Fun Horror Movie Fact.

There is no denying that Boris Karloff and James Whale immortalized the image of Frankenstein's Monsters in Universal's Frankenstein and its sequel, The Bride of Frankenstein. But what if I told you we were close to getting another great Monster from Bela Lugosi in the 1943s, and the first Monster Mash, Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman? Now, it's been said that Lugosi didn't understand the character and just acted in a mindless and unmotivated manner, but that would be incorrect. Unlike Chaney and Strange's Monsters, who were simply tools for the main villains, Lugosi's Monster had much more of a personality and a different purpose in the film. Unlike Karloff's Monster, who was a tragic figure, Lugosi's was supposed to be much more antagonistic. Conceived as a sightless creature possessed by Ygor's brain, Lugosi was meant to deceive Larry Talbot as a friend to reclaim his lost strength. This would have been a more interesting take than we saw in the final cut. So what happened? Allegedly, after an audience test screening, the studio thought no one would understand or like The Monster speaking in a Hungarian accent - which is hard to believe, seeing that Lugosi's voice was used to dub Chaney's Monster in the climax of Ghost Of Frankenstein. Tragically, it was decided to remove all of Lugosi's dialogue and any references to the previous film and the character of Ygor. It's an absolute sin that the studio cut most of his performance, a decision that leaves us all with a sense of regret and sympathy for Lugosi's lost opportunity. But, if you boys and ghouls are interested, there is a great book edited by Philp J. Riley - that goes into the film's production history and has the original shooting script that I highly recommend. So, do you like Lugosi's Frankenstein Monster, or do you prefer him as Dracula or Ygor?