Erle C. Kenton

Director of many old movies, including a lot of the Universal horror pictures.

The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942) -- Son of Frankenstein was better than it needed to be, but The Ghost of Frankenstein is about as dumb as you'd imagine a fourth Frankenstein movie would be. Boris Karloff isn't the monster anymore (Lon Chaney, Jr. is) and there's all sorts of stuff involving brain switching that barely makes sense. It might be fun if you're in the mood for an old horror picture, but it's not one of the classics. (See Rowland V. Lee for the predecessor, Son of Frankenstein. See Roy William Neill for the sequel, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man.)

House of Frankenstein (1944) -- Where Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man combined two Universal monsters, this one threw in a third: Dracula (making this a sequel to Son of Dracula as well). And "threw in" is about right for Dracula, since he's brought about at the beginning of the movie and then goes away once his little (insignificant) bit is over. There are also "major" characters introduced who disappear along with Dracula. Next we're thawing out the Wolf Man and a barely-appearing Frankenstein's monster for a movie that is somehow entertaining in spite of itself. Oh, there's also a hunch back, a beautiful gypsy, and Boris Karloff (the original monster) plays a mad scientist. (See Roy William Neill and Robert Siodmak for the predecessors, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man and Son of Dracula, respectively. See below for the sequel, House of Dracula.)

House of Dracula (1945) -- Another cavalcade of things that don't make sense. First, Dracula (John Carradine), who died in House of Frankenstein, miraculously turns up at Dr. Edelman's house wanting to be cured of his vampirism. Then Larry Talbot (Lon Chaney Jr.), who also died, lumbers in wanting to be cured of his werewolf-ism. But, for some reason, Dracula -- through a transfusion -- wants the doctor to go mad, and he does--eventually killing Dracula (again). Along the way, he finds Frankenstein's monster (Glenn Strange) and revives him, only for him to get immediately burned. Talbot, however, finally gets cured (and the girl). The best part of this movie is the beautiful hunchback. None of the movie makes much sense, but -- like House of Frankenstein -- it's entertaining, though not nearly as much as the predecessor. At any rate, this is more or less the last of the "straight" Universal monster cycle, since the next movies featuring Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, the wolf man, and the invisible man also feature Abbot and Costello. (See above for the predecessor, House of Frankenstein. See Charles Barton for the sequel, Abbot and Costello Meet Frankenstein.)