Review – Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man

Not even a “versus,” huh? They just meet? I dunno. Doesn’t sound all that exciting. And in fact it doesn’t turn out to be anyone’s finest moment. This go-around is primarily a sequel to The Wolf Man, and like its predecessor this one stars Lon Chaney Jr. Bela Lugosi plays the other half of the title bill, donning the makeup his nemesis Boris Karloff made famous. Though I hate to say anything bad about Lugosi, the brutal truth is that he spends most of this production looking and acting like a sluggish, re-animated major domo. The de rigeur mad scientist’s task is to 1. kill Lawrence Talbot, who desperately wants to pass on before the full moon once again transforms him into a rampaging beast, 2. either kill or re-energize his father’s and/or grandfather’s monster, and 3. keep the usual pack of torch- and pitchfork-wielding villagers from putting a timely end to the plot. If you’re a big fan of the classic Universal monsters, this effort serves up at least a couple of them for you. Mildly amusing