| The House of Frankenstein | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Erle C. Kenton |
| Screenplay by | Edward T. Lowe |
| Story by | Curt Siodmak |
| Produced by | Paul Malvern |
| Starring |
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| Cinematography | George Robinson |
| Edited by | Philip Cahn |
| Music by |
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| Distributed by | Universal Studios |
Release dates |
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Running time | 71 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $354,000[2] |
The House of Frankenstein is a 1944 American monster crossover horror film starring Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney Jr., directed by Erle C. Kenton, written by Curt Siodmak, and produced by Universal Studios as a sequel to Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man and Son of Dracula the previous year. The cast includes a mad scientist (Karloff), the Wolf Man (Chaney), Count Dracula (John Carradine), a hunchback (J. Carrol Naish), and Frankenstein's monster (Glenn Strange). This "monster rally" approach would continue in the following film, House of Dracula, as well as the 1948 comedy Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.[3]
Plot[]
Dr. Gustav Niemann (Boris Karloff) escapes from prison along with his hunchbacked assistant Daniel (J. Carrol Naish), for whom he promises to create a new, beautiful body. The two murder Professor Lampini (George Zucco), a traveling showman, and take over his horror exhibit.[4] To exact revenge on Bürgermeister Hussman (Sig Ruman), who had put him in prison, Niemann revives Count Dracula (John Carradine). Dracula seduces Hussmann's granddaughter-in-law Rita (Anne Gwynne) and kills Hussmann himself, but in a subsequent chase, Niemann disposes of Dracula's coffin, causing the vampire to perish in the sunlight.
Niemann and Daniel move on to the flooded ruins of Castle Frankenstein in Visaria, where they find the bodies of Frankenstein's monster (Glenn Strange) and Lawrence Talbot, the Wolf Man (Lon Chaney Jr.), preserved in the frozen castle. Niemann thaws them and promises to find Talbot a cure for the curse. However, he is more interested in reviving the monster and exacting revenge on two traitorous former associates than in keeping his promises. Talbot transforms into a werewolf and kills a man, sending the villagers into a panic.
Niemann and Daniel save a gypsy girl named Ilonka (Elena Verdugo), and Daniel falls in love with her; it is unrequited, however, as Ilonka falls in love with Talbot. Daniel tells Ilonka that Talbot is a werewolf, but she is undeterred, and promises Talbot that she will help him.
Events reach a crisis point when Niemann revives the monster and Talbot again turns into a werewolf. The werewolf attacks and fatally wounds Illonka, but she manages to shoot and kill Talbot with a silver bullet before she dies. Daniel blames Niemann and turns on him. The monster intervenes, throws Daniel out of the window, and carries the half-conscious Niemann outside, where the villagers chase them into the marshes. There, both the monster and Niemann drown in quicksand.
Cast[]
- Boris Karloff as Dr. Gustav Niemann
- Lon Chaney Jr. as Lawrence "Larry" Talbot / The Wolf Man (billed as "Lon Chaney")
- J. Carrol Naish as Daniel
- John Carradine as Count Dracula
- Glenn Strange as Frankenstein's Monster
- Elena Verdugo as Ilonka
- Anne Gwynne as Rita Hussman
- Peter Coe as Karl Hussman
- Lionel Atwill as Inspector Arnz
- Sig Ruman as Bürgermeister Hussman
- George Zucco as Bruno Lampini
- William Edmunds as Fejos
- Charles F. Miller as Tobermann
- Philip Van Zandt as Müller
- Julius Tannen as Hertz
- Hans Herbert as Meier
- Dick Dickinson as Born
- Michael Mark as Strauss
Production[]
Glenn Strange and Boris Karloff
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) had been the first on-screen pairing of two Universal Studios monsters, but The House of Frankenstein was the first multi-monster movie. Early drafts of the story reportedly involved more characters from the Universal stable, including the Mummy, the Ape Woman, the Mad Ghoul, and possibly the Invisible Man. Working titles—which included Chamber of Horrors (a reference to Lampini's travelling horror show) and The Devil's Brood—emphasized the multi-monster nature of the story.
