All of the Universal Frankenstein films usually had a continuing thread from one film to another. Which of these films broke that continuity of storyline by just ignoring the intended storyline?

You know, prof. TNL, I am probably missing the mark here altogether, but I'm willing to take a shot at the ABBOTT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN film. The reason I'm doing so is because we see the Woflman--Lon Chaney, Jr.--completely "cured" of becoming a werewolf in what was supposed to be Universal's "final" entry into the Frankenstein/wolfman/Dracula films titled HOUSE OF DRACULA. But then, about 4 years later, here comes A&C MEET FRANKENSTEIN, with Chaney, Jr. once again becoming a wolf under the influence of the full moon. We are not even offered an explanation as to why or how, nor are we offered an explanation as to why the Wolfman is suddenly after Frankenstein's monster and Dracula! LOL. The HOUSE OF DRACULA film was still fresh on a lot of people's mind, and you know, there had to be lots of questions as to how and why---------? LOL. But once they got into the film, I'm sure they didn't care. But as I said, I'm probably missing the mark here. So tell us, please, which film was it? I'm kind of curious.

I hate to give it away this soon, so I will give a hint. Your real clue is in The Ghost of Frankenstein and what its storyline was leading into............

Okay.....one more hint.......in Ghost of Frankenstein, what happened when they transplanted Igor's brain into the monster?

Well, aside from acquiring Bela Lugosi's voice, the monster also went totally blind. And you're right; he was not "blind" in the other sequels. Nor did he speak in the other sequels.

Although Frankenstein Meets Wolfman originally had the Monster speaking and was filmed that way. It was edited out so sometimes Larry Talbot seems to be talking to himself in the finished product. As written it may have best the dialogue was cut.
The monster did speak in A & C Meet Frankenstein although it was limited to "Yes Master".
The Monster had a cameo in A & C Meet Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde.
The Univeral Frankenstein Monster appeared again in both original and new footage in the Spanish classic film Spirit of the Beehive, a haunting film on the order of Curse of the Cat People.
The most film footage of the basic Frankenstein makeup goes to Universal's sendup, Herman Munster.

Yes, when Igor's brain was transferred into the monster's body, they were the wrong blood type and the monster went blind even tho he spoke with Igor's voice. So it made sense to use poor Bela as the monster in the sequel so he could speak...but he was still blind. Look closely and you can see that the Monster really does not see. Why the dialog was taken out and the story short changed there is something Universal would have to answer.

Supposedly the Monster regained his sight in the final scenes when Patric Knowles is reviving the monster Bela gives the evil smile as he regains his vision. I would have preferred Eddie Parker doing the complete role. He was impressive in the ice cave close-ups.

Well, by this time, the series had exited the area of its classic origins and was just becoming a formula for Universal... poor Bela needed the money. Universal had built up Karloff as their big star and sort of given Lugosi the scraps from the kitchen floor and he was not in a position to be choosey. Bela's performances as Igor still stand out and show that he was capable of good work when given the opportunity.

I still think FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN was perhaps the last good Universal "monster" film from the 40's. Certainly HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN and HOUSE OF DRACULA were nothing to rave about. But HOUSE OF DRACULA had one redeeming feature about it. The long-suffering WOLFMAN created by Lon Chaney, Jr. was finally "cured" and spared his usual demise in this supposedly "final" Universal horror entry for it's famous monsters. The late 30's and 40's monsters from Universal were considered to be the "second wave" to their early 30's originals. My father often related to me how everyone was cheering when Chaney, Jr. did NOT turn into the WOLFMAN on the rising of the full moon in HOUSE OF DRACULA. But then, in less that 4 years, the WOLFMAN returned in A&C MEET FRANKENSTEIN, and without explanation, he was still suffering the curse of the werewolf. Nobody seemed to mind, however, once the classic A&C film debuted, as it was an instant hit. All in good fun.

Of all the Frankenstein films Universal produced in the 30's, my favorites were the original first 3; FRANKENSTEIN, BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, and SON OF FRANKENSTEIN. After those 3, my personal feeling is all the FRANKENSTEIN sequels just started going downhill. Some of the others were good for various reasons, but none of SON OF FRANKENSTEIN were of the "quality" of the first 3. SON OF FRANKENSTEIN had to be the most elaborate production of all the FRANKENSTEIN series, or at least on a par with BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN. Terrific.

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