Frankenstein's house

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Movie
German title Frankenstein's house
Original title House of Frankenstein
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1944
length 71 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Alder C. Kenton
script Curt Siodmak
Edward T. Lowe Jun.
production Paul Malvern
music Hans J. Salter
Paul Dessau
camera George Robinson
cut Philip Cahn
occupation

Frankenstein's House (original title House of Frankenstein ) is an American horror film by Universal Studios from 1944 and for the first time combines the monsters from Universal's most successful films. Lon Chaney Jr. played the unfortunate wolf man Larry Talbot again, John Carradine slipped into the role of Count Dracula and Glenn Strange took over the part of Frankenstein's monster.

One of the advertising slogans was: “THE DEVIL'S BROOD! All the Screen's Titans of Terror - Together in the Greatest of All SCREEN SENSATIONS! "

action

On a stormy night, the mad scientist Dr. Gustav Niemann and his hunchbacked assistant Daniel escaped from prison. Dr. Niemann wants to return to his hometown Visaria, where he once experimented on the teachings of the notorious Baron Frankenstein in order to get revenge on those who put him in prison.

Niemann and Daniel first join the traveling horror cabinet of the showman Lampini. The highlight in Lampini's horror show is the real skeleton of Count Dracula , in whose chest the stake is still stuck that destroyed him years ago. Dr. Niemann kills Lampini and travels to Reigelberg under his name. Arrived in Reigelberg, Dr. Niemann with his plans for revenge. First he brings Count Dracula back to life and incites him on Mayor Hussmann, who led the trial against him at the time. Then the Prince of Vampires brings Hussmann's granddaughter Rita under his influence and wants to make her his bride for eternity. However, Rita's husband Karl and the police under Inspector Arnz find out about him, and a dramatic horse-drawn carriage chase ensues. Dracula's carriage overturns in a sharp curve and his coffin is thrown out. Just as he is about to retire to his resting place, the sun rises on the horizon and the count dissolves. Only his skeleton and his signet ring remain.

Dr. Niemann, who has observed what is happening, feels compelled to accelerate the realization of his long-cherished dream: he wants to complete Frankenstein's work. On the way to the village of Frankenstein they meet the gypsy girl Ilonka, with whom Daniel falls madly in love, but his ugliness prevents them from feeling more than friendly feelings for him.

Niemann and Daniel look for the remains of Schloss Frankenstein. There is a spacious glacier cave under the vaults. There they find, frozen in two blocks of ice, Frankenstein's monster and the wolf man Lawrence Talbot. Niemann and Daniel thaw the two and take them with them. Although Talbot is filled with the thought of suicide, Niemann can persuade him to cooperate by promising him to free him from the curse of the werewolf. Ilonka, on the other hand, is fascinated by the melancholy Talbot and constantly seeks his closeness, which dangerously stirs Daniel's jealousy.

Niemann goes with Talbot, Daniel and Ilonka to his old laboratory in Visaria and begins preparing to recharge Frankenstein's monster with energy. In order to complete his revenge, he kidnaps the two remaining participants from his conviction at the time for the purpose of brain transplantation. As a werewolf, Talbot kills another resident.

Talbot no longer believes that Niemann really wants to help him. A silver bullet in the heart, fired by someone who really loves him, would bring him salvation. Ilonka, who loves him dearly, starts making a silver ball. Night falls and the full moon rises. Talbot becomes a werewolf again and pounces on Ilonka. In the meantime she has finished the silver bullet and shoots right into Talbot's heart before she dies herself. Fatally wounded, the Wolf Man collapses and resumes his human form.

In the meantime, Niemann has awakened Frankenstein's creature. At the same time, however, the residents of Visaria band together armed with pitchforks and torches, as they noticed the flickering lights in the mad scientist's laboratory windows while searching for the werewolf. Daniel, who found the dead Ilonka, makes Dr. Niemann responsible and goes for him. The creature that comes to the aid of its awakening hurls Daniel out of the window to his death.

The residents of Visaria break into Niemann's laboratory and drive the monster that Dr. Niemann still holds on hopelessly into the swamp. There the monster sinks into quicksand together with the mad doctor.

Reviews

“Despite its all-star cast and Karloff's return, the film was the silliest and most boring of the series. With his systematic sequence of horror clichés he came very close to the standardization practice of “B” -Western and he didn't even have the kind of brilliant dialogue that could have given him a pseudo-Gothic look. "

- Classics of horror films

Sequels

Frankenstein's house was to be followed by two more sequels, including the comedy Abbott & Costello meet Frankenstein , for which stars like Lon Chaney Jr., Bela Lugosi and Glenn Strange parody their star roles as Wolf Man, Dracula and Frankenstein's monster and which at the same time parody the conclusion of the Frankenstein- Series of universal forms.

DVD release

Frankenstein's house is available in German for the first time in The Monster Legacy DVD Collection . The DVD collection includes, among other things, the complete Frankenstein range from Universal.

  • The Monster Legacy DVD Collection , October 14, 2004, Universal Pictures

Others

  • Despite the misleading title Frankenstein's House , for the first time no person named Frankenstein appears in the entire film.
  • Bela Lugosi was ignored in the cast of Count Dracula, partly because the studio was dissatisfied with its representation of the monster in Frankenstein meets the wolf man and those responsible saw themselves compelled to cut out all of his dialogue scenes.
  • Originally, the mummy Kharis, another “universal monster”, should also appear in the film. However, the idea was rejected again for reasons of cost.
  • The film had the working title The Devil's Brood and had a budget of $ 354,000 and a very generous 30 days of shooting time by Universal Standards. Boris Karloff received a fee of $ 20,000, Lon Chaney Jr. got the slightly lower fee of $ 10,000 for his third appearance as a werewolf and John Carradine and J. Carrol Naish each received $ 7,000. Lionel Atwill got $ 1750 - and George Zucco $ 1500. Glenn Strange received $ 500 for his portrayal of Frankenstein's monster.
  • Glenn Strange was the fourth actor to put on the mask of Frankenstein's monster. Boris Karloff, who played the "original monster" at the time and was named Dr. Niemann also performed in Frankenstein's house , Strange gave valuable tips on how best to play the creature.
  • The name of the village where the ruins of Dr. Ludwig Frankenstein's sanatorium from Frankenstein returns is named in this film as “Visaria” instead of “Vasaria”.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ William K. Everson, Joe Hembus: Classics of Horror Movies. 1980, p. 64.