lugosi) and a gypsy grave robber Udu (Akim Tamiroff) who helps him out. Cadman is a full grown nut who cares nothing about human life and has a basement full of failed experiments in his dungeon to prove it. The “patients” include Curry (Tor Johnson), a big now blind guy, a bible spouting long hair crazy guy Borg (John Carridine), the (now disfigured) sailor (George Sawaya) they operated on earlier and bald girl (Sally Yarnell) with patches of hair all over her body. Of course they rise up and attack, causing Mr. and Mrs. Cadman to fall to their deaths.

THE BLACK SLEEP is always described as an “all star horror” movie and on paper it is. But most of the cast is wasted. Chaney is a dumb grunting henchman, Tor sits around looking “Lobo-ish” (although they do show a “before” picture of his character looking kind of dapper!) and worst of all the great Lugosi in his final full length movie role as the mute butler! Whoever thought this was a good idea should have been injected with “the black sleep” themselves! At least they put Carradine's voice to good use! Rathbone is great as the mad scientist and Tamiroff and Rudley are ok in supporting roles. 

Director Reginald Le Borg had already worked with Lon Chaney in '40's on THE MUMMY'S GHOST and “The Inner Sanctum” series. The next year he directed the disappointing VOODOO ISLAND with Boris Karloff (at least he got to speak...).

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