Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) - full transcript

(Wind howling)

(Bird cawing)

“Lawrence Stewart Talbot.

"Who died at the youthful age of 31.

"R.I.P."

That's it.

Give me the chisel.

Suppose they didn't bury him
with the money on him?

Everybody in the village knows -

his gold watch and ring
and money in his pockets.

It's a sin to bury good money
when it could help people.



This gives me the creeps.

What do you think he'll look like
after so many years?

Just bones and an empty skull.

Watch the lamp.

(Struggling)

Get me the light.

- Wolf bane.
- Wolf bane?

Yes.

Even a man who was pure at head

And says his prayers by night

May become a wolf
when the wolf bane blooms

And the moon is full and bright

(Man) It looks like he's asleep.

- Let's get on with it.
- First the ring.



- We'll have no worries.
- I thought the dead were stiff.

Shut up!

Gold.

It's holding me!

Help me! Help me!

Alive!

Help me!

Don't leave me!

Here, now, come off it.

Come on, laddie, wake up
and get along with you.

You've got a home, haven't you?

Or do you want me to take you
to the station?

Good heavens!

- How's the patient?
- He's conscious, Dr Mannering, and talked.

- He insists upon sitting up.
- Conscious? Talked?

That's impossible so soon
after such a critical operation.

The nurse tells me
you're well enough to talk.

Why, yes.

Pulse, 72, no fever.

There's no pain?

No.

- Where am I?
- Queen's Hospital.

- Queen's?
- Yes, Queen's Hospital in Cardiff.

We... How did I get here?

You were found in the street
with a head injury.

How did you get that skull fracture?

I don't remember.

This is Inspector Owen, I'm Dr Mannering.

What's your name?

- Lawrence Talbot.
- Lawrence Talbot.

Where do you come from?

Llanwelly village.

But...

- how did I get in Cardiff?
- That's enough for now. You must rest.

You'll be fit again very soon.

- If there's any change, call me immediately.
- Yes, Doctor.

Hello? Put me through
to the police station at Llanwelly.

Just a routine checkup,
then we can close the case.

(Telephone)

- Llanwelly Police Station.
- This is Inspector Owen from Cardiff.

Have you got anything in your files
on a man named...

Lawrence Talbot?

Why, of course. He lived here.

That's all right, then.
He's here in our hospital.

I wouldn't want him in our hospital-
he died four years ago.

Of course I'm sure, Inspector.

I was present at his funeral.

That'll be all, Inspector. Goodbye.

Lawrence Talbot died four years ago.
Your man's an impostor.

That's a harsh word, Inspector.
A poor devil of unsound mind.

I'll have another talk with him once
he's sound enough to remember his name.

- Inspector.
- Yeah?

That man is my patient, not your prisoner.

I'll decide when he can be questioned again.

Very well. It's in your hands.

(Wild snarling)

I found this bandage here
when I came in this morning.

I didn't open the window,
the patient must have done it himself.

You'd better cover him up.

You're all right, nothing has happened.

Get some more bandages
and we'll renew the compress.

Don't excite yourself, please be calm.

Doctor, something terrible has happened.

You must have had a nightmare,
it's evident you were walking in your sleep.

Call the police.

- Police?
- Yes, you'd better call them.

I'm a...

I'm a murderer.

Yes, of course, anything you say.

- Ask Inspector Owen to come here at once.
- Yes, Doctor.

What is all this about wanting the police?

Last night l...killed someone.

- But you were in this room all night.
- I tell you, I killed someone.

But you couldn't have.

You must have heard
the nurses discussing it.

Mr Talbot, you're suffering from a delusion.

Someone was killed last night
but it happened many streets from here.

He was attacked
by some son of wild animal.

That's just it.

I turn into an animal.

Well, Mr Talbot.
Decided to remember your real name?

He seems to have heard about the
unfortunate constable - it's disturbing him.

But he doesn't understand.

There's a curse upon me.
I change into a wolf.

It's a bit difficult to believe, my good man.

See that scar?
That's where I was bitten by a wolf.

Only it wasn't a real wolf, it was a man,

a werewolf.

I killed him.

Now I change into a wolf at night
when the moon is full.

Hm!

It's the truth.

Ask Maleva, the old Gypsy woman,
she knows.

Maleva? Gypsy?

You must get back into bed.

Are you blind? Won't you believe me?

- Help me.
- Just tell us your real name.

- Let us do the worrying.
- I told you. Lawrence Talbot!

Lawrence Talbot!

- Why can't you understand?
- Lawrence Talbot died.

Four years ago.

Died?

Four years?

I...

I can't die.

Mr Talbot, if you want us to help you,

you must do as we say - please lie down.

