Anne Gwynne, Boris Karloff, Elena Verdugo

After escaping from an asylum the mad Dr. Niemann (Boris Karloff) and his hunch back assistant (J. Carrol Naish) revive Count Dracula (John Carradine), the Wolf Man (Lon Chaney Jr.) and the Frankenste...( read more  read more... )in monster (Glenn Strange) in order to extract revenge upon their many enemies.

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53% liked it

2,809 ratings

Critics

60% liked it

10 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 11 min.

Directed by: Erle C. Kenton

Release Date: January 1, 1944

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DVD Release Date: March 29, 2005

Stats: 124 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (124)


  • May 31, 2009
    ive noticed in these old movies that have more than one moster they deal with them one at a time indstead of combining the problems to make it more indepth.
  • November 15, 2008
    Frankenstein died with a whimper in this piece of garbage. Dr. Niemann (Boris Karloff) escapes from prison and has a run in with Dracula (who's in the film for 10 minutes in a stupid sub-plot), stumbles onto the Wolfman who wants help, and attempts to revitalize Frankenstein.

    Cr...( read more)ap, crap, crap. The only reason this thing gets one whole star is because Karloff is in it. Otherwise it's pure trash. Not as bad as House of Dracula, but it still sucks.
  • August 12, 2007
    This is the first time Universal Studios tried a Monster Mash by incorporating three of their most popular creatures into one film: Dracula, The Wolf Man and Frankenstein's Monster. The results are quite good, mostly due to the performers chosen for their parts. This is not suppo...( read more)sed to be sophisticated film-making or storytelling; just a fun ghoulish romp, perfectly suited for a Halloween Night. And it succeeds admirably.

    Boris Karloff returned to the Frankenstein Series with this installment, and it's an asset to the picture to have him. Some fans have accused him of walking through his part as a mad scientist here, but I've always found this to be a very understated kind of calculated evil, and he's very good here. He portrays the mad Dr. Niemann, who once dared to follow in the footsteps of the original Frankenstein, and as a result was jailed for his unethical experiments along with his hunchbacked assistant, Daniel. When a severe thunderstorm destroys the foundation of the prison he's housed in, Niemann manages an escape and attempts to locate the original diary of Dr. Frankenstein, running into Dracula, the Wolf Man, and the Frankenstein Monster along the way.

    J. Carrol Naish scores high points with his portrayal of the sympathetic hunchbacked assistant to Karloff, and manages to stir up our emotions as he pines away for cute gypsy girl Elena Verdugo. Lon Chaney plays The Wolf Man for a third time here, and though he's saddled with some silly dialogue ("why have you freed me from the ice that imprisoned the beast that lived within me?") he has now made the tragic character of Larry Talbot the werewolf all his own. He is desperate to aid Dr. Niemann however he can, in the hopes that the scientist may be able to return the favor by curing him of his curse.

    John Carradine is exceptional as Dracula, playing the part differently than Bela Lugosi had. What Carradine lacked in the creepy "otherworldliness" of Bela, he made up for with aristocratic evil. His physical look is actually much closer to how Bram Stoker described the character in his novel, "Dracula". Glenn Strange takes on the role of the hulking and imposing Frankenstein Monster for the first time, and is the next best to Karloff's interpretation of the creature, in terms of appearance. Hans J. Salter again provides a wonderfully haunting music score. Director Erle C. Kenton accentuates the proceedings with gloomy sets, dark nights and the customary thunder and lightning.

    This monster fest is light and breezy, packing much into its brief 70 minute running time. If there is any quibble to be made for HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, it would be with regard to the episodic way in which its three monsters are worked into the plot. Dracula has an early segment all his own, and then the second half switches to the Wolf Man and the Frankenstein Monster. None of the creatures cross paths with another, and their screen time as ghouls is limited (especially the case for the Monster). But this is just a technicality; for those who don't go into it expecting High Art, there is still much fun to be had within the House of Frankenstein.
  • December 19, 2006
    Pretty good "monster mash" from Universal. They're all here: Frank's monster, Dracula, the Wolf Man. It seems a bit disjointed at times: Dracula is revived and then reduced to dust before the half hour mark and the young couple who you think are going to be the romantic leads ...( read more)disappear from the film at around the same time. And this is *before* Frank's monster and the Wolf Man show up! But, you know what? I kind of like that about this film. It's a bit unpredictable. Any film willing to kill off Dracula thirty minutes in is at least worth seeing for its audaciousness alone. But there are other good things: Karloff is great as a scheming mad scientist, Chaney develops the Larry Talbot character further, the atmosphere is cool, the gypsey woman is cherubic and engaging and the whole thing ends in a tragic but somehow fitting climax. All in all, a good monster romp with a lot of interesting moments.
  • November 12, 2006
    Not that great. Fun from a novelty standpoint but you can tell it was the sequel to an American remake of a horror movie of its day.
  • June 30, 2009
    Fun to watch, but not a GOOD film.
  • May 14, 2009
    Now classic horror? That I can do.
  • April 25, 2009
    good frankenstein ;)
  • October 31, 2008
    And thus, the Frankenstein franchise comes to an end with a whimper. The monster would actually return in House of Dracula (which is even worse if I recall right), but this is certainly the last Universal monster movie with the word ?Frankenstein? in the title, and it?s pretty h...( read more)alf-assed. It?s pretty obvious that they just wanted to bring together all their monsters (except The Mummy? and The Invisible man) together in one movie, or rather one poster, and that?s about as much thought as they put into this thing. I didn?t really pay very close attention to it, it just blows.
  • July 30, 2008
    Probably the most entertaining of all Frankenstein movies, House Of Frankenstein stars Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney, and Lionel Atwill. For the first time Frankenstein's Monster, The Wolf Man, and Count Dracula are all together on screen! It's an explosion for 30s/40s horror fans. T...( read more)his movie is almost split into two acts, the first dealing with Count Dracula; the second involving Frankenstein's Monster and The Wolf Man. A very good horror movie.

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House of Frankenstein Trivia


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