The film is set at the castle home of Dr. Franz Edelmann, who is visited first by Count Dracula and later by Larry Talbot, the Wolf Man, who are trying to cure their vampirism and lycanthropy, respectively.

After actor Boris Karloff returned for a two-film deal with Universal and several requests from the censorship board, the film was put on hold for nearly six months.

Many cast and crew members returned from House of Frankenstein, including John Carradine in the role of Count Dracula, Glenn Strange as the monster, and Lon Chaney Jr. as both the Wolf Man and Larry Talbot.

Count Dracula arrives at the castle home of Dr. Franz Edelmann and explains he has come to Visaria to find a cure for his vampirism.

Inspector Holtz asks the doctor to see Talbot, and, as the full moon rises, they both witness his transformation into the Wolf Man.

Despondent at the thought of becoming the Wolf Man again, Talbot attempts suicide by jumping into the ocean, only to end up in a cave below the castle.

[6] Unknown to Beebe, actor Boris Karloff had agreed to return to Universal Pictures for a two-film deal, which eventually became House of Frankenstein and The Climax (1944).

This signing put Wolf Man vs. Dracula on hold to focus on House of Frankenstein, which was to begin shooting on April 4.

[8] Following the release of House of Frankenstein, Malvern hired that film's screenwriter, Edward T. Lowe, to rework the Wolf Man vs. Dracula script.

Lowe's script, titled Destiny and dated April 13, 1945, read much closer to the final film of House of Dracula and now included Frankenstein's monster.

[10] Lowe rewrote the screenplay three more times, borrowing elements from previous films, like the violent reaction to a cat from Werewolf of London.

[6] Despite being a follow-up, the script does not explain the resurrection of Count Dracula or the Wolf Man and moves Visaria's location to a cliff top on the seacoast.

[6] Elements of an earlier draft of a script dated September 20, 1945, features a scene where Edlemann examines a seven-year-old boy whose leg he has healed.

[13] Actor John Carradine commented that around the time the film's script was finished, soldiers were returning from World War II.

The horror and monster company on the lot was reduced to what could be compared today as a weekly television soap opera or series".

[15] Malvern echoed these statements in a later interview, noting that in the 1940s, Universal's structure was set up as a "forerunner of the modern day television production company".

"[19] Carradine said his portrayal of Dracula was to be "as evil as possible for I learned long ago that if I wanted to continue to eat, villains find steadier work than artists".

[12] Martha O'Driscoll portrayed the lead female role of Mililza Morelle, Dr Edelmann's nurse.

[23] A new character added to the Frankenstein series in the film was Nina, the hunchbacked nurse, who was portrayed by Jane Adams.

[4][27] A scene involving Glenn Strange rising from quicksand holding the skeleton of Dr. Niemann from House of Frankenstein was difficult for the actor, who recalled it was extremely cold.

Strange said Chaney had offered him some alcohol which warmed him up, and after shooting he rushed to his dressing room, which had a roaring fire.

To save on lumber and nails for the war effort, existing props and sets from films such as The Invisible Woman and The Mummy's Hand were reused.

[32] The Universal Pictures Company distributed House of Dracula, which opened on December 7, at the Rivoli Theatre in New York.

[32] At the film's screenings on the West Coast of the United States, House of Dracula was a double bill with The Daltons Ride Again (1945), a western also featuring Chaney.

[34][32] Grant noted that "the greatest burden of acting is asked of Onslow Stevens [...] he performs his chores to excellent effects".

[32] William Brogdon of Variety also reviewed the November 28th screening, commenting that the cast turn in "generally first rate work" that has "more or less become standard", and that "settings, music, photography all contribute to necessary atmospheric mood".

[32] Otis L. Guernsey Jr. of The New York Herald-Tribune found that Universal was "substituting quantity for imagination", while Dorothy Masters of The New York Daily News gave the film a one and half star rating, proclaiming that it was "positively guaranteed not to scare the pants off of anybody" and adding that "unfortunately, the film hasn't the capacity of being funny either, and is often the case when synthetic horror becomes too rambunctious".

The review noted the film had "very little horror", with one exception being the "marvelous sequence involving Dracula and his intended victim, the latter seated at the piano and playing 'Moonlight Sonata' as the good Count begins to work his spell upon her".

[3] On November 28, 1945, Universal joined with British entrepreneur J. Arthur Rank, who bought one-fourth interest in the studio.

The company, now called Universal–International, had only Deanna Durbin, Abbott and Costello, Maria Montez and a few other actors remaining on their payroll.