The five “Wolf Man” movies were released in the following order, which is probably the best way to watch them, if you’re sticking to the monster’s specific movies:
- “The Wolf Man” (1941)
- “Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man” (1943)
- “House of Frankenstein” (1944)
- “House of Dracula” (1945)
- “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein” (1948)
One will likely notice that the Wolf Man never got a solo sequel to himself. That said, his character arc remained consistent throughout the five movies. In Roy William Nell’s “Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man,” the presumed-dead Larry Talbot is exhumed and springs back to life when struck by the light of the full moon. It wouldn’t be until “Meets” that werewolves would be associated with full moons. Larry is horrified to have been resurrected and hates that he’s still a werewolf. He begins a sad quest to end his own seemingly unending life.
The version of Frankenstein seen in “Meets” is the one played by Bela Lugosi as he was seen in the 1942 film “The Ghost of Frankenstein.” In that film, Lugosi played Ygor who sought to have his brain transplanted into Frankenstein’s body. Even in the comedy follow-up with Abbott and Costello, Larry would still be depicted as a brooding, tortured figure.
“House of Frankenstein” bears the distinction of being the first film in what today might be called a cinematic universe. That film featured Frankenstein, the Wolf Man, and Dracula, cementing that they all live in the same universe and can all interact. This was about 15 years before the Godzilla series established the same rules, and 68 years before “The Avengers.” A similar shtick was used for “House of Dracula” the following year.
Of course, if there’s a cinematic universe at play, then we’ll need to expand our list somewhat.
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