Series: Universal Wolf Man

By 1944, the Universal monsters had become too familiar to be truly frightening. The Frankenstein monster alone had already appeared in five films. Universal's solution was to treat their gaggle of ghouls as old friends. The Frankenstein series evolved into an elaborate excuse to paste as many recognizable faces into a single film as possible. The trend began in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, but really blossomed into a cornucopia of creatures with House of Frankenstein.(read more...)

From the first bubble of the elixir that forms the credits in chemical smoke to the last crash of the final battle of titans, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man is quite a treat for the Universal fan. Not only do you get two exciting monsters for the price of one, but they're placed in a vigorous storyline that, while slight, is too much fun to dislike.(read more...)

Saying goodbye to old friends is one of the hardest things in life to do. Remembering old times and laughing is often the best way to do it. In 1948, Universal Studios (more precisely, Universal International) did just that with old friends Dracula, the Frankenstein Monster and the Wolf Man in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.(read more...)

In 1941, Universal Pictures released the last of their truly great monster movies, The Wolf Man. Operating in the red most of the thirties, Universal's pocketbook needed a new monster and a new monster star. It had been a decade since the initial box office boom of Dracula, but Bela Lugosi's star had fallen considerably since and he was not considered a bankable lead. Boris Karloff's last picture as a monster was 1939's Son of Frankenstein and he felt he had become too old to play monsters, nor did he want to any longer.(read more...)

One thing you certainly can’t complain about with House of Dracula is that it is too long. Director Erle C. Kenton’s follow-up to 1944’s House of Frankenstein clocks in at a mere 67 minutes -- take out the credits and it’s almost down to an hour. The length is probably partially due to the fact that between 1940 and 1946, Kenton directed a whopping 20 films (and that after 27 in the 1930’s and 32 in the 1920’s) -- take that Stanley Kubrick!(read more...)