| Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Roy William Neill |
| Screenplay by | Curt Siodmak[1] |
| Produced by | George Waggner |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | George Robinson[1] |
| Edited by | Edward Curtiss[1] |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures Company, Inc. |
Release dates |
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Running time | 72 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States[2] |
| Language | English[2] |
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man is a 1943 American horror film directed by Roy William Neill and starring Lon Chaney Jr. as Larry Talbot (the Wolf Man) and Bela Lugosi as Frankenstein's monster. The script, written by Curt Siodmak, follows The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942) and The Wolf Man (1941), though with a number of retcons. Most significantly, Talbot only transforms into werewolf form during a full moon (rather than every night while wolfsbane is in bloom, as in The Wolf Man), which became a standard part of werewolf lore. The film involves Larry Talbot, who is resurrected when his tomb is disturbed. His search for a way to end his seeming immortality leads to his befriending Frankenstein's monster.
Developed under the title Wolf Man Meets Frankenstein, the film was to have Chaney portray both Frankenstein's monster and the Wolf Man, an idea that was halted before production began because of the physical toll it would take on the actor. The script was filmed with the monster having lines of dialogue, which were removed after the production staff laughed at Bela Lugosi's delivery of the lines during a studio pre-screening. The film was released to what the authors of the book Universal Horrors described as "lukewarm reviews". The film was the first of a number of films that were later described as "monster rallies", involving having name-brand monsters interact with each other. Universal would follow this with House of Frankenstein (1944) and House of Dracula (1945).