So So Movie
Added 1/24/2009
House of Frankenstein is one hour and eleven minute long and was released on December 1, 1944. The movie begins inside Neustadt prison cell where Dr. Gustav Niemann is serving a sentence for digging up bodies and performing unorthodox experiments. The movie does not indicate how long he is in there for. One evening the is a terrific storm and a clap of thunder or two knocks out a wall and ceiling and Dr. Niemann and Daniel make their escape. The two take refuge in a traveling horror exhibit show and kill Professor Bruno Lampini and his driver. The two head to the town of Reigelberg where Bürgermeister Hussman lives. Hussman is one of three men that sent him away fifteen years ago. The two arrive at the town and set up the Horror Show. There they are met by Bürgermeister Hussman, Rita Hussman, Karl Hussman, and Inspector Arnz. Bürgermeister Hussman seems to recognize Dr. Niemann but is not sure of him. During a fit of anger Dr. Niemann pulls the stake out of the dead body of Count Dracula and unintentionally brings him back to life. Dr. Niemann and Dracula strike a deal with one another and later that evening Dracula kills Bürgermeister Hussman and tries to take Rita Hussman as his bride with him. This is foiled when during the chase Dr. Niemann throws out Count Dracula's coffin and before he has a chance to get back into the coffin dies when the sun. Poor fellow, he should have used a suntan lotion 15 or better. Dr. Niemann and Daniel make there way to the Village of Frankenstein. At the village they encounter a band of gypsies putting on a show. After the show is over they witness Ilonka getting whipped by her boss. Daniel rescues Ilonka rescues and Dr. Niemann allows her to come along. Later that evening they arrive at the ruins of the Frankenstein castle and looks for the records of the late Dr. Frankenstein. While looking Daniel fall through some loose grounds and Dr. Niemann goes to help Daniel. It is there that they discover the ice frozen bodies of the Frankenstein monster and the Wolf Man. The two begin thawing the bodies and when Larry awakens he asks why he did so. Dr. Niemann tells Larry if he can help find the records of Dr. Frankenstein, he would cure him. Larry agrees to do so and finds the records. The five of them make there way to the home of Dr. Niemann in Vasaria. The four of them begin to get the lab working again so Dr. Niemann gets to work right away. Later on Dr. Niemann and Daniel head into the village in the evening and capture Ullman and Strauss; the other two men who sent Dr. Niemann to prison. Dr. Niemann tells the two: "I'm going to repay you for betraying me; I'm going to give that brain of yours a new home in the skull of the Frankenstein monster. As for you Strauss, I'm going to give you the brain of the wolfman so that all your waking hours will be spent in untold agony awaiting the full of the moon... which will change you into a werewolf." Copy and pasted from TCM.com website. The surgery is only half successful. Gone is Ygor and inside the Monster is Ullman's brain. When it is Larry's turn to be operated on it is too late. Larry has turn into a werewolf and is on the kill. Ilonka who found out from Daniel that Larry is a werewolf is out to kill him with silver bullet. It winds up being a double murder. The werewolf has attacked Ilonka and during the struggle Ilonka fires the silver bullet. The way the werewolf is holding his hands over his stomach and not his heart, gives some indication that Ilonka missed the main target and lived again in The House of Dracula movie. Daniel sees Ilonka lifeless body and brings to Dr. Niemann and Dr. Niemann tells Daniel it is too late. Daniel is upset and attacks Dr. Niemann. The Monster sees this and attacks Daniel and throws him out of the window and kills him. Just then the villagers who were looking for the werewolf enter the castle. The Monster takes Dr. Niemann and flees to the marsh. The villagers follow and set fire to the marsh. The Monster and Dr. Niemann meet their end when they are trapped in quicksand and drown. The script is poorly written. Since this was a continuation of Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man; a lot of stuff seems out of place. First the town of where the Wolf Man and the Monster is destroyed is Vasaria. Yet in this film the have them shown having been destroyed in the Village of Frankenstein. Second, in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man the records were destroyed; yet they seemed to have made miraculous recovery. In House of Frankenstein John Carradine plays Dracula a. k. a. Baron Latos. No offense to John Carradine, but the movie could have done with out his part. Even some of the subplots and the gypsy girl stuff seem lame. If you just want this movie to round out your classic Universal Horror\Monster collection, see if you can rent from a friend or buy it on eBay. House of Frankenstein gets a C-.