You think I'm insane,
that I don't know what I'm talking about?

Look in the grave where
Lawrence Talbot is supposed to be buried

and see if you find a body!

- Get back into bed.
- Yes, get on with it.

You're treating me like a lunatic.
You're as stupid as all the rest.

Come along, Inspector.

You mean to say Talbot actually
experienced that murder last night?

I'm afraid so.

People with brain injuries

sometimes develop extraordinary,
supernormal mental powers.

Certainly he opened the window.

The borderline between delusion
and reality is very narrow.

Sometimes a patient may
unknowingly overstep that line.

Then he's dangerous
and ought to be behind bars.

He's a lycanthrope.

- A what?
- Lycanthrope.

Oh. What's that?

A man who imagines himself to be a wolf.

Oh.

Poor devil.

Wish I could do something to help him.

Doctor, I think I'll run up
to Llanwelly and find out...

You know, I had the very same idea.

To be able to cure this man
I have to know who he is.

Right. We'll go up together.

Somebody's broken into this vault.
How long is it since you were here last?

Not for months.
Nobody's died in Llanwelly lately

and nobody comes here
if he doesn't have to.

The door.

- What about it?
- It's broken from inside.

Here, give me that.

Someone must have taken the body
out of the tomb.

- That's not Lawrence Talbot.
- Not Talbot?

- You know who this is?
- Yes, it's Freddy Jolly.

- Who's he?
- Been up for vagrancy.

What would you say he died of, Doctor?

Severed jugular.

This man bled to death.

- Same as the constable in Cardiff.
- Looks like an animal bite.

Aye, that animal.
We remember it well hereabouts.

It must've carried away
the corpse of poor Sir Lawrence.

- What animal?
- Didn't you know?

There was a wild animal around here
a few years ago.

It killed people - bit through their throats,
drained their blood.

- Did they kill it?
- Sir John Talbot thought he did.

He attacked it in the dark one night,
or so he thought,

but it was his son he killed.

- Poor Mr Larry.
- Where's Sir John Talbot now?

Over there, sir. Died of grief shortly after.

- Let's go.
- But the body?

- Mustn't touch that, it's evidence.
- Yes, sir.

I'd like to see a photograph
of Lawrence Talbot.

- There's one in my office, sir.
- Good.

Here's Mr Larry's photograph, sir.

Take a look at his face, Doctor.
Isn't that our man in Cardiff?

There's a similarity.
I wouldn't swear it's the same man.

Of course it's not the same man.

If it were, I'd be off me top.

The sergeant had better come to Cardiff
and see if he can identify this man.

- That's the thing to do.
- Can I use your telephone?

- I'd like to check on my patient.
- Of course. Over there.

Hello? I'd like to speak to Dr Gordon
at the Queen's Hospital, Cardiff.

Have you ever heard of a Gypsy woman
named Maleva?

A GYPSY woman?

A vagrant? We always register them.

Dr Gordon? This is Dr Mannering.

How's Lawrence Talbot doing?

The head injury case
who went violent yesterday.

Did you notify the police?

I suppose that's all we can do at present.

I'll be back tonight, Doctor. Goodbye.

What happened to Talbot? Did he die?

He tore off his straitjacket
during the night and escaped.

Tore off his straitjacket?

- How?
- Bit right through it.

Tore it to shreds with his teeth.

With his teeth?

(Dog barking)

Bruno, stop it!

What do you want here?

I'm looking for an old Gypsy woman.

Maleva is her name.

- Is she here with you?
- Yes, Maleva is with us.

You'll find her over there.

Maleva!

They told me you'd left England.

I've looked all over Europe for you,
from town to town.

Now that I've found you, you must help me.

Come in.

What do you want from me?

Maleva, here I still carry the sign
of the pentagram,

the mark of the werewolf.

I kill people.

When the moon is full I turn into a wolf.

It's not in my power to help you.

You're the only one that understands.

Nobody else in the world will believe me.

But you, you know.

Your own son Bela was a werewolf.

He attacked me,
he changed me into a werewolf.

He's the one that put this curse on me.

You watched over him
until he was permitted to die.

Now I want to die too.
Won't you show me the way?

I can't.

But I will guard you and take care of you
as I took care of my own son.

You're not leaving us?
You're not going with him?

He has the sign of the beast on him.

He is dangerous only when the moon is full.

I shall watch over him.

- He will murder you.
- No.

I shall take him to a place I know.

Where?

I know a man
who has the power to help you.

Help me?

Who?

Is that the town?

Yes, that is Vasaria.

At last!

- Stop!
- Whoa.

Let's ask in here.

