(1943)
Dir - Roy William Niell
Overall: MEH
Though it has a fine performance from Lon Chaney Jr. reprising his role as Lawrence Talbot, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man marks the moment where Universal's monster movie sequels finally stretched themselves to a breaking point. As a direct follow-up to The Wolf Man and the fifth Frankenstein film, Lionel Atwill shows up playing another character for the third time in a row, Evelyn Ankers is recast as she played two different characters in each franchise before, and in his last credited screen performance, Dwight Fry even pops in as a nameless villager. This would mark the only time that Béla Lugosi put on the Frankenstein monster makeup yet infamously, all of his dialog was removed in editing and his stumbling performance with his arms outstretched made the actor primarily look preposterous as any mention of the creature being blind was left for movie patrons who remembered that last minute plot detail from The Ghost of Frankenstein to understand. The script from Curt Siodmak, (also returning from The Wolf Man), combines two timelines that are decades apart and allows for a "sane" doctor to randomly decide that he must see the monster's full power before willingly blowing up a dam that will surely destroy the entire village below it. Meanwhile, nobody thinks to destroy Frankenstein's diary or any of his lab equipment and characters miraculously cross paths with each other as if the entire continent of Europe exists within a few blocks from each other.
(1945)
Dir - Gordon Douglas
Overall: MEH
While Boris Karloff got to work with A-listers Bud Abbott and Lou Costello in two different films for Universal Pictures, poor, poor Béla Lugosi got stuck with RKO's lame-brained imitations Alan Carney and Wally Brown. The first of their pairings Zombies on Broadway, (Loonies on Broadway), also has the odd distinction of being an unofficial sequel to producer Val Lewton's I Walked with a Zombie as it takes place on the same island and features calypso singer Sir Lancelot reprising his role. Basically, if you were to imagine Abbot and Costello without any of their comedic timing or charisma, then Carney and Brown would be the result. On paper, the script from Robert Kent and Lawrence Kimble goes through the usual hi-jinks, except all of the jokes and anything remotely clever are removed. Lugosi of course plays another mad scientist and of course is barely on screen. He does get to goof around with a monkey though for whatever that is worth. There is generally nothing worse than a comedy that is not funny and look no further than exhibit A right here for proof.
(1947)
Dir - Christy Cabanne
Overall: MEH
Though it is historically notable as the only color film in which Béla Lugosi received a staring role, Scared to Death is one of a handful of dopey comedy thrillers that the actor appeared in merely to pay the bills. An uninspired whodunit based off of Murder on the Operating Table by Frank Orsino, the film has one obnoxiously unfunny, ham-fisted character after the other, several of whom fumble their lines in a way that makes Lugosi look both overqualified and sad to be a part of such tripe. Hack-meister Christy Cabanne directed about nine-hundred and eighty-seven forgettable movies going back to the early silent days and this was one of his last. Honestly, anyone could be behind the lens though as it is just a series of characters walking into one room and talking before walking into the next room and talking some more. Meanwhile, a mask appears in a window, interrupting said talking scenes over and over again while the soundtrack loudly blares an ominous trumpet noise. This is also one of a handful of times that dwarf actor Angelo Rossitto and Lugosi worked together, the former basically playing a human version of a pet monkey which is as "charming" as it sounds.
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