The Monster Mash Not Taken
In its grand finale, The Wolf Man vs. Dracula sees all roads lead to Castle Dracula. Larry goes there in search of Yvonne, the police and Anatole go in search of Larry, having become convinced that Larry is a madman responsible for a series of grisly lycanthrope-like murders in the region (only one is shown on screen, with the vampire-wolf chasing Larry and Yvonne after slaughtering a neighbor).
Curiously, the end of the movie doesn’t really feature the Wolf Man versus Dracula, at least in the way you would like. Before the full moon rises, a humanoid Larry is able to find Yvonne in the crypt and break Dracula’s thrall over her. As they attempt to escape into the nearby cemetery and woods, Dracula awakens and takes the form of that giant bat and continues dive-bombing them until Larry is able to kill it by shoving a tombstone in the shape of a crucifix through its heart. Alas, by this time it is too late for Larry to find any help. The full moon crests after Dracula is dead, and as a werewolf, the other beastie begins stalking his wife through Castle Dracula! (Before turning, Larry even saw the pentagram in Yvonne’s palm!)
By then, three constables and Anatole have arrived, helping raise the bodycount as the Wolf Man takes out each of the coppers one by one, before working his way to Anatole and Yvonne who have wound up back in the crypt. But the last moment before the werewolf takes his daughter, Anatole shoots the Wolf Man with a silver bullet he reluctantly made. At last a true believer, Anatole sees the beast transform back into the man.
“You mustn’t [cry] Yvonne,” Larry tells his wife. “Your father only did what I asked him to do. You brought the only beauty in my life I have ever known — even if it was for a short time.” Turning to dad, he adds, “Thanks — friend. Now I can rest in —.” His eyes, plus the credits, close in before he can finish the last sentence.
It ultimately would have been a pretty schlocky movie, but probably no more so than either House of Frankenstein or House of Dracula. And as a Universal Monsters-loving kid who grew up enjoying both of those movies without discrimination, I imagine my childhood self would’ve devoured this too. In some ways, it’s stronger than either House movie, because like Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, it has an actual narrative backbone as a Wolf Man sequel designed to make Lon Chaney Jr. look good. Conversely, the Houses were always disjointed vignettes and set-pieces thrown together.
Still, in some ways it might be best that we got House of Dracula instead of The Wolf Man vs. Dracula. For starters, as chintzy as House of Dracula is, it features a delightful performance by Onslow Stevens as Dr. Edlemann, the kindly scientist who cures Larry Talbot of werewolfism before being corrupted into evil by consuming the blood of Dracula.