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Very flawed, but with Karloff and Chaney its still a lot of fun
Added 12/1/2008
Released in 1944 and directed by Erle C. Kenton, House of Frankenstein is the 2nd crossover movie and the first to feature, Frankenstein's Monster, The Wolf Man and Dracula; the previous installment Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man only featured the Monster and the Wolf Man. I suppose it was just a matter of time before the big 3 were in a movie together. After the success of Frankenstein and Dracula they soon had sequels and both started to run out of steam. To be honest outside of the original Dracula by Tod Browning I was never into the Dracula series and actually I'm not that big a fan of the original. I enjoy it, but it's my least favorite movie that I've seen by Tod Browning.
I mostly enjoyed the Frankenstein series though; the original is a brilliant masterpiece as is Bride of Frankenstein. The combination of star Boris Karloff and director James Whale was a match made in cinema heaven. But in the 3rd part Son of Frankenstein, Whale was gone, but Karloff returned. While enjoyable it was lacking a little bit and it was saved by Karloff even if he wasn't given much to do except shuffle around. It's been years since I've seen Ghost of Frankenstein, which was directed by Erle C. Kenton, but I do remember not liking it at all.
Going into House of Frankenstein I was unsure what to expect; I didn't like Ghost of Frankenstein, which was done by Kenton and I didn't like the follow up to this movie House of Dracula also done by Kenton. The previous installment Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man despite it's flaws was overall pretty good seeing as it had a decent director in Roy William Neill and an excellent writer in Curt Siodmak and here in House of Frankenstein Boris Karloff makes his big return to the series, but he isn't playing the Monster that role is now played by Glenn Strange who takes the role over from Bela Lugosi who previously played the Monster.
House of Frankenstein mostly gets over well with the audience, but there are some flaws, but despite the flaws House of Frankenstein is a semi-classic. This marks the return of Boris Karloff and was the first time Karloff and Lon Chaney Jr. appeared in a movie together so for fans this was a great treat. Watching my favorite horror actor in Karloff teamed with another of my all time favorite horror actors in Chaney was such a joy to watch.
House of Frankenstein gets off to a solid start it does slow down a little bit. The biggest letdown is the fact Count Dracula now played by John Carradine never shares the screen with the Monster or the Wolf Man. So if you are expecting a 3 way showdown you'll be very disappointed. Carradine only appears for a few minutes and quite honestly his scenes were rather pointless. He serves no real purpose to the plot. Another letdown is the Wolf Man and the Monster actually have no scenes together and Chaney only turns into the Wolf Man twice very briefly and finally the Monster doesn't come alive until the final 10-minutes or so, but it strapped down and doesn't actually get to walk around until the final couple of minutes.
But despite these flaws there is a certain charm House of Frankenstein has even if it could have been a lot better. The script was written by Edward T. Lowe based off a story by the Iconic Curt Siodmak, who wrote such genre classics, as The Wolf Man, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man and I Walked with a Zombie. The script by Edward T. Lowe was good, but at times not very interesting. The characters though are fairly well done, but the only problem is Chaney is giving little to do. For the most part all he does is say the same lines as the previous part, but Chaney is still great here, but slightly failed by his writer. Overall the script is good, but at times just not interesting.
Director Erle C. Kenton does a fairly good ob; as I stated he also did Ghost of Frankenstein and House of Dracula and I wasn't into either flick. But here he does well, but he also has an excellent cast to work with. Some of the problems aren't due to him, but he also never elevates the movie. He does a good job, but nothing great.
John Carradine gets some heat as Dracula, but in fairness he really wasn't bad. Look bottom line is he's some big shoes to fill in. Bela Lugosi was by far the best Dracula and taking over that role is damn near impossible. But I liked Carradine as Dracula, he isn't as good as Lugosi, but he does bring more to the role than most people give him credit for.
Glenn Strange takes over the role as the Frankenstein Monster and it's quite hard to rate his performance since for most of the movie he isn't alive and when he becomes alive he's strapped down until the final couple of minutes. But I liked the way he looked; he does look a little like Karloff did when he played the Monster and his movements were pretty good. Again seeing as he's in the movie so briefly it's tough to rate, but based on the other installments with Strange, I'd rate him as my 2nd favorite Monster behind Karloff obviously.