Are you the proprietor?

I am. What do you beggars want?

We just want to ask you, sir,
about a Dr Frankenstein.

Frankenstein?
Don't mention that name here.

Please, won't you tell us where he lives?

There.

That's his burial place.

The fire destroyed him and all his misdeeds.

- He's dead?
- But he can't be.

He didn't die too soon for us.
We all wish that he'd never been born.

What did you want with him?

I heard he was a great doctor

who could help people
that other doctors couldn't cure.

Him? Murder and all sons of crimes
was all he ever brought us.

He harboured a monster in his house.

A thing created by black magic.

Dr Frankenstein.

Dead.

Come.

Thank you, sir, for the information.

Get out and stay out.
We don't want your kind around here.

Keep your hands off of me!

Now I must go on living.

There's no hope for me to die.

Wait! Stop, don't go!

Wait! Don't go!

Don't!

(Howling)

Who could've done this terrible thing?

Could it be the monster again?
Frankenstein's monster?

No, the monster was burned to death
with Dr Frankenstein.

- We found his bones and buried them.
- How do you know that was the monster?

She wasn't killed by the monster,
an animal bit her to death.

I saw the wound on her throat.

What animals are around here
that can kill people?

(Distant howling)

- A wolf.
- Yes, a wolf.

- That's his cry.
- Come on, let's get him.

(Dogs barking excitedly)

Come on, come on!

There he is!

(Gunshot)

- Where is he?
- He was here a moment ago.

(Dog starts barking)

- The Gypsy woman.
- What are you doing here?

Speak up, old witch. Where's
that strange man that was with you?

Let's take her back to town.
We'll make her speak.

(Crowd jeering)

Dr Frankenstein must have kept records,
a diary.

You know where it is. Show me.

It isn't here.

"To my dear father."

Then she's the one that can tell me.

And this man, he wishes to buy
the ruins of my father's estate?

Yes, that's why I asked you
to come here, Baroness.

He wanted me to give him your address.

Naturally, I refused.

But since I knew you were anxious
to get rid of the property

and all the memories connected with it,

I thought that, in my position as mayor,

I would take the liberty of sending for you.

- Did he say his name is Taylor?
- Yes.

That's all I know about him.

Baroness Frankenstein, Mr Taylor.

- Baroness.
- Mr Taylor.

Come in, Mr Taylor, come in, come in.

Do you mind if I speak
to the baroness alone, please?

Why, certainly.

Now, if you should need
a witness to the contract, Baroness,

- I'm at your service.
- Thank you.

- Won't you please sit down, Mr Taylor?
- Thank you.

I understand that you want to buy our land.

No, I wanted to meet you.

I don't understand.

Well, the mayor wouldn't give me
your address,

so I felt that if I offered to buy your land

you'd be sure to come.

A most unusual way
to make an acquaintance.

But now that you have gone
to all this trouble to meet me,

what can I really do for you?

I want your father's records.

His experiments with life and death.

The records of the creation of the monster.

My father's diary.

Yes. You must give it to me.

I don't have any records.

If I had, I would have
destroyed them long ago.

My father was a great scientist...

but all he created brought unhappiness...

terror.

But you don't understand.

I must have them. Won't you help me?

I'm sorry, Mr Taylor,
there's nothing I can do.

The house burned down...

and I have never set a foot
on that ground again and never shall.

And that's all the information I can give you.

Well, is everything settled, Baroness?

No, we decided not to go through
with the sale after all.

Oh.

(I Music drifts in from outside)

- That sounds like...
- Yes, Baroness.

It's the festival of the new wine.
It begins tonight.

It's beautiful.

Takes me back to my childhood.

(I Lively carnival)

Join us tonight, Baroness,
as our guest of honour.

- You will take the first train in the morning?
- Thank you, Mayor.

Of course I'll stay.

You too, Mr Taylor.
I hope you will accept the invitation

to be our guest tonight
on behalf of our community.

Thank you.

I'll be there.

