Evelyn Ankers who played Elsa Frankenstein in The Ghost of Frankenstein does not reprise her role in this film. It was decided that Lawrence shouldn't have two love interests played by the same actress so Ilona Massey was cast. This is not the first time in a Frankenstein film that the female lead was re-cast from an earlier film. Mae Clarke played Elizabeth in Frankenstein while Valerie Hobson took over the role for Bride of Frankenstein
Originally, Lon Chaney Jr. was to play both the Wolf Man and the Frankenstein Monster, but the producers decided the make-up demands and schedule wouldn't permit this. Late in life Chaney stated in an interview that he did, however, play both monsters in the film. Although he may well have been referring, correctly, to _Abbott and Costello Meet the Ghosts (1948)_ where he briefly doubled Glenn Strange after he broke an ankle throwing a woman through the laboratory skylight near the end of the film. You can actually see Strange stumble but keep upright after the throw.
Part of the original SHOCK THEATER package of 52 Universal titles released to television in 1957, followed a year later with SON OF SHOCK, which added 21 more features.
Several photos exist showing the deleted scenes (the fireside chat between the Monster and Talbot beneath the icy catacombs of the castle for instance; where Talbot & the audience learn that the Monster is still blind). This has been confirmed by several sources, including screen writer Curt Siodmak. In the mid-'80s a search was made through the Universal Studio vaults for a print or negative of the uncut prerelease version. As of this date, it has not yet been found.
Stuntman Gil Perkins doubled for Bela Lugosi in the action scenes, as well as the scene of the Monster being released from the ice. In the climactic fight scene, Eddie Parker doubled Lon Chaney Jr. as the Wolfman, while Gil Perkins took over as the Monster. Based on interviews given years later, Perkins may have also doubled Chaney's Wolf Man in the chase scene through the woods into the castle ruins. Some film scholars insist Eddie Parker appears as the Monster in a handful of shots in the climax.
The dog (Bruno) in the film is a German Shepherd named Moose, who Lon adapted from the Universal Lot just after Moose's earlier appearance as the 4 legged werewolf that attacks Lawrence in The Wolf Man.
The film was shot during WWII, amid a notorious anti-German public campaign by the United States government. Screen writer Curt Siodmak, a German Jew himself who had fled his country after hearing anti-Semitic speeches there in 1937, deliberately changed the location of Frankenstein's castle from Germany to the fictional "Vasaria." "Vasaria" translates loosely to "water place" in German, obviously correlating the dam, waterfall and hydroelectric turbine that are integral to the film.
The Frankenstein Monster, played by Bela Lugosi, is mute in this film, even though Boris Karloff's monster spoke in the earlier Bride of Frankenstein. Interestingly, Lugosi had refused the role in the original Frankenstein because he would have had no lines. When Lugosi accepted the part in this film, the original script contained dialogue for the Monster, which was later edited out.
The matte painting of the town of "Vasaria" is lifted from Universal's My Little Chickadee.
The very first time we see the Frankenstein Monster, it is not Bela Lugosi in the makeup. Stuntman Eddie Parker also made appearances as the Monster - most noticeably during the final battle with the Wolfman.
This is the first Frankenstein movie to not feature a "Dr. Frankenstein." Lawrence Talbot seeks Dr. Frankenstein for help, but never does meet him. However, there is another "Frankenstein" - Baroness Elsa Frankenstein, played by Ilona Massey.
This was Bela Lugosi's only stint in the role made famous by Boris Karloff, and was shot October 12-November 11, 1942, released March 5, 1943 (copyright 1942) .
When The Monster's dialogue was deleted (see Alternate Versions), also removed were any references to The Monster being blind - a side-effect of Ygor's brain being implanted into The Monster at the end of The Ghost of Frankenstein. As a result, Lugosi's sleepwalker-like lumbering gait with arms outstretched is not explained and became the subject of ridicule. It also established the Frankenstein Monster-walk stereotype.
With Bela Lugosi's dialogue scenes cut, he's only on screen for five minutes and 6 seconds, with stunt men and doubles appearing in almost two additional minutes.