Universal Trio- Drac, Frank, and Wolfie

Since there was some love out there for Frank, I wanted to put this out here to help old and new Universal fans...

As I mentioned before, when Drac and Frank got started off, they were on their own separate movie tracks. And away we go!

The Drac Man:

Dracula (you should know this one)

Dracula's Daughter- takes place right after Drac. Van Helsing is up on murder charges for killing Dracula, and his daughter shows up to ensure her father is indeed dead. She hates being a vampire (unlike her servant who wants her to relish in it) and seeks help from a doctor that specializes in addiction therapy.

Son of Dracula= An heiress to a huge plantation in New Orleans invites Count Alucard to visit her in the states, being a lifelong devotee to the occult. Her father is quickly put out of the picture, and the newly wedded and wealthy couple take over the estate.


The Frank Man:

Frankenstein (ditto)

Bride of Frankenstein- again, a sequel that takes off right after the first one. While recovering, Henry is visited by a former mentor, Dr. Pretorius, who convinces him to try again, but this time with a female.

Son of Frankenstein- Henry's adult son Wolf Frankenstein, moves his family to the estate, seeking to restore his family name and reputation. Ygor has found the monster, and convinces Wolf to revive him. Ygor finds that the monster now obeys his commands, and decides to send the monster out to kill the villagers that tormented him.

Ghost of Frank- Ygor takes the monster in search of Henry's 2nd son, Ludwig, hoping he would be able to revitalize the monster. Ludwig sees it as a chance to finally destroy the creature. However, he is visited by Henry's ghost, who tells him instead to correct the mistake that was made in the first place- take out the abnormal brain and use a healthy one.


Wolfie:

Wolf Man (ditto)


After Wolf Man is when we get to the crossovers:


Frank meets Wolf Man- Talbot heads to Castle Frankenstein hoping to find Ludwig's research notes, in order to devise a means of ending his own life. While exploring the ruins, he inadvertently revives the monster. Also along for the ride is a doctor that has been pursing Talbot across Europe, and the current Baroness Frankenstein.

House of Frankenstein- Dr Niemann (who used to work with Ludwig back in the day) and his hunchback Daniel (there must be a hunchback lab assistant union in Europe) escape from prison, and commandeer a traveling sideshow for transport to Castle Frankenstein. The sideshow owner was exhibiting the actual Dracula skeleton taken from Castle Dracula... Niemann revives Dracula to take revenge on the people that caused his imprisonment. Upon reaching the castle, Niemann finds and revives both Talbot and the monster and adds them to his instruments of revenge.

House of Dracula- Dr Edelmann is now the doctor in demand, as both Dracula and Talbot seek him out for finding a cure for both their respective conditions. Talbot and the doctor come across the monster, and take him to the castle as well. Dracula begins to revert to his old ways (becoming attracted to the doctor's lovely assistant) and threatens the doctor and his plans to cure Talbot.



And there you have it... the trio's run through the cinema (again, not counting the Abbot and Costello films).

The continuity is rather neat, but there are times you do have to just run with some of the inconsistencies. A couple of examples- Drac's skeleton was taken by the police as evidence for Van Helsing's trial, which Drac's daughter stole and burned. The sideshow's owner having taken the bones from Castle Dracula would negate the events in Drac's Daughter. Drac is killed by sunlight in House of Frank, yet he returns in House of Drac- no explanation given.


Another little tidbit- you might be thinking... well, the monster is a reanimated corpse, so no big deal to reanimate him again and again... Drac is a vampire... but what is the deal with Talbot?

Answer- Talbot technically is undead since the beginning of Frank meets Wolf Man. He was in the family crypt for 4 years, in a sarcophagus filled with wolfsbane. Grave robbers break into the crypt... when they remove the lid and the wolfsbane, moonlight strikes the corpse, and Talbot is back in business. This also covers his new found immunity to silver (which is why he keeps hunting for an effectual way to kill himself).

Nice synopsis!

I was always partial to Dracula's Daughter, think that's a fantastic film, even a tad risque for the time.

Son of Dracula & Son of Frankenstein are two more that should be better known than they are. Son of Dracula is especially creepy and atmospheric.

I quite agree... Drac's Daughter upped the ante a lil bit in regards to the females. Shame about her character though. I think if she wasn't being pushed by her manservant, she would have been able to resist the feeding temptations. I would have gotten rid of him myself... he was pretty insolent.

I don't think any of these movies ever explored the alternatives to feeding on humans that have come up in later works. Using animal blood being the main substitute would have worked back in that era... and once you get blood banks, it's smooth sailing for the 'vegan' vampire.

My creep factor from Son of Drac was mainly Chaney Jr portrayal of Drac. He was just so meek and sympathetic as Talbot... and as Alucard, he is a straight up manipulative killer with major attitude.

I gotta rewatch the ones I've watched and watch the ones I haven't. I'm gonna see if amazon has 'em for cheap.