House of Frankenstein, like all Frankenstein movies, is based on a character created in the 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, by 19-year old British author Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin Shelley [1797-1851]. This movie was the second of a series of "ensemble" monster films combining characters from several Universal Studios film series, including the Wolf Man and Dracula. It is a sequel to Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) (1943). The script for House of Frankenstein was written by screenwriters Curt Siodmak and Edward T Lowe, Jr.
A policeman from the village of Frankenstein says that it's been several years since the dam broke and swept away the Wolf Man and the Frankenstein monster (as shown in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man).
Niemann tells Daniel (J. Carrol Naish), his hunchbacked assistant, that his brother worked as Henry Frankenstein's assistant and passed on the secrets before he died.
His identity is not revealed in the movie. Viewers have suggested that it could have been (1) Frankenstein's assistant Fritz (from Frankenstein (1931)) (1931), (2) Dr Pretorius (from Bride of Frankenstein (1935)) (1934), or (3) another assistant that Henry worked with after escaping the destruction of the castle at the end of Bride of Frankenstein.
Fifteen years ago in Vasaria, Dr Niemann was imprisoned for trying to give a dog the mind of a human being.
Niemann and Daniel escape from jail and hijack the traveling show wagon of Dr Lampini in an attempt to get to the village of Frankenstein and find the doctor's records in the flooded castle. Part of Lampini's show is the coffin and bones of Dracula. Niemann opens the coffin and reawakens Dracula (John Carradine), who now calls himself Baron Latos. It is Niemann's plan to use Dracula to exact revenge on Burgomeister Hussmann (Sig Ruman) who was responsible for sending him to jail. When Dracula kidnaps Hussman's granddaughter and brings the police bearing down on Niemann and Daniel, they toss Dracula's coffin off the wagon. Before he can get into it, the sun comes up and fries him.
While rummaging through the flooded ruins of Frankenstein's castle in the village of Frankenstein, Daniel falls through the floor rubble into an ice cavern where they find both the Wolf Man (Lon Chaney Jr.) and the Frankenstein monster (Glenn Strange) encased in blocks of ice. Daniel and Niemann get a good fire going, and Larry Talbot (the wolf man) wakes up. Niemann promises Larry that he will cure him of his lycanthropy if he will show him where Frankenstein's records are located. However, the monster has suffered some tissue degradation and cannot be awakened until they can get him to Niemann's laboratory 152 Km away in Visaria.
His plan is to put the wolf man's brain into the body of his disloyal assistant Strauss, and the brain of another of his disloyal assistants Ullman in the monster. He then wants to transplant the monster's brain into Larry Talbot's body, a plan that Daniel doesn't like because he wants Niemann to transfer his brain into Talbot's body so that he can romance the gypsy girl Ilonka (Elena Verdugo), whom they picked up back in the village of Frankenstein.
Since a werewolf can only be killed by a silver bullet fired from a gun by someone who loves him, Ilonka fashions a silver bullet. When Larry next turns into a wolf, she follows him into the woods. He attacks and kills her, but she is able to get off a shot. Larry falls to the ground. When Daniel finds Ilonka dead, he carries her into the laboratory, then attacks Niemann for not giving him Larry's body and, thus, causing Ilonka's death. However, the Frankenstein monster sees Daniel attacking Niemann, breaks the belts that hold him to the table, and goes after Daniel. The monster tosses Daniel out the skylight. Meanwhile, the angry villagers with their torches have begun to storm Niemann's laboratory. Fearing the fire, the monster picks up Niemann and carries him out into the swamps where they are swallowed up in quicksand.
Universal Studios made eight Frankenstein movies, starting with Frankenstein (1931) (1931), which starred Boris Karloff as the monster. In Bride of Frankenstein (1935) (1935), the monster gets a mate. In Son of Frankenstein (1939) (1939), Dr Frankenstein's son Wolf (Basil Rathbone) revives his father's monster. The monster (Lon Chaney Jr.) is revived again in The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942) (1942) and treated by Dr Frankenstein's son Ludwig (Cedric Hardwicke). The Wolfman (Lon Chaney, Jr) recovers the monster (Bela Lugosi)'s body from a block of ice and he is revived again by Dr Mannering (Patric Knowles) in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) (1943). In House of Frankenstein (1944) (1944), mad Doctor Neiman (Boris Karloff) revives the monster (Glenn Strange) in order to exact revenge on his enemies. In House of Dracula (1945) (1945), the monster (Glenn Strange) is again found by the Wolfman (Lon Chaney, Jr) and revived by renown Doctor Edelman (Onslow Stevens). Many purists insist that the classic Universal Frankenstein saga ends here, but some also count Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) (1948) in which Dracula (Bela Lugosi) and Doctor Sandra Mornay (Lenore Aubert) attempt to transplant Wilbur (Lou Costello)'s brain into the monster (Glenn Strange).
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- How long is House of Frankenstein?1 hour and 11 minutes
- When was House of Frankenstein released?December 1, 1944
- What is the IMDb rating of House of Frankenstein?6.2 out of 10
- Who stars in House of Frankenstein?
- Who wrote House of Frankenstein?
- Who directed House of Frankenstein?
- Who was the composer for House of Frankenstein?
- Who was the producer of House of Frankenstein?
- Who was the cinematographer for House of Frankenstein?
- Who was the editor of House of Frankenstein?
- Who are the characters in House of Frankenstein?Doctor Niemann, Larry Talbot, Daniel, Rita Hussman, Arnz, Professor Bruno Lampini, Fejos, Muller, Frankenstein's Monster, and Schwartz
- What is the plot of House of Frankenstein?A deranged scientist escapes from prison and recruits Dracula, Frankenstein's monster and the Wolf Man to get revenge on his behalf.
- What was the budget for House of Frankenstein?354,000
- What is House of Frankenstein rated?Passed
- What genre is House of Frankenstein?Fantasy, Horror, and Sci-Fi
- How many awards has House of Frankenstein won?2 awards
- How many awards has House of Frankenstein been nominated for?5 nominations
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