And speaking of Boris Karloff it was great to see him back in the series. This time he plays Dr. Gustav Niemann who is pretty much an evil version of Dr. Frankenstein. Karloff always is great and I love him as a villain. He's quite cold in House of Frankenstein, no humanity at all and that is why he's so great since he brought such humanity when he played the Monster. Sadly Karloff isn't really given the best of dialogue, but what he has he works it and this was another great performance by Karloff.
Lon Chaney Jr. is brilliant as Larry Talbot, but he mostly just recites the same lines as he had in the previous, but Chaney is so great in the role it's easy to overlook and his scenes with Karloff were brilliant and a great treat for the fans. But I have to say J. Carrol Naish as Daniel the Hunchback assistant to Dr. Gustav Niemann steals the show.
Overall House of Frankenstein is a fun watch despite at times not being very interesting, but it's never really boring and is a fun watch to fans of the Dracula, Frankenstein and Wolf Man movies. Don't go in expecting much, but overall it's a fun if not very flawed movie.
4 out of 4 people found this helpful.
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Arguably the best Frankenstein film of them all! Details!
Added 9/1/2008
Director Erle (not a typo!) C. Kenton went all out on this 1944 black-and-white film to present a Frankenstein movie which all horror fans could embrace, regardless of their preference for a particular monster. Here, we get Dracula (John Carradine), Lawrence Talbot/The Wolfman (Lon Chaney, Jr.), and Frankenstein himself (Glenn Strange)!
As if that were not enough, this cake is superbly iced with Boris Karloff (as the chief protagonist, Doctor Niemann), the lovely Anne Gwynn (Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe - The Complete Saturday Morning Serial), George Zucco (playing the snake oil sideshow man, Doctor Lampini), Lionel Atwill (cast as Arnz), and J. Carrol Naish ( Dr. Renault's Secret) as Daniel, Niemann's hunch-backed, Igor-like assistant! In addition to the monsters, we get a band of Gypsies, hateable monster-victims, and Doctor Lampini's (Zucco) cool sideshow of the Dracula remains.
THE STORY (Warning! Spoilers ahead!): Doctor Niemann and Daniel escape prison when a lightning bolt explodes the wall of their cells. Niemann has promised the hunch-backed Daniel that he'll give him a new body if only they can locate the original Baron Frankenstein's journal and scientific notes. With that endeavor in mind, they soon fall upon the lamentable Doctor Lampini and take over his sideshow as Niemann has a little vengeance in mind against those who had him imprisoned, prior to setting out in search of Baron Frankenstein's notes.
It's lucky that Lampini's wagon contained the remains of Dracula because Niemann removed the wooden stake which kept him dead in his casket and then utilized the vampire to kill one of Niemann's former antagonists. Unfortunately for Dracula, the authorities catch on fast and they pursue him until the sun rises... and you know what that means for Dracula! Niemann has also fled the town, just ahead of Dracula in a double-cross (pun intended), and at the next village Daniel rescues a Gypsy girl from her brutal shill. They're all run out of this village too but Niemann doesn't care a whit because the remnants of Baron Frankenstein's castle are quite nearby.
Once in the ruins of the old estate, Daniel inadvertently discovers both the Frankenstein Monster and The Wolfman in an ice cave (great effects!), deep under the castle. Niemann commences retrieval of the two and as the ice melts away from The Wolfman, he changes back into the unfortunate Lawrence Talbot who luckily knows just where to dig out Baron Frankenstein's journal. Niemann promises to replace Talbot's brain (with that of one of his local enemies) in return for his assistance in traveling to his own decrepit estate; meanwhile, Daniel has fallen for the Gypsy girl but the latter falls in love with Talbot, a ménage-à-trois which leads to big complications.
Niemann is gratified in seeing a couple more of his former antagonists done in (thank you, Mr. Wolfman!) as he sets to work on re-animating the Frankenstein Monster in his home laboratory, much to the frustration of both Talbot and Daniel who each wanted THEIR problems dealt with first. I absolutely must stop there to avoid telling the end of the movie but rest assured that it's as good as the body of the film.