The multi-monster approach, which emphasized box office appeal over continuity, was used in House of Dracula the following year and later in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. The House of Frankenstein marked Glenn Strange's debut as the monster. Strange, a former cowboy, had been a minor supporting player in dozens of low-budget Westerns over the preceding 15 years. He reprised the role in House of Dracula and Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, and cemented the popular image of the monster as shambling, clumsy, and inarticulate. Boris Karloff, who had moved on from playing the monster to playing the mad scientist, reportedly coached Strange on how to play the role.
The scream that accompanies Daniel's fall from the roof is actually the voice of Karloff, recycled from the scene in Son of Frankenstein where the monster howls in anguish at finding Ygor dead. The face on the monster dummy used in the ice and laboratory scenes was a mask of Lon Chaney Jr., who had played the monster himself in The Ghost of Frankenstein.
Strange did his own stunt work on the film, notably in the climax where he flees across a field of burning grass and sinks into a pool of quicksand. The grass was actually tumbleweeds, which nearly scorched him when they burned more quickly than expected. Stuntman Cary Loftin doubled for Boris Karloff in the fire scenes, but Karloff returned for the final scene in the quicksand.
Some continuity errors are evident in the finished film. After Dracula is thrown from the carriage, he looks over to where his coffin has landed; in a close-up, part of his mustache is gone. Also, when Talbot transforms into the Wolf Man for the final time, his hands lack fur.
Karloff's performance in this film is his last in Universal's classic horror cycle.[5]
Reception[]
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A. H. Weiler of The New York Times compared the film's collection of monsters to "a baseball team with nine Babe Ruths, only this grisly congress doesn't hit hard; it merely has speed and a change of pace. As such, then, it is bound to garner as many chuckles as it does chills. However, lampoon or no, put this item down as a bargain for the bogie hunters."[6] Variety called it "a solid entry for the attention of the horror addicts" and called Naish "particularly well cast".[7] Harrison's Reports called it "only a mild horror picture, more ludicrous than terrifying. The whole thing is a rehash of the fantastic doings of these characters in previous pictures and, since they do exactly what is expected of them, the spectator is neither shocked nor chilled."[8]
See also[]
- List of American films of 1944
- Universal Monsters
- List of films featuring Frankenstein's monster
- Frankenstein in popular culture
- Vampire films
References[]
- ↑ Scivally, Bruce (2015). Dracula FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the Count from Transylvania (ebook). Backbeat Books. ISBN 9781617136368.
- ↑ Brunas, Michael; Brunas, John and Weaver, Tom (1980) Universal Horrors: The Studios Classic Films, 1931–46. McFarland. p.468
- ↑ Jacobs, Stephen. (2011) Boris Karloff: More Than a Monster. Tomahawk Press. p.291-96
- ↑ Rovin, Jeff (1987). The Encyclopedia of Supervillains. New York: Facts on File. p. 96. ISBN 0-8160-1356-X.
- ↑ Vieira, Mark A. (2003). Hollywood Horror: From Gothic to Cosmic. New York: Harry N. Abrams. p. 101. ISBN 0-8109-4535-5. https://archive.org/details/hollywoodhorrorf0000viei/page/101.
- ↑ "Movie Review – House of Frankenstein". The New York Times. December 16, 1944. Retrieved February 28, 2016.
{{cite web}}: - ↑ "Film Reviews". Variety (New York: Variety, Inc.): 17. December 20, 1944.
- ↑ "'House of Frankenstein' with Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney". Harrison's Reports: 207. December 23, 1944.
