Bela's Monster: Lugosi, The Monster, and FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN

"I created a Frankenstein Monster for myself." -- Bela LugosiIn 1931, Bela Lugosi is on top of the world.The film DRACULA is in release. A huge hit, it makes Bela an instant star. Though nearly 49 years old, the actor still has his striking good looks and compelling charisma. Women adore him--both on the screen and in his not-so private life.But then, he's assigned the part of the monster in FRANKENSTEIN (1931).He's resistant. Appalled. Insulted.The very public eventuality? He doesn't make FRANKENSTEIN. But he plays the Monster years later in FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN (1943)Both of these incidents haunt him for the rest of his life.Along with Lon Chaney, Jr.’s portrayal of Count Dracula in SON OF DRACULA (1943), Bela's Monster is the most maligned acting job in Universal Monster’s Classic Horror canon. But does Lugosi truly deserve the harsh criticism he still receives among Monster Kids?BELA'S MONSTER examines just that.Along the way, we'll deal with Lugosi’s aborted attachment to FRANKENSTEIN, as well as his excellent take on Ygor in SON OF FRANKENSTEIN (1939) and THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN (1942).We will discuss his scene-stealing reprisal of Dracula in ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN...particularly Dracula’s hypnotic control over the Monster.But most importantly, we'll analyze Lugosi’s performance as the creature in FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN. The changes in character from the definitive Karloff version. The script. The shooting. And the unfortunate final cut of the film that robbed us forever of what might have been....