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House Of Frankenstein
(1944)
Synopsis:
In what would be one of
the best of the “monster mash” movies, marking
the end of the Universal horror franchises, Boris Karloff
stars as Dr. Niemann, a doctor whose own experiments mirrored
that of Dr. Frankenstein. He escapes from a mental asylum
with his assistant and takes over a traveling chamber of horrors
in an effort to avoid the police. Soon he has unleashed Count
Dracula, whose skeleton is part of the exhibit, and the vampire
begins terrorizing the locals. Niemann
finds the ruins of Castle Frankenstein and soon locates the
frozen bodies of the Wolf
Man and the Frankenstein Monster. He revives them both and
mayhem ensues. This film is actually the sequel to  1943’s Frankenstein
Meets The Wolf Man which is included on The
Wolf Man – The Legacy Collection.
Cary: This is my second favorite of the Universal
sequels. I actually used to have a Super 8mm version of this
that I would watch on a home projector that my grandmother
gave me. It cut out about 80% of the movie. Dracula wasn't
even in it. I think it's the best of all the "monster
mash" films.
Shawn: Is
the SMOKE GOOOOOOOOOOOOOD, Cary? I
watched House Of Frankenstein twice and I
only made two lines of notes. One said "Completely unmemorable"
and I stand by it.
Cary: Agghhh!!!!
You're missing out on greatness!!
Shawn: Maybe
the 20% you watched and rewatched in 8mm was the version I
need to see.
Cary: Two words. Boris Karloff!!! The man is awesome!
 Shawn: Two words. Fell Asleep!!! I
do agree, though, Karloff playing the creator instead of the
monster was a fun spin. In fact, that was the only other note
that I made.
Cary: Considering
what they had to do to get all the monsters in one place and
make it more believable than, say, Van Helsing,
I think the story is actually really strong. The Dracula part
is a complete throwaway, though. It exists as a story within
the story and is resolved a third of the way in. That was
obviously a way to throw the character in. This movie also
contains my all-time favorite blatant fuck-up: when Dracula's
carriage overturns and he's trying to escape the sunlight,
his fake mustache falls half off. That shit is hilarious.
Karloff aside, though, John Carradine is good in this one.
I didn't like him in House of Dracula, but in this one, he
plays the character well. To me, the one who gets completely
out acted is Lon Chaney, Jr., but that seems to be the case
in a lot of the films he is in.
 Shawn: He's a very subtle actor, and a lot more human. He doesn't have the same qualities as Lugosi or Karloff
when it comes to heavy monster characters. You watched
the trailer. I can't believe they check listed
the villains, and just to increase the numbers, they did shit
like... 5! The Hunchback! Like, who the fuck
is The Hunchback? Is this film set in Notre Dame?
Cary: The
Wolf Man is a whiny bitch in this movie! That pisses me off
because he's my second favorite character in the Universal
line-up.
Shawn: He
was a whiny bitch in House Of Dracula too.
 Cary: I never understood that shit. "Waaaa,
waaaa. I don't want to be a BAD ASS FUCKING WEREWOLF anymore.
I want to be human and live alone now that my entire family
is dead.” Maybe that's my inner psycho
talking, but shit, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade...
then quench your thirst while killing people and ripping shit
up.
Shawn: Dracula needs to bitch slap him into shape. Wolf Man gets all the honeys. There is no reason
for his constant crying.
Cary: I
was about to say that. You know, (jumping ahead here) for
a guy who practically stalks a girl in The Wolf Man,
Larry Talbot has lost all his fucking game by this movie.
Oh well, so you don't like this one. I'm disappointed, but
not completely shocked.
Special Features
- Frankenstein – Audio Commentary with film historian Rudy Behlmer
- The Frankenstein Files: How Hollywood Made a Monster – An original documentary
- Frankenstein – Original Poster and Photo Gallery
- Frankenstein – Theatrical Trailer
- Bride Of Frankenstein – Audio Commentary with film historian Scott MacQueen
- She’s Alive! Creating the Bride Of Frankenstein – An original documentary
- Bride Of Frankenstein – Original Poster and Photo Gallery
- Bride Of Frankenstein – Theatrical Trailer
- Ghost Of Frankenstein – Theatrical Trailer
- House Of Frankenstein – Theatrical Trailer
- Boo!: A short film
- Stephen Sommers on Universal’s Classic Monster: Frankenstein’s Monster
 Cary: I like that this has two documentaries. I
may not agree with everything said about Bride Of
Frankenstein in the commentary, but it's still a great
film, and getting that extra documentary focusing on that title
alone is really cool. I like the main feature documentary
quite a bit in this one, also. I think it's as good as the
one on the Dracula set. Very informative
and very well done.
Shawn: I
agree with you on all counts here. The documentary is excellent.
The Frankenstein commentary is awesome as
well. I enjoyed the Bride commentary, but
like you said, there was a bit much of the oooh-ing and ahhh-ing
Cary: I
liked MacQueen's delivery better than the guy who did the
main feature, though. I think both are equally informative
but the first one sounded dry to my ears.
 Shawn: As usual, the Stephen Sommers Van
Helsing promo bit is a complete throwaway. The trailers are all great for history value, but
I wonder what happened to the Son Of Frankenstein trailer.
Cary: Good
question. That happens on some of the other sets, also. The
trailers and poster/photo galleries are awesome! I really
love the poster art for all of these films.
Cary: What
did you think of "Boo!"?
Shawn: Fuck “Boo!”
Let’s get Frankenstein. Throw Nosferatu in for some
fuck-stick reason. Let’s not forget some random other
film clips. And then add some jokes about Congress. The makers
of “Boo!” can
go to hell.
 Cary: Yes, it's stupid, but it's interesting to
see what made audiences in the 1930's laugh. Those were much
simpler times.
Shawn: I don't believe that it made anyone laugh.
I think it was made as a cruel joke.
Cary: Overall
I give this set a full five pants rating. This is by far the
strongest set of films in the Universal Horror Legacy Collection.
Shawn: I
agree with this, based on the quality of the films, the supplemental
features, and the awesome packaging. Even Stephen Sommers
and “Boo!” can't
take away from an awesome set!
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