A Werewolf, Frankenstein Monster, and Water Turbine Ruins

If you watched “The Wolf Man” (1941) enough, Patric Knowles will be familiar since he was a rival to Larry Talbot for the affections of Gwen; in “Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man” (1943), he’s a Cardiff doctor who eventually follows Talbot to Vasaria, a village still turned off at the mere mention of the name Frankenstein. I

lsa is played in the “sequel” to “The Wolf Man” and “The Ghost of Frankenstein” by Ilona Massey (Ankers played the Ilsa character in Ghost), eventually confronting Knowles’ Dr. Mannering at the ruins when he starts up her father’s machines, in the process of “recharging” the Monster (Lugosi in close-ups but never in action sequences involving physical confrontation or stunts). 

One of those Universal Studios’ tropes, repeated in sequels, is the doctors who seem emboldened to give a fierce, powerful, extremely dangerous killing machine (no longer the misunderstood Karloff creature) strength and vitality. Why would they want to do that? What purpose after Dr. Mannering and Ilsa noticed at the Vasaria during the “Festival of the Wine” when the Monster was on his customary rampage as villagers scattered like frightened rabbits would the doctor want to give him further power and strength than he had already? Never made sense to me. 

What I like about Siodmak’s script is the limited “man who is pure at heart” callback to the first film and seeing the Wolf Man in a more modern Cardiff location before joining Ouspenskaya’s Maleva for a wagon journey to Vasaria back to the familiar Universal Monster movies environs we are all accustomed to. Granted, the Vasaria castle ruins with a water turbine, seemingly built by Hardwicke’s Frankenstein (well, this sequel to Ghost is fleeting at best as the ruins look absolutely nothing like the sanitarium/home of Hardwicke and Ilsa), is quite a modern looking creation. But Vasaria has modern Cardiff touches, also. Universal Studio Monster films do sort of mix the past and current architectural and clothing designs so that they are more “timeless” and less dated. 

I do think the early scenes in Cardiff give “Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man” a uniqueness not associated with other sequels, except for maybe “Dracula” (1931) and “Dracula’s Daughter” (1936). Well, you might include “Son of Dracula” (1943) in that if you so wish. Seeing the Wolf Man in a setting that might feature Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson looking to solve a cobblestone street crime (had to throw this in there since the director of “Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man” was Roy William Neill) just captivates me personally.

 This film gave Dwight Frye (who would die in 1943) a villager role where he doesn’t have to behave like a crazy, more or less in conversation about the Frankenstein ruins and the werewolf killing with Atwill’s mayor of Vasaria. Atwill, much like Frye, would be dead before the 40s were over. We are basically seeing some of the most notable horror character actors in their final film work. I would love to say that what Frye does in this film is thrilling but it is essentially a walk-on part with some dialogue. 

Rex Evans as the portly pub owner, Vazec, gets more to do, such as aggravate Chaney’s Talbot when he learns that Dr. Frankenstein is dead—Maleva felt if anyone could help Talbot “die” it would be the infamous scientist—and blow up a dam that capsizes what is left of the Frankenstein ruins. He had a daughter killed by the Wolf Man. There is a key dialogue scene where Dr. Mannering tells Talbot that he followed his “trail” with paper clippings…the Wolf Man left behind a series of murders. And Ilsa is brought to Vasaria by Atwill’s mayor when Talbot wants to lure her to the ruins with a fake proposal to buy the property. So you do have paper clippings, telephones (used in Cardiff and Llenwally), and property rights, as well as a water turbine. So there are plenty of modern touches that sort of dabble with the European Gothic. 

While not in the film except at the opening half of the film, Dennis Hoey of the Holmes/Watson Universal series does leave an impression as Inspector Owen, of Cardiff, seemingly incapable of keeping a straight face when he’s told by a dead serious, and nearly unhinged, Talbot of his werewolvery. Owen is the perfect character for such revelations, as if his Scotland Yard inspector is being told of Baskerville hounds, laughing them off as just too unrealistic to believe. Knowles’ Mannering leaves him behind, pursuing Talbot, eventually interrupted by Ilsa when he’s about to fuel Frankenstein Monster with way too much electric energy. 

But Talbot and Maleva, on the road, was a fun concept to me, touched on before arriving at Vasaria. The gypsy and her "son", on the road to Frankenstein's castle...writes itself. Eventually Maleva is left out of the film as Mannering and Ilsa hope to help the village be rid of the Monster, while Talbot also wants “release”. 

Very little of Lugosi as the Monster (his “acting knees” cut out from under him due to production alterations where he never has a voice during the film and conversations removed) and a small fight before the ruins are flooded in a makeshift Frankenstein lab are more than a bit underwhelming. Lugosi never really got a second chance. 

Chaney does that Talbot suffering performance the entire film…he’s always miserable, as to be expected. Still the Wolf Man in Cardiff, within a cemetery, in the Frankenstein lab, and face to face with the Monster are some cool Universal Studios highlights. I can’t imagine what it must have been like for Siodmak to try and make sense of how the Monster and Talbot could return. This film also comments that Sir John Talbot died of grief, having believed he “killed” his son. Atwill almost plays the same character in every Universal sequel, a sort of irritated constable or authority figure trying to keep the villagers in line. There is a villagers with “torches” (this time lanterns lit) in Vasaria as Vazec carries his dead daughter in his arms that might remind viewers of “Frankenstein” (1931).

That’s a wrap.