''Los Monstruos del Terror'' (translation: ''The Monsters of Terror''), also known as ''Dracula vs. Frankenstein'' and ''Assignment: Terror'', is a 1970 Spanish-West German-Italian horror and

Sci-Fi Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

film co-directed by

Tulio Demicheli Tulio Demicheli (born August 15, 1914, Buenos Aires, Argentina - d. May 25, 1992, Madrid, Spain) was an Argentine born Spanish film director, screenwriter and film producer notable for his work during the classical era of Argentine cinema. ...

and

Hugo Fregonese Hugo Geronimo Fregonese (8 April 1908 – 11 January 1987) was an Argentine film director and screenwriter who worked both in Hollywood and his home country during the Golden Age of Argentine cinema, classical era of Argentine cinema.''Cine Na ...

. (Fregonese quit midway through the production so the film was completed by Demicheli). Eberhard Meichsner was also credited as a director only in the British promotional material, but by all accounts he was not actually involved. It is the third in a series of 12 films that Paul Naschy wrote and starred in featuring the

werewolf In folklore, a werewolf (), or occasionally lycanthrope (from Ancient Greek ), is an individual who can shapeshifting, shapeshift into a wolf, or especially in modern film, a Shapeshifting, therianthropic Hybrid beasts in folklore, hybrid wol ...

Waldemar Daninsky, a role that was always played by Naschy. It stars

Paul Naschy Jacinto Molina Álvarez (September 6, 1934 – November 30, 2009) known by his stage name Paul Naschy, was a Spanish film actor, screenwriter, and director working primarily in horror films. His portrayals of numerous classic horror figures&md ...

, Michael Rennie (his last film), Craig Hill and Karin Dor. Maria Perschy was supposed to play Maleva Kerstein, but Karin Dor wound up getting the part. It was filmed in early Spring, 1969. The film was first released theatrically in Germany (as ''Dracula jagt untsFrankenstein'') on February 24, 1970, and in Spain (as ''The Monsters of Terror'') on August 28, 1971. The film was also shown in France and in the U.K. as ''Dracula vs Frankenstein''. In Belgium, it was shown as ''Dracula and the Wolf Man vs Frankenstein''. In Mexico, it was released as ''Operation Terror'', and in Denmark it was known as ''Frankenstein Og Blodsugerne''/ ''Frankenstein vs The Bloodsucker''. In the 1980s, the film was released on home video in France as ''Reincarnator''. (Most of the film's variant titles did not even mention Naschy's Wolfman character.). The film sold directly to late-night television in the U.S. in 1973, retitled ''Assignment Terror'' (since the title ''Dracula vs Frankenstein'' had already been used for the 1971

Al Adamson Albert Victor Adamson Jr. (July 25, 1929 – June 21, 1995) was an American Filmmaking, filmmaker and actor known as a prolific director of B movie horror and exploitation films throughout the 1960s and 1970s. The son of silent film veterans Vict ...

American film The cinema of the United States, primarily associated with major film studios collectively referred to as Hollywood, has significantly influenced the global film industry since the early 20th century. Classical Hollywood cinema, a filmmakin ...

). In the U.K., the film played on a double bill with Peter Walker's 1970 horror film ''Die Screaming Marianne''. Coincidentally, another Spanish film, released in 1972, also used the title ''Dracula vs Frankenstein''. ''Los Monstruos del Terror'' was originally going to be called ''El Hombre que Vino de Ummo'' (translation: ''The Man Who Came from Ummo''), referring to Michael Rennie's space-man character, but the title was changed to ''The Monsters of Terror''. It was followed in the series by the 1970 film '' The Fury of the Wolfman''.

Summary

Aliens, occupying the bodies of deceased Earth scientists, revive a

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

, a werewolf, a female

mummy A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and Organ (biology), organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to Chemical substance, chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the ...

, and

Frankenstein's monster Frankenstein's monster, commonly referred to as Frankenstein, is a fictional character that first appeared in Mary Shelley's 1818 novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' as its main antagonist. Shelley's title compares the monster's ...

with a plan to use them to take over the human race by using their own primitive superstitions against them. (A

Golem A golem ( ; ) is an animated Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic being in Jewish folklore, which is created entirely from inanimate matter, usually clay or mud. The most famous golem narrative involves Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the late 16th-century ...

was supposed to be one of the monsters in this film, but unfortunately the budgetary problems the filmmakers encountered wouldn't permit it.) The aliens want to discover why these monsters are so frightening to Earthlings. For reference, the aliens use a book entitled ''The Anthology of the Monsters'' by a Professor Ulrich von Farancksalan, who was also the creator of the Frankenstein monster in this film. The

Waldemar Daninsky saves the world by destroying the other three monsters in hand-to-hand combat and ultimately blowing up the aliens' underground base; however, he is shot to death in the film's finale by a woman who loves him enough to end his torment.

