Editing Lon Chaney Jr. (section)

===Horror film star: ''The Wolf Man'', ''The Mummy'', ''Inner Sanctum''===
[[File:HorrorMonstersNo1Pg1Crop (black and white).png|right|thumb|Chaney Jr. as ''The Wolf Man'' (1941)]]
[[File:TheWolfManLobbyCardCropped.png|thumb|{{center|[[Evelyn Ankers]] in ''The Wolf Man''}}]]
[[File:The-ghost-of-frankenstein-lobby-card001.jpg|right|thumb|Chaney Jr., Evelyn Ankers and [[Bela Lugosi]] in ''[[The Ghost of Frankenstein]]'' (1942)]]
[[File:FrankensteinMeetsTheWolfManCrop.png|thumb|right|[[Patric Knowles]], Chaney Jr. and [[Doris Lloyd]] in ''[[Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man]]'' (1943)]]
[[File:MummysGhost1944Crop002.png|right|thumb|Chaney Jr. as [[The Mummy (franchise)|the Mummy]] in ''[[The Mummy's Ghost]]'' (1944)]]
[[File:LonChaneyMummysGhost1944.jpg|right|thumb|Chaney Jr. as [[The Mummy (franchise)|the Mummy]] in ''[[The Mummy's Ghost]]'' (1944)]]
Chaney Jr. was then given the title role in ''[[The Wolf Man (1941 film)|The Wolf Man]]'' (1941) for Universal, a role which, much like Karloff's [[Frankenstein (1931 film)|Frankenstein]] monster, would largely [[typecasting (acting)|typecast]] Chaney as a horror film actor for the rest of his life. Universal dropped the "Jr." and billed him as "Lon Chaney" going forward within that studio, apparently to foster confusion with his father among audiences.

Chaney Jr. was now an official horror star, and Universal gave him the role of [[Frankenstein's monster]] in ''[[The Ghost of Frankenstein]]'' (1942), the first [[B-movie]] of the series, when Boris Karloff decided not to play the part again; [[Bela Lugosi]] returned in his role as Ygor and the [[leading lady]] was [[Evelyn Ankers]]. He was in a crime film, ''[[Eyes of the Underworld (1942 film)|Eyes of the Underworld]]'' (1942), and the wartime shorts ''[[Keeping Fit]]'' (1942) and ''What We Are Fighting For'' (1943).

Chaney Jr. played Kharis the Mummy in ''[[The Mummy's Tomb]]'' (1942), another hit. He was in a Western ''[[Frontier Badmen]]'' (1943), then reprised his role as the Wolf Man in ''[[Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man]]'' (1943) with [[Bela Lugosi]] as Frankenstein's monster. The film was originally filmed with the Monster being blind and speaking in Lugosi's distinctive "Ygor" voice, but the studio cut out all references to either so that audiences were left wondering why the Monster staggered around with his arms extended in front of him, not to mention why he had lost the ability to speak since ''Ghost of Frankenstein'', grievously damaging Lugosi's reputation.

Chaney Jr. was given the role of [[Dracula]] in ''[[Son of Dracula (1943 film)|Son of Dracula]]'' (1943); the film was actually about Dracula himself, who had no son in the film. This made him the only actor to portray all four of Universal's major horror characters: [[The Wolf Man (franchise)|the Wolf Man]], [[Frankenstein's monster]], [[The Mummy (franchise)|the Mummy]], and [[Count Dracula]].

After a cameo in ''[[Crazy House (1943 film)|Crazy House]]'' (1943) he was given the lead in ''[[Calling Dr. Death]]'' (1943), based on the [[Inner Sanctum Mystery|Inner Sanctum mysteries]]. It kicked off another series starring Chaney, the next of which was ''[[Weird Woman]]'' (1944).

He made a second mummy movie, ''[[The Mummy's Ghost]]'' (1944), and had a supporting part in ''[[Cobra Woman]]'' (1944), starring [[Maria Montez]], and ''[[Ghost Catchers]]'' (1944), with the comedy team [[Olsen and Johnson]].

''[[Dead Man's Eyes]]'' (1944) was the third Inner Sanctum, after which he was back as the Wolf Man in ''[[House of Frankenstein (1944 film)|House of Frankenstein]]'' (1944). ''[[The Mummy's Curse]]'' (1944) was Chaney's third and final appearance as Kharis.

He played an antagonist in the [[Abbott and Costello]] comedy ''[[Here Come the Co-Eds]]'' (1945), then made more Inner Sanctums: ''[[The Frozen Ghost]]'' (1945) with Evelyn Ankers and ''[[Strange Confession]]'' (1945) with [[Brenda Joyce (actress)|Brenda Joyce]]. He returned as the Wolf Man in ''[[House of Dracula]]'' (1945), one of the last of the Universal horror cycle. ''[[Pillow of Death]]'' (1945) was the last Inner Sanctum. ''[[The Daltons Ride Again]]'' (1945) was a Western featuring [[Noah Beery Jr.]] in a supporting role.