External links[]
- The House of Frankenstein at the American Film Institute Catalog
- The House of Frankenstein at the Internet Movie Database
- The House of Frankenstein at the TCM Movie Database
- The House of Frankenstein at AllMovie
| Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus | ||
|---|---|---|
| Characters | Frankenstein's monster • Victor Frankenstein • Doctor Waldman • Elizabeth Lavenza | |
| Films | Universal series | Frankenstein (1931) • Bride of Frankenstein (1935) • Son of Frankenstein (1939) • The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942) • Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) • House of Frankenstein (1944) • House of Dracula (1945) • Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) |
| Universal characters | Igor • Doctor Septimus Pretorius • Wolf Frankenstein • Bride of Frankenstein • Ludwig Frankenstein | |
| Hammer series | The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) • The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958) • The Evil of Frankenstein (1964) • Frankenstein Created Woman (1967) • Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969) • The Horror of Frankenstein (1970) • Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974) | |
| Toho series | Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965) • The War of the Gargantuas (1966) | |
| Parodies | Mad Monster Party? (1967) • Mad Mad Mad Monsters (1972) • Young Frankenstein (1974) • Frankenstein all'italiana (1975) • Frankenweenie (1984) • Transylvania 6-5000 (1985) • The Monster Squad (1987) • Frankenhooker (1990) • Monster Mash (1995) • Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet Frankenstein (1999) • Monster Mash (2000) • Frankenthumb (2002) • Frankenweenie (2012) • Monster Family (2017) | |
| The Munsters | Munster, Go Home! (1966) • The Munsters' Revenge (1981) • Here Come the Munsters (1995) • The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas (1996) | |
| Hotel Transylvania | Hotel Transylvania (2012) • Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015) • Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation (2018) • Hotel Transylvania: Transformania (2021) | |
| Others | Frankenstein (1910) • Life Without Soul (1915) • The Monster of Frankenstein (1920) • I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957) • Frankenstein 1970 (1958) • Frankenstein's Daughter (1958) • Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster (1965) • Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter (1966) • Los Monstruos del Terror (1970) • Lady Frankenstein (1971) • Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971) • Frankenstein '80 (1972) • Flesh for Frankenstein (1973) • Blackenstein (1973) • Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks (1974) • Frankenstein Legend of Terror (1981) • Frankenstein Island (1981) • The Bride (1985) • Frankenstein Unbound (1990) • Frankenstein (1992) • Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994) • Van Helsing (2004) • Frankenstein vs. the Creature from Blood Cove (2005) • Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl (2009) • House of the Wolf Man (2009) • Frankenstein: Day of the Beast (2011) • Frankenstein's Army (2013) • The Frankenstein Theory (2013) • I, Frankenstein (2014) • Army of Frankensteins (2014) • Frankenstein (2015) • Victor Frankenstein (2015) | |
| Television | Tales of Frankenstein (1958) • The Munsters (1964–1966) • Frankenstein Jr. and The Impossibles (1966–1968) • Groovie Goolies (1970-1971) • Frankenstein (1973) • Frankenstein: The True Story (1973) • Monster Squad (1976) • Struck by Lightning (1979) • The Munsters Today (1988-1991) • Monster Force (1994) • House of Frankenstein (1997) • Frankenstein (2004 TV film) • Frankenstein (2004 miniseries) • Frankenstein (2007) • Mary Shelley's Frankenhole (2010) • Once Upon a Time ("The Doctor" (2012) • "In the Name of the Brother" (2013)) • Penny Dreadful (2014–2016) • Frankenstein, MD (2014) • The Frankenstein Chronicles (2015–2017) • Second Chance (2016) • Hotel Transylvania: The Series (2017–present) | |