Cast

* Michael Rennie as Dr. Odo Warnoff, the leader of the aliens * Karin Dor as Maleva Kerstein * Craig Hill as Inspector Tobermann * Patty Shepard as Ilsa Sternberg (as Patty Sheppard) * Gela Geisler as Ilona (as Ella Gessler) *

Ángel del Pozo Ángel del Pozo Merino (14 July 1934 – 29 March 2025) was a Spanish actor who appeared in more than seventy films since 1960. His daughter is the journalist Almudena del Pozo. Pozo retired in 1980, and from 1990 to 2008, he worked as an exec ...

as Dr. Kerian Werner *

as Count Waldemar Daninsky (as Paul Naschi) * Manuel de Blas as Count Janos of Mialhoff * Ferdinando Murolo as The Monster of Farancksalan (Frankenstein) * Gene Reyes as Tao-Tet (The Mummy) * Peter Damon as Judge Sternberg * Robert Hall as Commissioner Gluck * Diana Sorel as Librarian * Luciano Tacconi as the carnival exhibit owner * Paul Cross as Dr. Don Uno, the morgue attendant

Production

Lead actor Paul Naschy also wrote the screenplay at the request of producer Prades, who was impressed by the box office success of Naschy's '' La Marca del Hombre Lobo'' that year and wanted to film a sequel. The original shooting title was ''The Man Who Came from Ummo'', but the producer changed it to ''The Monsters of Terror''. Direction was split between two Argentine-born filmmakers,

and

. Naschy said Fregonese quit the project two-thirds of the way through, and Demichelli stepped in to finish the film. Only Demichelli was actually credited on the prints. Naschy claimed that Hollywood actor Robert Taylor volunteered to play the lead alien in the film, but the producer hired Michael Rennie instead. Naschy also said the makeup man on the film, Rafael Ferrer, was the most incompetent man he ever worked with. (The makeup on Frankenstein in this film was so similar to the 1930s Universal make-up that it could easily have caused a lawsuit. Hence Naschy changed the name of the Monster in this film to "Farancksalan", but it fooled very few people.) Naschy was told the film would have a lavish budget, which inspired him to let his imagination run wild while writing the screenplay. The film was shot in Egypt, Germany, Italy and Spain. Filming was interrupted several times because of Prades' financial difficulties, and thus the script was not filmed as it was written. Whole segments of the script involving

flying saucer A flying saucer, or flying disc, is a purported type of disc-shaped unidentified flying object (UFO). The term was coined in 1947 by the United States (US) news media for the objects pilot Kenneth Arnold UFO sighting, Kenneth Arnold claimed fl ...

s and the

were never carried out as the result of sorely lacking funds.

Release and attempts at restoration

An English language one-sheet poster exists for this film bearing the title ''Assignment Terror'', but it is unknown why they created it because AIP only distributed the film direct to television in the U.S. in 1973. It was later released on VHS as ''Dracula vs. Frankenstein'' in a splicy, full screen panned-and-scanned print. The film is available today on a DVD from Reel Vault under the title ''Assignment Terror'', as well as on a German Blu-Ray under the title ''Assignment Terror (Dracula Jagt Frankenstein)''Howarth, Troy (2018). Human Beasts: The Films of Paul Naschy. WK Books. p. 317. ISBN 978-1718835894

Trivia

The film was broadcast on

Tele 5 TELE 5 is a German free-to-air television channel that primarily broadcasts classic American films, science fiction series and anime. It is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA, which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery International. ...

as part of the programme format SchleFaZ in season 2.

References

External links

* * {{Frankenstein 1970 films 1970 horror films West German films German vampire films Italian vampire films Spanish vampire films Spanish werewolf films Italian science fiction horror films 1970s exploitation films Mummy films Frankenstein films Dracula films Films directed by Tulio Demicheli Films about extraterrestrial life Circus films Films shot in Egypt Films shot in Germany Films shot in Italy Films shot in Spain Waldemar Daninsky series 1970s Italian films 1970s German films