Directed by:
Erle C. KentonScreenplay:
Edward T. Lowe Jr.Cinematography:
George RobinsonCast:
Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr., J. Carrol Naish, John Carradine, Anne Gwynne, Peter Coe, Lionel Atwill, George Zucco, Elena Verdugo, Sig Ruman, Frank Reicher (more)Plots(1)
Dr. Niemann (Boris Karloff) regales his hunchbacked cellmate, Daniel (J. Carrol Naish), with tales of how he had nearly put the brain of a human into a dog. A thunderstorm destroys their prison, and they escape to find refuge in a carnival. The carnival owner has possession of the skeleton of Count Dracula (John Carradine), who can be revived. Niemann has the hunchback kill the owner, and then resurrects Dracula. Later, Niemann and the hunchback encounter a gypsy caravan where Daniel falls in love with a beautiful gypsy girl. She travels with them to Frankenstein's ruined castle, where they find Frankenstein's monster (Glenn Strange) and the Wolf Man (Lon Chaney Jr.) frozen in ice. Niemann thaws them out, finding the Monster fairly inert and the Wolf Man changed back to the tormented Larry Talbot. To Daniel's misery, the gypsy girl falls in love with Talbot. Meanwhile, Niemann promises both the hunchback and Talbot new bodies. (Universal Pictures UK)
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Reviews (2)
The classic Universal monsters together for the first time. The Werewolf, Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster and even Kharis the Mummy. A childhood dream come true... Apart from the fact that they cut the Mummy before the movie was shot, Dracula is played by a tragic Carradine and the entire affair is absolutely superfluous and, mainly, very boring; Frankenstein’s Monster doesn’t his ten seconds (almost literally) of fame until almost the very end and although Chaney’s performance as the Werewolf is outstanding, it suffers from being sidelined. So instead of a “celebration" of monsters, we don’t actually get much more than another mad scientist. This time rather routinely performed by Boris Karloff. This means that J. Carrol Naish in the role of Karloff’s side-kick has no trouble in stealing the whole movie. House of Frankenstein is a mediocre movie through and through, none of its potential exploited at all. Still, it’s a good movie. But only good, nothing more.
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The screenwriter of House of Frankenstein brought all of the famous monsters of the 1930s and ’40s to life in a single film and mixed them into a fun, never boring plot cocktail. Nicely filmed, cast and acted. Packed with endearing nostalgia. But don’t expect a dramatic masterpiece along the lines of Bride of Frankenstein. This film isn’t that strong, nor does it have such a big heart. It’s just pleasant entertainment for interested fans.
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