Director: Erle C. Kenton
Writers: Edward T. Lowe Jr., Curt Siodmak
Stars: Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr., J. Carrol Naish
1 Hour, 11 Minutes
We begin in Neustadt Prison on a dark and stormy night. Doctor Niemann is a prisoner who vows to get out and continue the work of Dr. Frankenstein. He explains to the hunchback in the next cell, Daniel, that his brother worked with Dr. Frankenstein. Just then, lightning strikes the prison, and there’s a tremendous cave-in. The two escape.
They come up on a circus wagon for Professor Lampini, stuck in the mud, and they help get it unstuck. The men give the two a ride. He brags that one of his exhibits it the actual skeleton of Dracula. Niemann says he can set Dracula free again by pulling the stake from his heart. Niemann gets Daniel to kill Lampini and they head on to Visaria, where fifteen years before, Niemann tried to put a man’s brain in a dog’s body, which was why he was incarcerated. Niemann has scores to settle.
Niemann arrives in town and gives a show using Lampini’s stuff. The burgermeister thinks the “new Lampini” looks familiar. Niemann pulls the stake from the skeleton, and sure, enough, it works, although the skeleton now looks like John Carradine. They make a deal.
Baron Latos (Dracula) picks up the Burgermeister and his family in his coach. Dracula gives Rita, Hussman’s granddaughter, his ring, and now she works for him. Dracula hypnotizes old man Hussman, becomes a bat, and bites him in the neck. Rita acts weird, and her husband recognizes Dracula’s ring on her finger. Carl, Rita’s husband, calls Inspector Arnz.
Carl and the Inspector pursue Dracula and Niemann, but Daniel throws Drac’s coffin out of the wagon, and then Dracula’s wagon just falls apart. As the good guys close in, Dracula gets hit with sunlight and turns back into a skeleton.
Niemann and Daniel head to the town of Frankenstein for the next man on their hit list. Daniel the hunchback spots a gypsy girl, Ilanka, that he likes. The policeman says they’ve had enough horrors in this town, and he points to the ruined castle on the hill. A gypsy man attacks the girl, and Daniel brings her with them. The two flirt until she sees the hunch and turns away from him. She is pretty nice about it, and at least they can be friends.
Niemann comes back, and he and Daniel go to the ruins of the castle. They’re looking for the Frankenstein records. The floor falls through, and they find a hidden room with a snow cave beyond. They find both the Wolf Man and Frankenstein’s Monster frozen in the ice. “We’ll set them free, and they’ll help us,” he says confidently. They light a big fire and wait for things to thaw.
Larry Talbot comes out of the ice (in dry clothes), and Niemann explains things to him, and says if Talbot can show him to the Frankenstein notebooks that he can help Talbot. He wants to replace Larry’s brain, as that’ll fix him right up and solve all the problems. This somehow makes sense to Larry, who leads Niemann to the the records buried in the ruins. The monster is alive, but very weak.
They all hit the road to Visaria, where Niemann’s lab is located. Ilanka and Larry hit it off, and she flirts with him now as he drives the wagon. Daniel starts getting jealous. They arrive at Niemann’s lab and start regenerating the monster.
Niemann and Daniel go out and capture Strauss and Ulmann, two more of their enemies. He plans on putting one of their brains in the Monster, and the Wolf Man’s brain into the other. Again, that’s not how that works. Daniel wants his own brain put into Talbot’s body, and when Niemann refuses, he starts looking sideways at the selfish old man. Daniel tells Ilanka that Larry’s a werewolf, but she doesn’t believe him. Daniel takes it out on the monster, whipping his helpless body.
The Wolf Man gets out and kills one of the villagers. They immediately suspect a werewolf. Ilenka loves Larry, but she makes a silver bullet in order to “help” him when the time comes.
The villagers are out looking for the werewolf when they notice blinking lights in Niemann’s lab.
Niemann has recharged the monster, “Tell Talbot I’m ready for him,” he says, just as the full moon comes up. The Wolf Man attacks Ilanka, and she shoots him. He dies and reverts back to human. She dies for… reasons. Daniel finds her body and kills Niemann, and then the monster kills him in retaliation.The monster grabs Niemann and runs from the villagers. Niemann isn’t quite dead and warns the monster, “Not this way– quicksand!” And they soon both sink away.
Commentary
This is kind of a mess, easily the worst in the Frankenstein series so far. Much like the “Batman” movies of the 90’s, more villains doesn’t make for more entertainment. It’s just overcrowded, and the various characters don’t interact or affect each other much.
Dracula didn’t show any intelligence at all, and he’s supposed to be the smart one. He didn’t last very long, and his section almost seemed like an afterthought, as he had no interactions with the Wolf Man or Monster.
Again, Larry Talbot knows and tells everyone what he’s going to do, and no one bothers locking him up, tying him up, or even putting a leash on him. Niemann is a smart guy, did he not realize what the Wolf Man was going to do when the moon came up?
Daniel is not your typical hunchback assistant. He’s otherwise not bad looking, not insane, and really loyal until he got screwed over repeatedly. Still, do allHunchbacks have to fall for gypsy girls?