Despite boasting vastly different backgrounds, Frankenstein’s Monster, the Wolf Man, and Dracula share three great films to their names. The 1930s and 1940s were a significant era for horror movies, of which Universal Pictures made plenty during this time. It contributed a great deal to the medium, in fact, delivering some of the best horror movies of all time. Some of these films enjoyed so much success that the studio was quick to capitalize on it with follow-ups, sequels, and even crossovers.
Movies like Dracula, The Wolf Man, and The Invisible Man, Frankenstein, and The Mummy were obviously meant to be standalone horror films, but their popularity brought great appeal to the idea of their respective monsters meeting each other on the big screen. This strategy paved the way for one of the most notable monster crossovers ever made, House of Frankenstein, which was quickly followed by two more, with all three sharing the triumvirate of the horror genre.
House Of Frankenstein Was A Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman Sequel (But With Dracula)
Released In 1944, House Of Frankenstein Was Directed By Erle C. Kewton
Universal’s biggest monsters aren’t connected lore-wise, so it’s to easy to see why bringing two together would pose a massive creative challenge. However, Universal managed to overcome it – and more than once. Uniting as many as three would seem particularly problematic, but House of Frankenstein’s efforts to craft a movie around a werewolf, Dracula, and Frankenstein’s Monster were made easier by a prior crossover. Universal had already pitted a werewolf and Frakenstein’s Monster against each other, so the studio used this fight as setup for the two to already be together in a sequel.
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
engineered the titular meeting by having Universal’s werewolf character, Larry Talbot, believe that a cure could be found in the notes of Dr. Frankenstein.
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man engineered the titular meeting by having Universal’s werewolf character, Larry Talbot, believe that a cure could be found in the notes of Dr. Frankenstein. This predictably laid the groundwork for Talbot – as the Wolf Man – to come to blows with the scientist’s infamous creation, Frankenstein’s Monster. Due to a flood in the castle at the end of the film, both were presumed dead. Serving as a direct continuation of this, House of Frankenstein explored what happened to them next, showing its main characters find them after an encounter with Dracula.
However, it’s important to note that while House of Frakenstein features the Wolf Man, Frankenstein’s Monster and Dracula, only the latter two actually share scenes. Dracula’s relevance to the story passes by before the main characters even meet Frankenstein’s Monster and the Wolf Man, as he’s killed not long after being revived. Because featuring all three was a key part of its premise, the film disappointed in this regard, but this was ultimately rectified.
House Of Dracula Concluded The Stories Of Dracula, The Wolf Man, & Frankeinstein’s Monster
Released In 1945, House of Dracula Was Directed By Erle C. Kewton
Unlike House of Frankenstein, its direct sequel weaved all three monsters’ storylines together. This was done through the introduction of Dr. Edelmann, a scientist whose expertise attracted the attention of Dracula and the Wolf Man, coincidentally at the same time. Both Dracula and Larry Talbot went looking for him, both in search for a cure for what makes them monsters. As for Frankenstein’s Monster, he was brought into the picture after his comatose body was found by Dr. Edelmenn in the cave where he was left at the end of House of Frakenstein.
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Though all three monsters were on hand, none of the three fought each other. Rather, the center of the action was actually Dr. Edelmenn, who wound up becoming a monster himself. His actions led to an action-packed finale that found something to do for each of Universal Pictures’ three iconic monsters. In this respect, it was superior to House of Frankenstein, as not only did it do a lot more with Dracula, but it didn’t sideline one of its headlining attractions before the halfway point in the film.
This decision felt especially important, considering that House of Dracula works as a conclusion to the stories of the three Universal monsters. Admittedly, each of them had already died before, but sequels kept them going, giving them new stories to lead. None needed an ending more than Larry Talbot, whose battle with the werewolf curse haunted him across every installment. It took several movies, but through House of Dracula, Universal Pictures finally ended that struggle for him.
Abbott & Costello Meets Frankenstein Is Three Monsters’ Best Crossover, Even Though It’s A Comedy
Released in 1948, Abbott & Costello Meets Frankenstein Was Directed By Charles Barton
Three years after House of Dracula, the trio were given a third crossover by Universal Pictures, this time in a drastically different format. Deciding to mix horror with comedy, Universal Pictures inserted the Wolf Man, Frankenstein’s Monster, and Dracula into a story starring Budd Abbott and Lou Costello, a comedy duo that went on to carry an extremely popular franchise. Serving as the second movie in the series, Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein sent its title characters to a castle where they meet Larry Talbot, who wants to destroy the newly resurrected Dracula and Frankenstein’s Monster.
What’s more, it did a lot more with the crossover premise than its predecessors, even going as far as to make the Wolf Man fight Dracula. Of course, the idea of two actors known for slapstick comedy sharing a movie with the three monsters isn’t consistent with their respective franchises, since it naturally led to a lack of any true sense of horror. But in spite of this, Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein doesn’t suffer from being a comedy, because it was able to offer laughs without sacrificing the images of Frankenstein’s Monster, the Wolf Man, or Dracula.
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Prior to the film’s release, this aspect of the story was acknowledged by Dracula actor Bela Lagosi himself, who noted how the Prince of Darkness would be left “unblemished” by Abbot & Costello Meet Frankenstein. The same can be said of the other two monsters, who don’t indulge in the humor themselves. Rather, it’s the main characters, their shenanigans, and their reactions to the creatures that account for most of the film’s funny moments. This allowed the movie to work as a comedy and still be faithful to the monsters’ reputations at the same time.
This was made even better by the cast. Instead of having Glenn Strange reprise his role as Dracula from House of Frankenstein and House of Dracula again, Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein brought back Bela Lugosi, the actor who made the character a cinematic icon in the first place. Strange was still in the film, but playing Frankenstein’s Monster this time around. So with Lugosi as Dracula and Lon Chaney, Jr. playing The Wolf Man for the fifth time in his career, Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein was able to include two of the most iconic versions of the three Universal Pictures monsters.
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House of Frankenstein (1944) is a horror film featuring Boris Karloff as Dr. Gustav Niemann, a mad scientist who escapes from prison and seeks revenge against his enemies. Niemann teams up with the hulking Daniel, played by J. Carrol Naish, and the two encounter the monstrous Dracula, the Wolf Man, and Frankenstein’s Monster, leading to a series of terrifying confrontations.
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Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein is a comedy horror film that brings together the comedic duo Bud Abbott and Lou Costello with iconic Universal monsters. The film follows the misadventures of two freight handlers who find themselves entangled in a series of mishaps involving Dracula, the Wolf Man, and Frankenstein’s monster.