The filmscore/soundtrack for this one is terrific (and appropriate) and was generated by a number of competent folks: Hans J. Salter, musical director; Paul Dessau, composer; Charles Previn, composer; Max Rapp, composer; Milton Rosen, composer, and; Frank Skinner, composer. All except for Salter went uncredited. Special effects were brilliantly handled by John P. Fulton. The aspect ratio is 1.37:1 (full-frame) and the entire movie was filmed at Universal Studios in California.
As this is a Universal Films production there was a fairly good budget established for it, but "Kharis the Mummy" was ultimately excised from the script due to a lack of available funds. Bela Lugosi was also slated to have played Dracula but Universal's producers were displeased with his most recent performance for them as The Frankenstein Monster in Frankenstein Meets Wolfman. "The House of Frankenstein" isn't perfect as there are a few silly boners, the most prevalent of which is when Larry Talbot (Chaney) transforms into the Wolf Man for the final time, his hands aren't made up. The astute viewer can spot this just before he crashes through the glass door. Also, while not really a goof, no member of "Baron Frankenstein's family" ever appears in this film!
If I have a problem at all with this film it's only that I wish George Zucco's role as Doctor Lampini would have played out just a little longer before Daniel (Naish) strangled him to death. I'm Zucco's biggest fan on the planet (see my Amazon Listmania list: "George Zucco... almost live!!!") and I think that they could have carried him in the story for a bit longer. But we can't have everything.
In summary, this 71-minute treasure exudes mega-action and the filmscore/soundtrack has become quite renowned: House of Frankenstein, a rare actuality for an older horror movie. You'll also see one of the better vampire transformations ever filmed in one of these older horror flicks. This version is, of course, the VHS one and the DVD print is much better -- unfortunately, it is not available by itself: Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man / House of Frankenstein, or, Frankenstein - The Legacy Collection (Frankenstein / Bride of / Son of / Ghost of / House of).
I highly recommend this fine old horror film to appropriate viewers.
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Universal's Second Monster Mash
Added 6/7/2008
This 1944 follow-up to "Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man" lacks the moody atmosphere and slickness of its predecessor. "House of Frankenstein" wastes the Universal gallery of monsters in a terribly contrived story. Though Boris Karloff returns to the fold as Dr. Niemann, the actor wishes he were in another film - preferably a Val Lewton production. Director Erle C. Kenton would do a better job with the immediate sequel, "House of Dracula" (1945).
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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A MAD DOCTOR, A HUNCHBACK AND SOME MONSTERS WALK INTO A BAR..................!
Added 2/22/2008
A fun action packed sequel to 'Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman', this film doesn't waste any time getting started. Karloff is back but, this time playing a mad doctor. Karloff and his hunchback assistant run into Dracula and are done with him before the first half is over.
The second half of the film takes up where 'Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman' leaves off. Contrived to say the least, but tough to dislike! This is also Glen Strange's first outing as the Monster and I have read that Karloff gave him instructions on how to play the monster. It shows and I think Strange is at his best here and the best Frankenstein since Karloff.
This is available on DVD on the Frankenstein Legacy collection and a double bill with 'Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman'. The DVD transfers are very good. I rate it 3 3/4 stars.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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classic movies
Added 11/29/2008
A little on the corny side but what did you expect? It's nice to see and old black an white at Haloweeen
1 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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Frankenstein Meets Universal Pictures!
Added 11/21/2008
These movies are probably tier 2 on the movie monster list. Still they are pretty good and a lot of fun! Enjoy and have a nice evening!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Some details and positive comments for 'House of Frankenstein'
Added 9/4/2008
I just wanted to drop in here and express my sincere enthusiasm for "House of Frankenstein," which is one of the two films on this DVD.
Director Erle (not a typo!) C. Kenton went all out on this 1944 black-and-white film to present a Frankenstein movie which all horror fans could embrace, regardless of their preference for a particular monster. Here, we get Dracula (John Carradine), Lawrence Talbot/The Wolfman (Lon Chaney, Jr.), and Frankenstein himself (Glenn Strange)!
As if that were not enough, this cake is superbly iced with Boris Karloff (as the chief protagonist, Doctor Niemann), the lovely Anne Gwynn (Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe - The Complete Saturday Morning Serial), George Zucco (playing the snake oil sideshow man, Doctor Lampini), Lionel Atwill (cast as Arnz), and J. Carrol Naish (Dr. Renault's Secret) as Daniel, Niemann's hunch-backed, Igor-like assistant! In addition to the monsters, we get a band of Gypsies, hateable monster-victims, and Doctor Lampini's (Zucco) cool sideshow of the Dracula remains.
