Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man

Wolfman Larry Talbot searches after Dr. Frankenstein's secrets of life and death so he can be released from his wolfman curse. The search entails traveling to the dead doctor's castle where Talbot must unearth Frankenstein's monster. Trouble ensues.

Credit Universal's production crew for making the movie very watchable for horror film fans. From art direction to special effects to set design, the movie's a visual treat. The crumbling dam and collapsing towers are really well done, especially for a non-digital era. Story-wise, the 80-minutes is okay, but for me didn't generate much nail-biting or shudders. The makeup on the Wolfman is scary and the best part, but frankly Frankie is something of a joke, the makeup more like a Halloween mask. The monster brawl, however, is the movie high point that features some good stunt work, a battle between agility vs. strength. Then too, because Chaney just naturally projects a mournful quality (check out Of Mice and Men {1939}), he is again a rather sympathetic figure as the Wolfman. But why does Massie get star-billing when she really has few lines and little screen time; at the same time, the delicious old hag Ouspenskaya is largely wasted. And catch mad scientist Lionel Atwill in a respectable role for a change as the town mayor. All in all, it's a better than average horror flick, thanks mainly to Universal's practiced production crew.