Universal Monsters Movies: The Original Shared Cinematic Universe
Looking Back at the Film Series That Brought Together the Frankenstein Monster, Count Dracula, and the Wolf Man
From the 1920s through to the 1950s, Universal Monsters was the go-to place for classic monster movies. Over the years, as they latched onto franchise characters that could carry a film series, soon came the urge to have the various monsters meet up.
As such, they found ways to combine monster movie icons Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, and the Wolf Man, into a single narrative. It wasn’t always great, but it sure was fun.
Related links:
Monster Rally: Complete Universal Monsters
Here’s a checklist of all the films that were part of the main narrative(s).
Dracula (1931)
with Béla Lugosi, Helen Chandler, David Manners, Dwight Frye
Frankenstein (1931)
with Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
with Boris Karloff, Elsa Lanchester, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson
Son of Frankenstein (1939)
with Boris Karloff, Béla Lugosi, Basil Rathbone Lionel Atwill
The Wolf Man (1941)
with Lon Chaney, Jr., Evelyn Ankers, Maria Ouspenskaya, Béla Lugosi, Claude Rains, Ralph Bellamy, Patric Knowles
The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)
with Lon Chaney, Jr., Béla Lugosi, Evelyn Ankers, Cedric Hardwicke, Ralph Bellamy, Lionel Atwill
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943)
with Lon Chaney, Jr., Béla Lugosi, Ilona Massey, Patric Knowles, Lionel Atwill
House of Frankenstein (1944)
with Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr., J. Carrol Naish, John Carradine, Anne Gwynne, Lionel Atwill, George Zucco, Elena Verdugo
House of Dracula (1945)
with Lon Chaney, Jr., Martha O'Driscoll, John Carradine
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
with Lon Chaney, Jr., Béla Lugosi, Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lenore Aubert, Jane Randolph
Origin of the Universal Monsters
The folks at YouTube channel Variant Comics provides an overview of Hollywood’s first “cinematic universe”—the Universal Monsters series featuring Frankenstein, Dracula, The Wolf Man, and so many more!
Here’s a second video, this one from SYFY Wire, which provides additional background info…
Universal Monsters Movies - The First Shared Movie Universe: Everything You Didn’t Know
ABOUT THE UNIVERSAL MONSTERS
The classic Universal Monsters film series has continued to resonate with classic horror movie fans for nearly a hundred years. Anchored by some of the most iconic movie monsters, the Universal Monsters stable includes Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, the Bride of Frankenstein, the Mummy, the Wolf Man, the Phantom of the Opera, the Invisible Man, and the Creature From the Black Lagoon.
More Classic Monsters on Monster Complex
For more Monster Complex articles about Universal Monsters, click HERE.
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