House of Frankenstein

Above, Frankenstein's Monster (Glenn Strange) with an injured Dr. Niemann (Boris Karloff).

With the blistering heat in the triple-digits in Los Angeles today (I heard it reached 113 degrees in downtown L.A.) and being secure in my air-conditioned apartment, I was in the mood to watch the sixth Frankenstein movie in Universal Pictures' franchise, House of Frankenstein (1944). So, I got out my Frankenstein Legacy Collection DVD set and watched.

House of Frankenstein was directed by Erle C. Kenton and it starred Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr., J. Carrol Naish, Glenn Strange, and John Carradine.

This was the follow-up movie to Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man. In this one, Karloff plays an evil scientist, Gustav Niemann, seeking revenge on those who sent him to prison for 15 years with a hunchbacked assistant (Naish) named Daniel.

After killing the owner of a traveling horror show (George Zucco) to use the show as a way to "hide out in the open," Niemann uses Count Dracula (Carradine) to kill a burgomaster who was involved in sending him to prison. Following this, Lawrence Talbot (the Wolf Man) (Chaney), and Frankenstein's Monster (Strange) are freed from a glacial ice cavern. Karloff convinces Chaney to locate the Frankenstein records as a means to free him of his werewolf curse.

Naturally, Niemann is more interested in revenge (he kidnapped two more men who were instrumental for his imprisonment) and wants to use the brains of Talbot and the Monster as part of his scheme (involving brain transplants). Unfortunately, his scheming causes Niemann to breach faith with Daniel and Talbot. The Wolf Man ends up killing a gypsy girl (Elena Verdugo) who Daniel fell in love with. During her struggle with the Wolf Man, the gypsy girl fires a silver bullet into the Wolf Man, seemingly killing him.

In grief over the gypsy's death, Daniel begins to strangle Niemann. This arouses rage in the Monster, who was whipped earlier by Daniel while weak and helpless. The Monster frees himself from the restraining straps (at full strength after being re-charged by Niemann) on the operating table and proceeds to pick up Daniel like a doll and throw him through a window to his death.

While all this was going on, the villagers (out hunting for the werewolf) come to the laboratory and drive the Monster (who is carrying the injured Niemann) into a quicksand bog where they sink and disappear.

While not one of the best of the Universal Frankensteins, House of Frankenstein was still an entertaining entry.