MovieChat Forums > Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) Discussion > my problem from the get go

my problem from the get go

posted 14 years ago by MWeber935
21 replies | jump to latest

This was the film that threw out the logic established in the previous films. They clearly state in The Wolf Man that you can destroy a werewolf with a silver weapon, and they do, twice in the film. In this film, suddenly he's back from THE DEAD! Why? How? Why didn't he come back to life in his grave earlier? There were other full moons since his father killed him. And in the previous film he transforms without the moon passing over his body, so it's not that.

It's interesting that the clever continuity they did keep, casting Lugosi to play Igor/Monster, is the thing they cut. Dumb.

From here it was just downhill.

[–] tbrittreid 14 years ago

What happened is that the grave robbers opened Talbot's crypt and more importantly his coffin so that the full moon shone directly on his body, reviving him. He had been shielded from previous post-mortem full moons by the crypt and coffin being closed. Note the expression on gypsy woman Maleva's face when Larry finds her. She's utterly flabbergasted by his arrival, and perhaps wondering if her son might ought to be dug up.

The GREEN HORNET Strikes Again!

[–] haristas 14 years ago

I think it's kind of silly to expect any sort of logic from these films. Why were the Wolf Man, Frankenstein's monster, Dracula and the Mummy able to come back to life again and again? To make more money for Universal, of course! There's your logic.

[–] zeta1983-1 14 years ago

"I think it's kind of silly to expect any sort of logic from these films. Why were the Wolf Man, Frankenstein's monster, Dracula and the Mummy able to come back to life again and again? To make more money for Universal, of course! There's your logic."

Well put! I watched this the other day and was thinking "Wait didn't Frankenstein and the Wolfman die?!" But no, so long as there is possibility of a profitable sequel they are effectively immortal, the only thing that can kill them is low box office sales.

[–] GreenGoblinsOck8 (7401) 7 years ago

"the only thing that can kill them is low box office sales."
Reminds me of the line in Last Action Hero, "You can't die until the grosses go down."

[–] brand78 13 years ago

You are quite correct haristas - these films can never be consonant with reality. I have always liked Lon Chayney and I think that the opening scene in this movie of a stormy night in a cemetery is impressive. 8 marks out of ten.

[–] chongajuly 13 years ago

Not only did the grave robbers open Talbot's casket, revealing his corpse to the rays of the full moon (which we never saw in THE WOLF MAN, which used the line "the autumn moon is bright"), but they also removed the wolfbane that covered the body. To see the clawed hand reach out and touch someone is to watch Universal at its peak. The music was never scarier, and while Frankenstein was short changed, the Wolf Man never was.

"I take pleasure in great beauty" - James Bond

[–] CamelCamelCamel 13 years ago

I stand (very!) corrected about the movies never telling us how to kill Frankenstein's monster! But in any case, no weakness has become part of the character's myth the way silver has become part of the Wolf Man's myth.

[–] olblueeyes40 14 years ago

First of all, let it be said that I'm a HUGE fan of these Universal films. However, the series contains numerous flaws that it's not even funny. (Well, I guess it is). My biggest beef has always been introducing the same great actors in these films but playing different parts. Perfect example, Lionel Atwill. First he's the Inspector, then a scientist, then the mayor etc etc.
Secondly, you have half the local residents reminiscing at times about their previous run-ins with various monsters, and the other half still denying that such things even exist! Example again, in House of Frankenstein....the local police tell Karloff's character that they've had peace since the Frankenstein monster and Wolfman were killed. Same movie...the local mayor scoffs at the Dracula legend as being "gibberish...superstitious nonsense!" What's up with that? I guess the dear mayor wasn't kept in the loop about such matters?
But...I still cherish these films!

[–] haristas 14 years ago

I think the case with Lionel Atwill was... HE NEEDED THE MONEY! So, he was willing to accept whatever Universal would pay him, which wasn't much, but at least Atwill had a job and Universal had something of a name in its supporting cast. The reality of Hollywood movies and its actors, even the stars, is that you're basically just looking at people making a living.

[–] powersroc 13 years ago

I love this movie,& the Wolfman is my favorite of the Universal monsters.Have to say though,if Talbot was so desperate to die why make it such a complicated matter? Purchase a gun,make silver bullets,get someone to shoot him dead. End of problem.

[–] tbrittreid 13 years ago

Well, that's pretty close to what happens in the next entry, House of Frankenstein (1944), but Larry nevertheless turns up alive and growling in House of Dracula (1945), and for the first time no hint of an explanation!

The GREEN HORNET Strikes Again!

[–] CamelCamelCamel 13 years ago

Bit of a spoiler there, tbrittreid.

Making Lawrence Talbot an unwilling immortal made him an interesting and sympathetic character, so I'm willing to overlook the inconsistent "reality." I do think it's different from Frankenstein's Monster's unexplained longevity, though, because in none of the Frankenstein movies was it made a plot point exactly how he could be killed! As far as the movies have told us, he can't be killed.

[–] tbrittreid 13 years ago

Good point about the spoiler; I should have put a warning on.

Actually, this very film states categorically that Mannering could have killed the Monster by drawing off his energies with the very equipment with which the doctor instead instilled "full power" into him.

The GREEN HORNET Strikes Again!

[–] GeoSpelvin 7 years ago

Do you really think a spoiler alert is necessary for a 73-year-old movie?

[–] bromstaker 13 years ago

The first Frankenstein film implies that the Monster can only be killed by dissection. Ghost of Frankenstein makes it more explicit.

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] rixrex 13 years ago

How are any of these Universal immortal monsters any different from modern horror film antagonists?

Jason is killed and always comes back, same with Michael Myers, same with Freddy Kreuger, same with every other monster, demon or ogre type that needs resurrecting for a sequel.

Even the one character who is an actual mortal human, Leatherface, manages to always survive.

And as far as actors filling various roles, Universal had studio contracts for many of them, so they were stuck in wherever needed.

The saddest thing about this one film of the series is that we can never see the film as it was written, meaning the whole brain of Ygor in the monster and how Lugosi played it, conversing with Chaney and all. See, that would never happen now, it's too valuable to throw away the alternate versions with the ability to re-release and resell the movie again and again.

If you ever get to read the original storyline, it's pretty darn good.

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The Eyes of the City are Mine! Mother Pressman / Anguish (1987)

[–] mlaughlin22 12 years ago

I guess the Tabots did not believe in cremation . Burn the Body
and lets see Larry come back from that ? They could put the urn
buried with Wolfsbane for over kill .

[–] Skye_Reynolds 7 years ago

The Wolf Man was such a great tragedy that I almost hate to see Larry Talbot brought back. If it weren't for Lon Chaney's performance, I'd almost feel like it might have been better to go the same route as The Invisible Man and just make it a new werewolf each time.

[–] Confection_Pictures 7 years ago

These films have more continuity problems than Friday The 13th.

Want three steaks?... My mistake. Four steaks. 

[–] Skye_Reynolds 7 years ago

lol. True.