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Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943)

Country of Origin: USA
Year of Production: 1943
Running Times: 73m
Length:
Format: 35mm
Colour Format: black and white
Ratio: 1.37:1
Sound: mono

DIRECTION

Directed by: Roy William Neill

PRODUCTION
Production Company: Universal presents
Produced by: George Waggner

SCRIPT
Original Screen Play: Curt Siodmak

DIRECTION
Assistant Director: Melville Shyer

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: George Robinson

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Film Editor: Edward Curtiss

MUSIC
Musical Director: H.J. Salter
Music: Charles Previn (uncredited); Heinz Roemheld (uncredited); Hans J. Salter (uncredited); Frank Skinner (uncredited)

SOUND
Director of Sound: Bernard B. Brown
[Sound] Technician: William Fox

COSTUMES AND MAKE-UP
Gowns: Vera West
Make-up Artist: Jack P. Pierce

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Photographic Effects: John P. Fulton

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Art Director: John Goodman
Associate [Art Director]: Martin Obzina
Set Decorations: R.A. Gausman
Associate [Set Decorator]: E.R. Robinson

CAST

Starring
Ilona Massey (Baroness Elsa Frankenstein)
Patric Knowles (Dr Frank Mannering)

With
Lionel Atwill (Mayor of Vasaria)
Bela Lugosi (Frankenstein's monster)
Maria Ouspenskaya (Maleva)
Dennis Hoey (Inspector Owen)

And
Lon Chaney as the wolf man[/Lawrence Talbot]

Don Barclay (Franzec)
Rex Evans (Vazec)
Dwight Frye (Rudi)
Harry Stubbs (Guno)

UNCREDITED CAST

David Clyde (Llanwelly police sergeant)
Jeff Corey (crypt keeper)
Cyril Delevanti (Freddy Jolly the grave robber)
Tom Stevenson (grave robber)
Martha Vickers (Vasarian girl killed by the wolf man)
Lance Fuller (Vasarian villager)
Charles Irwin (Cardiff police constable)
Adia Kuznetzoff (festival singer)
Doris Lloyd (nurse)
Gil Perkins (double for Lugosi)
Beatrice Roberts, Torben Meyer (bit parts)

PLOT SUMMARY

Lawrence Talbot, the wolf man, is revived by grave robbers and sets about seeking a cure for his condition. He finds himself tracking down Baron Frankenstein, now long dead, and stumbles upon the monster frozen in ice beneath the ruins of the castle. Talbot frees the monster hoping it will lead him to the Baron's hidden notes, with predictably tragic results.

The first of the Universal monster tag matches and one of the best, a fun, action-packed romp that abandons the gothic atmosphere of earlier films in the cycle in favour of a wealth of incidence and breathless plotting. It may not make a lot of sense, but it moves so quickly that it barely seems to matter that much.

UK
Theatrical Distributor: Universal
Video Distributor: CIC

USA
Theatrical Distributors: Realart Pictures Inc / Universal Pictures
Video Distributor: MCA Home Video
Laserdisc Distributor: MCA

UK
Rating: PG

TIMELINE

1943
March
5: USA - theatrical release

1986
March
29: UK - television broadcast (on Channel 4)

Frankenstein contro l'uomo lupo - Italian title

LINKS

SEQUEL TO
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Frankenstein (1931)
The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)
Son of Frankenstein (1939)
The Wolf Man (1941)

SEQUELS
House of Dracula (1945)
House of Frankenstein (1944)

SEE ALSO
Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995)
Fright Night (1985)
The Howling (1980)

FOOTAGE INCLUDED IN
Coming Soon (1982)
Universal Horror (1998)

PERIODICALS

Classic Movie Monsters pp.15-19 (USA)
article

Famous Monsters no. 42 (USA)
review

Films in Review March 1964 p.147 (USA)
review

Kine Weekly 25 April 1946 (UK)
review

Monthly Film Bulletin vol.13 no.149 (May 1946) pp.63-64 (UK)
credits, review (by anonymous), synopsis

Motion Picture Herald vol.150 no.9 (27 February 1943) (USA)
credits, review

Starburst vol.5 no.4 (actually no.7) (March 1984) p.31 (UK)
illustrated article (The Frankenstein Chronicles Part IV by Phil Edwards)

Today's Cinema vol.66 no.5332 (18 April 1946) (UK)
review

Variety 19 February 1943 (USA)
review

NEWSPAPERS

New York Times 6 March 1943
review (by Bosley Crowther)

BOOKS

Elliot's Guide to Films on Video p.303
UK video date, credits, review

Hoffman's Guide to Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Movies 1991 - 1992 p.143
credits, review

Reference Guide to Fantastic Films p.149
credits

Universal Horrors
article (by Michael Brunas, John Brunas and Tom Weaver)

OTHER SOURCES

screen
credits

werewolves; gypsies; life after death; frankenstein monster; castles; ice; frozen alive

Last Updated: 12 February, 2010