| Stage | Presumption; or, the Fate of Frankenstein (1823) • Frankenstein, or The Vampire's Victim (1887) • Frankenstein (1927) • Joined At The Heart (2007) • Frankenstein – A New Musical (2007) • Young Frankenstein (2007) • Frankenstein (2011 play) • Frankenstein's Wedding (2011 play) | |
| Novels | Frankenstein's Aunt (1978) • Frankenstein's Aunt Returns (1989) • Frankenstein's Cat (2001) • Dean Koontz's Frankenstein (Prodigal Son (2005) • City of Night (2005) • Dead and Alive (2009) • Lost Souls (2010) • The Dead Town (2011)) • Frankenstein in Baghdad (2013) • The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein (2018) | |
| Comics | Bernie Wrightson's Frankenstein • Frankenstein (DC Comics) • Frankenstein (Dell Comics) • Doc Frankenstein • Embalming • Frankenstein's Monster (Marvel Comics) • Frankenstein (Prize Comics) • Young Frankenstein | |
| Video games | Frankenstein's Monster • Frankenstein • Frankenstein: The Monster Returns • Dr. Franken • Mary Shelley's Frankenstein • Frankenstein: Through the Eyes of the Monster • Van Helsing | |
| Related | Universal Classic Monsters • Frankenstein in popular culture • Frankenstein Castle • Frankenstein Day • Johann Konrad Dippel • Frankenstein complex • Frankenstrat (guitar) • "Frankenstein" (1973 single) • Frankenstein (Death Race) | |
| The Wolf Man film series | ||
|---|---|---|
| Original | The Wolf Man (1941) | |
| Sequels | Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) • House of Frankenstein (1944) • House of Dracula (1945) • Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) | |
| Remake | The Wolfman (2010) | |
| Characters | Larry Talbot | |
| Other films | Mad Monster Party? (1967) • Mad Mad Mad Monsters (1972) • The Monster Squad (1987) • Alvin and the Chipmunks Meet the Wolfman (2000) • Monster Mash (2000) • Van Helsing (2004) • House of the Wolf Man (2009) • Hotel Transylvania (2012) • Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015) | |
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| Bram Stoker's Dracula | ||
|---|---|---|
| Characters | Original novel | Count Dracula • Abraham Van Helsing • Jonathan Harker • Mina Harker • Lucy Westenra • Arthur Holmwood • Dr. John Seward • Quincey Morris •
Renfield • Brides |
| Other works | Adri Nital • Alucard • Count Alucard • Count Orlok • Count von Count • Dracula (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) • Doctor Sun • Eva • Hamilton Slade • Janus • Postmortem • Turac | |
| Historical | Vlad Călugărul • Vlad the Impaler • Vlad II Dracul | |
| Films | Universal series |
Dracula (1931 English-language) • Drácula (1931 Spanish-language) • Dracula's Daughter (1936) • Son of Dracula (1943) • House of Frankenstein (1944) • House of Dracula (1945) • Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) |
| Hammer series |
Dracula (1958) • The Brides of Dracula (1960) • Dracula: Prince of Darkness (1966) • Dracula Has Risen from the Grave (1968) • Taste the Blood of Dracula (1970) • Scars of Dracula (1970) • Dracula A.D. 1972 (1972) • The Satanic Rites of Dracula (1973) • The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires (1974) | |
| Dracula 2000 |
Dracula 2000 (2000) • Dracula II: Ascension (2003) • Dracula III: Legacy (2005) | |
| Parodies | Mad Monster Party? (1967) • Batman Fights Dracula (1967) • Blacula (1972) • Mad Mad Mad Monsters (1972) • Blood for Dracula (1974) • Vampira (1974) • Son of Dracula (1974) • Dracula in the Provinces (1975) • Dracula and Son (1976) • Love at First Bite (1979) • The Halloween That Almost Wasn't (1979) • Fracchia contro Dracula (1985) • The Monster Squad (1987) • Scooby-Doo! and the Reluctant Werewolf (1988) • Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995) • Monster Mash (1995) • Monster Mash (2000) • Zora the Vampire (2000) • Hotel Transylvania (2012) • Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015) | |