THE STORY (Warning! Spoilers ahead!): Doctor Niemann and Daniel escape prison when a lightning bolt explodes the wall of their cells. Niemann has promised the hunch-backed Daniel that he'll give him a new body if only they can locate the original Baron Frankenstein's journal and scientific notes. With that endeavor in mind, they soon fall upon the lamentable Doctor Lampini and take over his sideshow as Niemann has a little vengeance in mind against those who had him imprisoned, prior to setting out in search of Baron Frankenstein's notes.
It's lucky that Lampini's wagon contained the remains of Dracula because Niemann removed the wooden stake which kept him dead in his casket and then utilized the vampire to kill one of Niemann's former antagonists. Unfortunately for Dracula, the authorities catch on fast and they pursue him until the sun rises... and you know what that means for Dracula! Niemann has also fled the town, just ahead of Dracula in a double-cross (pun intended), and at the next village Daniel rescues a Gypsy girl from her brutal shill. They're all run out of this village too but Niemann doesn't care a whit because the remnants of Baron Frankenstein's castle are quite nearby.
Once in the ruins of the old estate, Daniel inadvertently discovers both the Frankenstein Monster and The Wolfman in an ice cave (great effects!), deep under the castle. Niemann commences retrieval of the two and as the ice melts away from The Wolfman, he changes back into the unfortunate Lawrence Talbot who luckily knows just where to dig out Baron Frankenstein's journal. Niemann promises to replace Talbot's brain (with that of one of his local enemies) in return for his assistance in traveling to his own decrepit estate; meanwhile, Daniel has fallen for the Gypsy girl but the latter falls in love with Talbot, a ménage-à-trois which leads to big complications.
Niemann is gratified in seeing a couple more of his former antagonists done in (thank you, Mr. Wolfman!) as he sets to work on re-animating the Frankenstein Monster in his home laboratory, much to the frustration of both Talbot and Daniel who each wanted THEIR problems dealt with first. I absolutely must stop there to avoid telling the end of the movie but rest assured that it's as good as the body of the film.
The filmscore/soundtrack for this one is terrific (and appropriate) and was generated by a number of competent folks: Hans J. Salter, musical director; Paul Dessau, composer; Charles Previn, composer; Max Rapp, composer; Milton Rosen, composer, and; Frank Skinner, composer. All except for Salter went uncredited. Special effects were brilliantly handled by John P. Fulton. The aspect ratio is 1.37:1 (full-frame) and the entire movie was filmed at Universal Studios in California.
As this is a Universal Films production there was a fairly good budget established for it, but "Kharis the Mummy" was ultimately excised from the script due to a lack of available funds. Bela Lugosi was also slated to have played Dracula but Universal's producers were displeased with his most recent performance for them as The Frankenstein Monster in Frankenstein Meets Wolfman. "The House of Frankenstein" isn't perfect as there are a few silly boners, the most prevalent of which is when Larry Talbot (Chaney) transforms into the Wolf Man for the final time, his hands aren't made up. The astute viewer can spot this just before he crashes through the glass door. Also, while not really a goof, no member of "Baron Frankenstein's family" (the Monster excepted!) ever appears in this film!
If I have a problem at all with this film it's only that I wish George Zucco's role as Doctor Lampini would have played out just a little longer before Daniel (Naish) strangled him to death. I'm Zucco's biggest fan on the planet (see my Amazon Listmania list: "George Zucco... almost live!!!") and I think that they could have carried him in the story for a bit longer. But we can't have everything.
In summary, this 71-minute treasure exudes mega-action and the filmscore/soundtrack has become quite renowned: House of Frankenstein, a rare actuality for an older horror movie. You'll also see one of the better vampire transformations (from man to bat and vice-versa) ever filmed in one of these older horror flicks. Unfortunately, "House of Frankenstein" is not available by itself on a single DVD so you either get this one or: Frankenstein - The Legacy Collection (Frankenstein / Bride of / Son of / Ghost of / House of).
I highly recommend this fine old horror film to appropriate viewers.
5 out of 5 people found this helpful.
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