J' Come one and all and sing a song

J' Faro-Ia, faro-Ii

(All) J' Faro-la, faro-Ii

J' For life is shod but death is long

J' Faro-Ia, faro-Ii

(All) J' Faro-la, faro-Ii

J' There'll be no music in the tomb

J' So sing, rejoice and down with gloom

J' Tonight the new wine is in bloom

J' Faro, faro, faro-lo

(All) J' Faro-Io lo lo lo lo

J' Tonight we toast our happy host

J' Faro-Ia, faro-Ii

(All) J' Faro-la, faro-Ii

J' For he's the man we love the most

J' Faro-Ia, faro-Ii

(All) J' Faro-la, faro-Ii

J' He's barrel-bellied, dipper-lipped

J' For drinking wine he's well equipped

J' But where's his chest?
It must have slipped

J' Faro, faro, faro-lo

(All) J' Faro-Io lo lo lo lo

J' The wine tonight is nobly blessed

J' Faro-Ia, faro-Ii

(All) J' Faro-la, faro-Ii

J' By such a lady and her guest

J' Faro-Ia, faro-Ii

(All) J' Faro-la, faro-Ii

J' To them I toast, come drink with me

J' That may they ever happy be

J' And may they live eternally

J' Faro, faro, faro-lo

J' Come one and all and sing a song

J' Faro-Ia, faro-Ii

J' For life is shod

J' But death is long

J' Faro... J'

Stop that! Stop it! Quit that singing!

Eternally? I don't want to live eternally!

Why did you say that to me?
Get away from me.

Stay away! Go away, all of you!

Let me alone! Stay away...

Good evening, Mr Talbot.

I beg your pardon, you must be mistaken.
My name is Taylor.

I know you by the name of Talbot.
Lawrence Talbot.

You carry your identification
on your forehead.

Baroness Frankenstein, Dr Mannering.

How do you do, Dr Mannering?

- Would you sit down?
- Thank you.

How does it happen that you're here?

I've been looking for you, Mr Talbot,
and you were very easy to find.

The newspapers told me where to look.

Fontainebleau, Aachen, Elrad...

and, finally, Vasaria.

I simply followed the trail and found you.

Very clever of you, wasn't it, Doctor?

Mr Talbot is returning to England with me.

I don't think that I care to do that, Doctor.

Will you give me the honour
of the next dance?

Of course.

At our festival of new wine, it's a man's
privilege to ask any lady to dance.

And vice versa. Excuse us.

Why have you followed me?

Talbot, you're a murderer.

- Prove it.
- You're insane at times and you know it.

You're sane enough now though.
Why not let me take care of you?

Would it do any good
to put me in an asylum?

You know it's the only thing to do.

It wouldn't do any good.
I'd escape again sooner or later.

- We may be able to cure you.
- I only want to die.

That's why I'm here.

If I ever find peace, I'll find it here.

You understand - why don't you help me?

Sit down.

How can I help you?

Dr Frankenstein left a diary.

In it are his records
of the secrets of life and death.

If I can find his diary, I can break this curse
and find peace in death.

That's morbid.

Besides, Dr Frankenstein's experiments
were considered rather extraordinary.

Medical science never recognized them.

That's just it. Why don't you ask that girl,
his daughter?

She can tell you about things her father did
medical science has never heard of.

Talbot, I'm appealing to your better nature,

while you can still think normally.

The moon will be full soon, you must
come back with me while there's time.

Isn't there somebody that could understand?

Gentlemen, why those serious faces?

(Screaming)

The monster!

The monster! The monster!

The monster!

(Screaming)

(Wild screaming)

No! No, it's me.

Come with me.

(Hushed conversations)

Well?

Not a sign of them.

- We'll have to wait until morning.
- They're hiding in those ruins.

Much as I'd like to kill the monster,

I'd hate to crawl around the dark catacombs
of Frankenstein's castle at night.

What about that Frankenstein girl?
She's lived there.

(AH) Yeah!

- Let's bring her in here.
- Stop.

There's no need for us all to storm after her.

She'll come in if I ask.

Why treat her so fancy?
She's a Frankenstein!

Wait, wait, wait! She's a young woman
who's done us no harm.

Now stay here.

The men would like to talk to you, Baroness.

The Gypsy woman is still in the prison.

Let's find out what she knows about all this!

(Crowd roars)

There's the daughter
of the accursed Frankenstein!

That name has brought only
misery and misfortune to our village.

We want an end to it - tonight!

(Crowd cheering)

Listen to me.
The baroness and I only want to help you.

I tell you, he's lying.

I heard him talking to that stranger
about insanity and murder.

You won't get anywhere by raving.

Dr Mannering is right. To destroy
the monster we must have a plan.

We know it's hiding
in the Frankenstein ruins.

I can lead you there if you want me to.

- I know those cellars well.
- Don't let her fool you.

They're all in this together.

- Here she is.
- And the Gypsy too.

- She's one of your gang of murderers.
- You know these people?

Speak up, old witch.

I never saw them before.

What's your name?

- Maleva.
- Maleva?

See? He knows her.
Why don't you arrest them? All of them.

- Lock up these murderers.
- While I'm mayor, justice will be preserved.

We've tried before to get rid
of the monster by force.

We burned down the sanitarium

and yet we didn't destroy
Frankenstein's fiendish creation.

