It's Lugosi's turn to play the monster in this fourth installment of Universal's reign of Frankenstein's monster horror movies. It starts on a moonlit night as grave robbers unwittingly unearth the tomb of the Wolfman, who then begins a desperate search for a cure for his "condition." The search eventually leads him to a climactic confrontation with, of all creatures, Frankenstein's monster. Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman is a sequel to Ghost of Frankenstein and The Wolf Man; later followed by the House of Frankenstein.
Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman is the first of Universal's monster clashes and without doubt, one of the best Universal monster movies made. Bela Lugosi is not the "ultimate" Frankenstein, nor would he have been my first choice to fill the shoes of Boris Karloff. That is the only thing about this movie that caught my eye immediately. The dramatic differences in appearance and mannerisms between Karloff's portrayal of the Frankenstein monster and Lugosi's. Bela lcked the special quality of Karloff's monster, but he does the role justice, especially in the finale. As for the plot, hoping for Dr. Frankenstein to help him, Talbot (the Wolfman) comes to Vasaria to find that Dr. Frankenstein is dead. He happens to find the monster frozen in ice and cleverly convinces the Monster, Dr. Mannering, and Elsa Frankenstein to help him. Mannering ends up betraying Lawrence Talbot, who becomes the Wolfman. As a raging flood is about to destroy the castle ruins, the two monsters battle, only to be swept away in the flood. Full of action. Well worth owning, renting or stealing.