32) Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man (1943)

"There's a curse upon me. I change into a wolf!"

Director
Roy William Neill

Cast
Lon Chaney, Jr. - The Wolf Man/ Lawrence Talbot
Bela Lugosi - Frankenstein's Monster
Patric Knowles - Dr. Frank Mannering
Ilona Massey - Baroness Elsa Frankenstein
Lionel Atwill - Mayor

The Universal Monsters exist deep in the American psyche regardless of whether who has watched any or all original Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, etc., movies from Universal Pictures. There's no escaping them anytime soon. Those monsters are deeply rooted.
Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man is the fifth Frankenstein movie from Universal following right after The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942). It's also the second movie to feature Dracula himself, Bela Lugosi, playing Frankenstein's monster- the role Boris Karloff made so incredibly iconic.
Universal made and released these monster movies fairly quickly back then.
It's too much for me to go into their line of monster movies in relation to this one, but I recommend critic James Rolfe's reviews and commentaries on these films found on his website, www.cinemassacre.com. It's a fantastic source on all things horror- classic and contemporary. If you have an hour and want to get caught up on the previous Frankenstein movies before watching this one, as some tie into Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, Rolfe strung his Frankenstein movie commentaries into one video posted on his YouTube channel.
Anyhow, Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man is a first in monster mash up movies - this one versus that one. It's a trend that still exists. Freddy vs. Jason comes to mind, and I wish Hollywood would continue those kind of movies. They'd bring in money for sure!
The events in this movie take place four years after what happened in both The Wolf Man (1941) and The Ghost of Frankenstein. 
Two men break into the grave of Larry Talbot - The Wolf Man - played by the legendary Lon Chaney, Jr.
After cracking open his tomb in order to steal jewelry buried with him, they find him laying underneath wolfsbane - a werewolf repellent.
Meanwhile, the light of the full moon beams through, waking Talbot up and turning him into a werewolf. One of the unaware grave robber doesn't notice Talbot's arm reach for him until it's too late. The other robber makes a getaway, leaving his accomplice alone to meet his fate. No heroes among thieves, I guess.
Talbot is later found my police passed out a sidewalk in town. The police take him to Dr. Mannering (Patric Knowles) where Talbot's memory returns to him.
Mannering and Inspector Owen (Dennis Hoey) seek to find whether the mystery patient is really Talbot as he claims to be, whom they're informed had died four years ago.
Meanwhile. one night, Talbot turns into a wolf, and kills a police officer on patrol.
The transition affect is worth mentioning.

Chaney had to lay still for several hours as makeup was applied piece by piece, and the camera slowly transitioned each segment shot by shot.
Of course, to modern audiences, it looks and sounds primitive. But understanding just how the effect was achieved is nothing short of praise-worthy.
Mannering figures out Talbot has been roaming around last night. And Talbot tries to convince Mannering and Owen that he's a werewolf, and needs to be killed. He's restrained to his bed after he flips out on both of them.
It's a difficult claim to swallow, and the doctor and investigator head into the town of Lanwelly where they continue their search for answers.
While they're away, Talbot becomes a wolf man again and escapes his restraints.
Talbot then seeks out a gypsy woman named Maleva hoping she can help him.
Maleya claims to know someone who has scientific knowledge of life and death, and takes him into the village of Vasaria to meet this scientist.
That scientist is Dr. Ludwig Frankenstein - this is the movie's callback to Ghost of Frankenstein. 
Frankenstein's castle is just an abandoned, nearly destroyed, pile of brick and debris. But Talbot searches through rubble for files containing information how he as a werewolf can end his own life for good because, as of yet, nothing seems to be able to kill Talbot.
He once again turns into the wolf, and ends up killing a young lady.
The villagers chase him down back to the castle, where Talbot falls through the floor and lands in the basement that's completely frozen over.
And who does he find down there buried in ice - Frankenstein's monster.
I think Lugosi's portrayal of the monster (which, by the way, is how he's credited in the movie) established the famous image of the monster stomping around with hands outstretched haphazardly - the common image that comes to mind when the name Frankenstein is mentioned. Boris Karloff, who previously played the monster, hadn't portray him quite like that.
Talbot revives the monster, and tries to have him locate the doctor's notes in the castle but with no success.

Bela Lugosi as Frankenstein's Monster

So, Talbot seeks the help of Dr. Frankenstein's daughter, Elsa Frankenstein (Ilona Massey - I recognized her from the 1949 Marx Brothers film,  Love Happy. She gave Harpo Marx the "whammy").
The villagers are out to get both Talbot and the monster once they discover he's returned.
Then the fireworks really go off when the Wolfman and the monster begin fighting each other.
Frankenstein has strength in his favor while the Wolfman is agile.
There'a musical scene in the middle of the film that was really out of place. But it became my favorite scene as the screen keeps panning back to Talbot who's sitting at a table with Ilona, and looking disdainful.
As the lead singer sees them sitting together, he begins singing to them about life, death, and love. Talbot starts shouting out of paranoia, telling everyone to stop signing and grabs the singer by his collar demanding an explanation as to why he thinks it's OK to sing about such topics in his presence. The moment just cracked me up. Normally song routines in early movies aren't so abruptly ended like that.
It's no spoiler to say the ending left it open for a sequel. And a sequel there was the following year - House of Frankenstein.
This movie is fun to watch, but drags just a little until we see the part audiences waiting for - Frankenstein going the round with the Wolf Man.
However, I think the movie should be called The Wolf Man Meets Frankenstein as it's centered on Talbot for the majority. The title made me think the movie was going to center on Frankenstein's monster. But he doesn't show up until the middle of the film. The Wolf Man is the central character.
My original intention was to watch the Frankenstein movies in chronological order, and begin my reviews with the third entry Son of Frankenstein (1939). I'll still do it. Nevertheless, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man a good movie to watch even before viewing the other films in the series. Aside from being a little slow, it still carries that nostalgic punch that still impacts modern audiences, shining the spotlight on those monsters rooted in our American psyche. Good or bad. Liked or disliked. This is one strong pillar in the foundation of American horror movies.

Coming Up Next...
I'll be finishing up my look at ten obscure Stephen King movies with a made-for-TV adaptation, with a teleplay written by King himself. And it has Tom Skerritt! Woo-hoo!!