House of Frankenstein

"All the screen's titans of terror - together in the greatest of All SCREEN SENSATIONS!"

1944 1h 11m EN

😐

6.1

MID

★6.1TMDB · 191

HorrorScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Deranged scientist, Gustav Niemann, escapes from prison and overtakes the director of a traveling chamber of horrors, soon reviving the infamous Count Dracula, the frozen Frankenstein Monster, and the Wolf Man.

“All the screen's titans of terror - together in the greatest of All SCREEN SENSATIONS!”

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Cast

Boris Karloff
Dr. Gustav Niemann
Lon Chaney Jr.
Lawrence 'Larry' Talbot (aka The Wolf Man)
J. Carrol Naish
Daniel
John Carradine
Dracula (aka Baron Latos)
Anne Gwynne
Rita Hussman
Peter Coe
Carl Hussman
Lionel Atwill
Inspector Arnz
George Zucco
Prof. Bruno Lampini

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Erle C. Kenton
Writers: Edward T. Lowe Jr., Curt Siodmak
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 71-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

82 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Frankenstein (Universal) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Erle C. Kenton, shot by George Robinson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Paul Dessau. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Philip Cahn shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney Jr. and J. Carrol Naish carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Erle C. Kenton directs. George Robinson behind the camera. Paul Dessau scores. Philip Cahn cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 71-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
2Shot for just $0.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
382 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Part of the "Frankenstein (Universal) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Erle C. Kenton, shot by George Robinson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Paul Dessau. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Philip Cahn shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney Jr. and J. Carrol Naish carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "All the screen's titans of terror - together in the greatest of All SCREEN SENSATIONS!".
10IMDB entry: tt0036931 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 16 themes, including "gypsy", "vampire", "transformation", "halloween".

The technical file

Cinematography: George Robinson
Original score: Paul Dessau
Editing: Philip Cahn
Costume design: Vera West
Makeup / hair: Jack Pierce
Runtime: 71 min · 1h 11m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $354,000
Original language: EN
IMDB: House of Frankenstein (1944)

Part of

Frankenstein (Universal) Collection

A Universal Production film series beginning with Frankenstein in 1931 and followed by four sequels up to 1944.

Also by

Erle C. Kenton

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What people are saying

John Chard2015-10-08
★ 6/10
Welcome to the house of fun now I've come of age... Let the Universal Monster tag team continue unabated! In truth there's not really a whole movie here, it's more a skew-whiff anthology involving Dracula (John Carradine), the Wolf Man (Lon Chaney Jr) and Frankenstein's Monster (Glenn Strange), with Boris Karloff's mad scientist and J. Carrol Naish's hunchback serving as the linking meat in the monster sandwich. Plot is for the genre at the time the standard Universal fodder, mad scientist and hunchback manage - by an act of god - to escape from prison. Scientist is after revenge, hunchback wants a new body. After a short encounter with Dracula via a travelling chamber of horrors side-show, the pair head off to the Frankenstein castle - with pretty gypsy girl and Larry Talbot/Wolf Man in tow - where hopes and dreams involve a lot of brain swapping. What transpires is a bit of violent jealousy and disappointments, building up to the monster smack down finale just as the villagers once again take unkindly to the presence of monsters in their midst. It's all good fun, the clichés of the franchise crammed into the hour and ten minute run time ensuring it's never boring. But really the Dracula section will leave you wanting more, while Frankenstein's monster - in the film bearing his name - just lounges around for a bit and then it's pretty much the end! Enjoyable if disposable 6/10

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