We must be more clever this time.
Let's use our brains for once.

Whose brains? Yours?
I'd rather depend on my fists.

We can't storm the ruins.

We must pretend to be friends
with the monster.

Yes, why not elect it mayor of Vasaria?

This monster was created artificially,
it must be destroyed by the same means.

- I'll take you to the ruins now.
- I'll go with you, of course.

I promise you, if you help me,
I'll rid Vasaria of this curse once and for all.

(All talking at once)

Talbot! Talbot!

Talbot, where are you?

Talbot, we're your friends.

They must be there. I saw the smoke.

- What do you want?
- We have come to help you.

What do you mean?

- You wanted to find my father's diary.
- Yes, of course.

I'll show you where it is hidden.

She speaks the truth, my son.

L...l guess I'll have to trust you.

Steady!

They're friends.

This is Dr Mannering.

He's come to help you, to make you well.

(Mannering) Yes, that's why I'm here.

Dr Mannering.

But the diary, you said you knew
where your father hid it.

Yes.

It isn't in there, I know.

Please.

"The Secret Of Life And Death."

"Matter ages because it loses energy.

“This artificial body I have created

"has been charged with superhuman power

"so that its span of life will be extended.

"Its lifetime will equal the lives
of more than a hundred human beings.

"This, my creation,
can never perish unless...

“unless its energies
are drained off artificially

"by changing the poles from plus to minus."

But that's the secret of life.

What good does it do me?

I'm not interested in life.

I wasn't created artificially.

I'm a human being,
I've got real blood in my veins.

What can we do to end my life?

"Energy which cannot be destroyed
can be transmitted."

If that's the case then the energies
from my body can be drained off also.

Dr Frankenstein must have performed
his experiments in this room.

With these machines.

They don't seem to have been
destroyed by the fire.

You must fix them

and help me be rid of this thing
that keeps me alive eternally.

When you were talking to the monster...

I was afraid you meant what you said.

What did I say?

You said you'd help him.

Of course I can't.

I mustn't.

Shouldn't be difficult
to connect these wires again.

Yes, I'll need these machines.

I believe they can be repaired again.

Machines, day after day.

What does Mannering need machines for?

Remember Dr Frankenstein?
He ordered machines too.

That English doctor's
no better than Frankenstein.

Oh, always grumbling, Vazec,
always complaining.

We've got to trust the doctor,
what else can we do?

Isn't it strange that Mannering
and the Frankenstein girl

never tell us what they're doing up there?

If it wasn't for that old Gypsy witch
driving her wagon down for provisions,

we'd never see any of them.

I think we should go up there
and see for ourselves.

- Right.
- They're not hurting us.

It's none of our affair what goes on there.

Are you going to wait for disaster
to strike again?

I'll tell you what we ought to do.

Here are the ruins.

In here are all of them.

Here runs the underground stream
that drives the Frankenstein's turbines.

But the water comes from up here...

to the dam below.

Blow up that dam
and they'll all drown like rats. All of them.

You're drunk, Vazec.

That's why I don't take your words seriously.

Otherwise I'd order you arrested
for conspiring to endanger the community.

That's the water.

The water rushing down to turn the turbines.

That'll make the machines work.

Doctor!

- Aren't you almost ready?
- I'm setting the machines now.

- They'll be ready soon.
- There's so little time.

- I don't want to live through another spell.
- I know.

- Please don't bother me now, I'm busy.
- Remember, Doctor,

it must be tonight.

Why don't you lock him up?

So you can give your full attention
to do what you promised?

To destroy the danger of the monster.

Please, Elsa, I know what I have to do.

- But he's insane.
- Insane?

He is not insane.

He simply wants to die.

(Electricity crackling)

Frank! Frank!

Listen to me, Frank.

I saw my father
become obsessed by his power.

He died a horrible death,
just as my grandfather did.

Yes, I know.

You promised the people to rid Vasaria
of this monstrous creation.

I want to be sure that nothing,
nothing whatsoever, can sway you.

It is in your hands to undo the crimes
my father and grandfather committed.

- We must clear the name of Frankenstein.
- All right.

Tonight I'll draw off the monster's energy.

I hope I'll bring peace to both of them.

"Connecting the plus poles to the minus

"will charge the energy output
of the nervous system,

"as by connecting the minus to the minus."

Connect the minus to the minus.

I can't do it.

I can't destroy Frankenstein's creation.

I've got to see it at its full power.

(Power surging)

Frank! You're making him strong again!

Frank! Stop it!

- Stop the machine!
- Don't pull that switch!

Where's Vazec?

He said he'd blow up the dam.

(Screaming)

(Elsa screaming)