Two graverobbers break into the Talbot crypt on a full moon night. Larwrence Stewart Talbot (Lon Chaney, Jr.) is awaken and kills one of the robbers. Talbot is later found in the streets of Cardiff by the police. In the hospital under the care of Dr. Mannering, he transforms one night and kills a policeman in the street. Inspector Owen investigates but nobody believes Talbot's outlandish story. Talbot escapes in search of old gypsy Maleva who leads him to the remains of Castle Frankenstein. He transforms and gets chased by the villagers down to the catacombs. He turns back and finds the monster (Bela Lugosi). With Dr. Frankenstein dead, he seeks to find the daughter Elsa.It's an early mashup and the dawn of a primordial shared monster universe. The monster comes in around the midpoint and the movie drags until it gets to the epic final battle. The middle part is too rambling. It needs to have more action during that section. The climatic action is big enough but it's a little too late.

This is a fun, if nonthreatening, addition to the Universal horror canon, a film which unsuccessfully attempts to sequel two different movies – THE WOLF MAN and THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN. I say unsuccessful, because as a Frankenstein movie this is a piece of trash; it only really works for Lon Chaney Jr., as the Wolf Man, because he gets most of the screen time and all of the best scenes. The film is worth watching for a who's who cast of all the Universal bit-players and character actors from the period and for the sterling efforts of Sherlock Holmes director Roy William Neill, who drags every last bit of drama, comedy, and horror from the predictable script. The film starts off well with plenty of atmosphere in a superbly-built graveyard set and carries in the same uncertain vein for a good while. However, with the appearance of the now-pitiful Frankenstein's monster, it all descends into farce, although the OTT conclusion is fairly entertaining in a cheesy way.Characters are flat and one-dimensional, but what actors! Patric Knowles is a fare more humane and realistic mad scientist than his predecessors and gives a good performance; Illona Massey as the token female-in-distress is appalling. Lon Chaney Jr. really goes over the top with his hangdog eyes and endless pitiful soliloquies, but comes out of it quite well. The special effects of his transformations are also top-notch. Bela Lugosi, as the Frankenstein Monster, is simply pathetic and totally miscast in the role. The sight of the overweight monster wandering around with its eyes closed and arms stretched out is laughable and a real degradation of the creature. Maria Ouspenskaya returns from The Wolf Man as the mad gypsy woman and, despite being good value for money, is wasted.The best performances lie in the worst-written roles. Lionel Atwill, once king of the horror genre but long since fallen from grace, is excellent in his role as the town mayor, although I would have preferred to see him as a bad guy. Even good old Dwight Frye turns up, instantly recognisable as one of the crowd members, although he is unfortunately limited to only a couple of lines. Oh, how the mighty have fallen! Best of all his Inspector Lestrade himself, Sherlock Holmes star Dennis Hoey, playing the same character in all but name (he even wears the same clothing). Hoey is a delight but his screen time all too brief. The film gradually falls apart but affectionate fans will have a ball. The clash at the end between Wolfman and Monster is obviously played with stunt men, but is fun nonetheless and contains an ultra-cheesy model effects short. It's also astonishingly abrupt. The laboratory scenes are great and moody and Chaney's lamentations are also a joy to watch. Hardly a classic movie, but fun for nostalgia buffs and fast-paced and short enough to enjoy.

Poor Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.) can't even get to rest in peace. As this movie opens, two grave robbers enter his crypt, searching for money and valuables. When Larry awakes, he's all too aware of the situation facing him, and he desperately wants to learn how he might be permanently laid to rest. He seeks out the gypsy woman Maleva (Maria Ouspenskaya), who gives him the name of Dr. Frankenstein. After some more digging, Larry learns that Dr. F is dead...but his Monster (Bela Lugosi) isn't.A sequel to both "The Ghost of Frankenstein" and "The Wolf Man", this movie is good fun for any devotee of this era of Universal horror. It's not as thickly atmospheric as their best works, but Curt Siodmaks' screenplay is good. The story is a believable enough extension of the preceding movies, and the creation of Old World flavour by producer George Waggner (director of "The Wolf Man") and director Roy William Neill is impressive. The opening sequence is spooky and well executed, nicely setting up the action that follows.Chaney Jr. again earns our sympathies as the bedevilled Larry. You wonder if he'll ever catch a break. Ilona Massey has an appropriately aloof and aristocratic air about her as Frankensteins' daughter Elsa. Knowles is very fine in support, as is Lionel Atwill as a solicitous mayor, Dennis Hoey as a police inspector, and Rex Evans and Dwight Frye as villagers. It sure is nice seeing Maleva again, and Ouspenskaya is appealing in her performance as Maleva earnestly tries to assist Larry. Lugosi shambles adequately, but he leaves little to no impression as the Monster.The title fight between the iconic creatures is a long time coming, and is over fairly quickly, but it's still entertaining when it happens.Seven out of 10.

To be honest, I enjoyed it more than any of the solo "Frankenstein" sequels, though that is mainly because that I thought that the Larry Talbot part of the film was very good. Bela Lugosi makes a rather weak Frankenstein's Monster in comparison to Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney, Jr. and is nowhere near as effective as he had been as either Count Dracula or Ygor. It's not the only problem with his performance but it isn't helped by the fact that he was a much slighter man than either of his predecessors, making him far less intimidating physically. His screen time is far too limited for the Monster to be as interesting as he had been in some of the previous films. On the other hand, Chaney is again very good as the Wolf Man, though he isn't as effective when playing his alter ego Larry Talbot. Originally, the plan was for him to play both the Wolf Man and the Monster but that was abandoned as it would have been a logistical nightmare, which is a shame. The rest of the cast is very strong, including the enchanting Ilona Massey, Patric Knowles, Lionel Atwill (playing his third character in as many "Frankenstein" films) and Maria Ouspenskaya. The editing, however, is rather poor. In many scenes (including the Monster's first appearance!), it is a little too obvious that it is a stunt double rather than Lugosi.