I quite liked this entry in the Univeral Monsters series. Lon Chaney Jr. returns as Lawrence Talbot aka The Wolf Man, and Bela Lugosi, whose name gets buried in the starring credits while Chaney gets an ‘and’ plays Frankenstein’s Monster.

Apparently, Talbot wasn’t dead. He was buried, draped in wolfsbane to keep him trapped and in a comatose state, but when a couple of grave robbers open his tomb, Talbot is resurrected and stumbles into town, where he ends up in a hospital.

No one there believes his claims of being Talbot, according to reports he died four years ago, in the midst of a series of animal attacks. And these claims of being a werewolf, that can’t be true either can it?

Dr. Mannering (Patric Knowles) begins to suspect Talbot is telling the truth, and when Talbot escapes to Europe seeking answers, Mannering pursues.

Talbot wants to die. He doesn’t want to turn, he doesn’t want to harm people, so he seeks answers from Maleva (Maria Ouspenskaya) who may have a possibility. They follow the rumors of a Dr.. Frankenstein and his creation. If he could find a way to create life, perhaps he can take it away from Talbot. They meet up with Baroness Elsa Frankenstein (Ilona Massey), Frankenstein’s daughter, and she reveals Frankenstein’s journal and equipment.

Mannering agrees to help, but it’s not until after Talbot, after a rampage, discovers the Monster, frozen in a block of ice.

Mannering becomes obsessed with the idea of restoring the Monster completely, but agrees to help Talbot. But his obsession goes too far, and on the night he’s supposed to help Talbot dies, a full moon is in the sky.

Disaster ensues, as the restored Monster focuses on Elsa, he and the Wolf Man fight, even as the local villagers, suspecting evil is taking place in the castle once again, open a dam to flood the castle and kill everyone.

But did they?

I love the fact that Talbot wants nothing but his own death, while the Monster wants acceptance and life, and everyone uses them to get what they want. Talbot’s character is arguably the most sympathetic of the Universal Monsters because his monster is completely out of his control, and he must live with the knowledge of what he’s done.

I enjoyed all of this one. The story, the effects, and Chaney being a melodramatic Talbot.

I spend some more time with Chaney as he returns as Kharis the Mummy when I dive into The Mummy’s Ghost next time!