| Other | Dracula's Death (1921) • Nosferatu (1922) • The Return of the Vampire (1943) • Drakula İstanbul'da (1953) • Blood of Dracula (1957) • The Return of Dracula (1958) • Batman Dracula (1964) • Billy the Kid Versus Dracula (1966) • Dracula (1968) • Blood of Dracula's Castle (1969) • Count Dracula (1970) • Los Monstruos del Terror (1970) • Cuadecuc, vampir (1971) • Vampyros Lesbos (1971) • Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1971) • Bram Stoker's Dracula (1973) • Count Dracula's Great Love (1974) • Count Dracula (1977) • Dracula's Dog (1978) • Doctor Dracula (1978) • Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979) • Dracula (1979) • Nocturna: Granddaughter of Dracula (1979) • Dracula's Widow (1988) • To Die For (1989) • Sundown: The Vampire in Retreat (1989) • Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) • Nadja (1994) • Shadow of the Vampire (2000) • Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula (2000) • Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary (2002) • Dracula (2002) •
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003) • Van Helsing (2004) • Van Helsing: The London Assignment (2004) • Dracula 3000 (2004) • The Vulture's Eye (2004) • Blade: Trinity (2004) • The Batman vs. Dracula (2005) • Bram Stoker's Dracula's Curse (2006) • Dracula (2006) • Bram Stoker's Dracula's Guest (2008) • The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice (2008) • House of the Wolf Man (2009) • Young Dracula (2011) • Dracula Reborn (2012) • Dracula 3D (2012) • Saint Dracula 3D (2012) • Dracula 2012 (2013) • Dracula: The Dark Prince (2013) • Dracula Untold (2014) | |
| Television | Series | Draculas ring (1978) • Cliffhangers (1979) • Drak Pack (1980) • Count Duckula (1988–1993) • Dracula: The Series (1990–1991) • Little Dracula (1991–1999) • Ace Kilroy (2011–2012) • Young Dracula (2006–2014) (characters • episodes) • Dracula (2013–2014) • Penny Dreadful (2014–2016) |
| Episodes | "Treehouse of Horror IV" (1993) • "Treehouse of Horror XXI" (2010) • "Buffy vs. Dracula" (2000) • "The Crypt of Dracula" ((smaller|2017}} | |
| Other novels |
The Dracula Tape and sequels (1975–2002) • Anno Dracula series (1992–present) (Anno Dracula • The Bloody Red Baron • Dracula Cha Cha Cha) • Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories (1914) • The Revenge of Dracula (1978) • Little Dracula (1986) • Dracula the Undead (1997) • The Historian (2005) • The Book of Renfield (2005) • Bloodline (2005) • Young Dracula and Young Monsters (2006) • Fangland (2007) • Dracula the Un-dead (2009) | |
| Plays | Dracula (1924) • Dracula (1995) • Dracula (1996) | |
| Musicals | Dracula (Czech musical) (1995) • Dracula: A Chamber Musical (1997) • Dracula, the Musical (2004) • Dracula – Entre l'amour et la mort (2006) • Dracula: the Musical (2010) • Dracula – L'amour plus fort que la mort (2011) | |
| Comics | The Tomb of Dracula • Dracula (Marvel Comics) • Dracula (Dell Comics) • Dracula Lives • Hellsing • The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen • Sword of Dracula • Batman & Dracula: Red Rain • Victorian Undead • Wolves at the Gate • X-Men: Apocalypse vs. Dracula • Purgatori | |
| Video games |
The Count (1981) • Ghost Manor (1983) • Castlevania series (1986–present • Dracula) • Dracula (1986) • Dracula the Undead (1991) • Dracula Hakushaku (1992) • Bram Stoker's Dracula (1993) • Bram Stoker's Dracula (handheld) (1993) • Dracula Unleashed (1993) • Dracula: Resurrection (2000) • Dracula 2: The Last Sanctuary (2000) • Van Helsing (2004) • Dracula 3: The Path of the Dragon (2008) • Dracula: Origin (2008) • Vampire Season Monster Defense (2012) • Dracula 4: The Shadow of the Dragon (2013) • Dracula 5: The Blood Legacy (2013) • The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing (2013) • Drac's Night Out (unreleased) | |
| Pinball | Dracula (1979) • Bram Stoker's Dracula (1993) • Monster Bash (1998) | |
| Other games | The Fury of Dracula | |
| Castles | Castle Dracula • Bran Castle • Poenari Castle • Corvin Castle | |
| Albums | Dracula • Dracula 2000 • Iubilaeum Anno Dracula 2001 • Perfect Selection: Dracula Battle • Transylvania • Van Helsing | |
| Songs | "Love Song for a Vampire" | |
| Audio dramas | Legend of the Cybermen | |
| Related topics | Dracula in popular culture • Don Dracula • Transylvanian Society of Dracula • Dracula Society • Dracula tourism • Lugosi v. Universal Pictures • "Dracula/The Rose" | |
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