Son of Frankenstein (1939)
Directed by Rowland V. Lee

Film Review

By the mid-1930s, Universal had reached the point of diminishing returns with its Gothic horror cycle.  To raise much-needed cash towards the end of the decade, the company re-released its 1931 productions of Dracula and Frankenstein as a double bill and was taken by surprise by the popularity of these old films.  This motivated the studio to make a second Frankenstein sequel, Son of Frankenstein.  The enormous box office success of this film was to trigger a second Gothic horror boom, one that would last two decades, providing Universal with an almost guaranteed income stream. 

Son of Frankenstein is widely considered one of the best of Universal's Frankenstein films, eschewing the self-indulgent self-parody of its immediate predecessor, Bride of Frankenstein (1935), in favour of the dark Gothic chills of the original 1931 film.   Boris Karloff returns to play the monster for the third and final time, this time sporting a fetching sheepskin jacket but lacking the social skills he acquired in the previous films.   Karloff's decision to give up the part is understandable given that here the monster is reduced to little more than an inarticulate shambling robot, the simplistic portrayal that would be retained for all of Universal's subsequent films.  Although the monster gets very little to do in this film, other than strangle people and look a bit scary, there are a couple of scenes in which the pathos of the lost and lonely outsider is brilliantly conveyed by Karloff.

The German expressionistic influence which is felt in the previous Frankenstein films is embraced fully in Son of Frankenstein, and this contributes greatly to the sustained aura of terror.  The cathedral-like sets, harshly lit so that they are draped in huge menacing shadows, bring a creepy dreamlike texture to the film, making the protagonists resemble tiny insects trapped in a sinister web of fear.  Director Rowland V. Lee doesn't quite live up to James Whale's inspired touch, but he does a very capable job, creating a nightmare world that is far more believable than what we find in any of Universal's subsequent Gothic horror offerings.

Son of Frankenstein is the first of Universal's Frankenstein films to feature Bela Lugosi, who is of course best known for playing Universal's original (and best) Dracula.  Lugosi and Karloff had previously appeared together in a number of films, most memorably The House of Doom  (1934) and The Raven (1935) and here they make an effective double act, Lugosi playing the evil Svengali to Karloff's hapless Trilby.  The part of the goblin-like Ygor suits Lugosi perfectly and allows him to put his camp theatricality to effective use, for once.

Another casting coup was the choice of Basil Rathbone for the role of Baron Frankenstein.  Rathbone was in fact a last-minute replacement for Peter Lorre, who fell ill just before the film went into production.  Best known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes (in a series of films he subsequently made at Universal), Rathbone was an actor of immense versatility and charisma.  Here, he brings a dangerous schizoid quality to his portrayal of the baron that makes him almost as chilling as his monstrous creation.   When we first see Baron Frankenstein, he is a good-natured family man, instantly likeable.  By the end of the film, the character is revealed to be weak, petulant, cowardly and cruel - a true monster.  Not only does he fail to live up to his father's reputation; he also provides the worst possible role model for his own son.  In this interesting character study, the monster becomes little more than a dramatic device to expose Frankenstein's true nature. 

Lionel Atwill also turns in a fine performance as the police chief who has particular loathing for animated corpses after having had his arm wrenched off by one in his childhood. Atwill's business with his character's artificial arm provides some much-needed comic relief and could have inpsired Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove (1964).  Atwill would later play Moriarty against Rathbone's Holmes in in Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1943).  A propos, the nauseating child actor who plays Frankenstein's son (Donnie Dunagan) would go on to provide the voice for the infant Bambi in the famous Walt Disney film.  The one tragic failing of Son of Frankenstein is that when the monster picks up the irritating little brat he doesn't then do what every member of the audience has been waiting for with eager anticipation, which is to throw him head-first into the bubbling pit of sulphur. 

After the success of Son of Frankenstein, Universal became complacent and allowed standards to decline.  All of the studio's subsequent Frankenstein films were basically just re-workings of this film, getting sillier and less convincing as the series progressed, ultimately ending in farce with Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948).  This film would be virtually remade by Hammer as The Evil of Frankenstein (1964) (with Universal's consent) and later spoofed to death in Mel Brooks' wonderfully inspired parody, Young Frankenstein (1974).

Film Synopsis

After many years, Baron Wolf von Frankenstein returns to his family estate, accompanied by his wife Elsa and young son Peter, to claim his father's inheritance.  Frankenstein is in awe of his father and hopes to find some record of his scientific research, but he receives a hostile reception from the locals.  The latter have vivid memories of the time when the monster created by his father brought terror to their community.  The local police chief, Inspector Krogh, offers the baron his protection, whilst hinting that he and his family should depart as soon as they can, for their own safety.   The baron has no intention of leaving and examines his father's wrecked laboratory with interest.  He is disturbed by a sinister-looking man Ygor, who is disfigured by an unsuccessful attempt to hang him.  Ygor tells Frankenstein that he once worked for his father and takes him to the crypt where the monster is lying in a comatose state.   Infected by his father's thirst for knowledge, the baron attempts to revive the monster but ultimately admits defeat.  The creature's brain appears to have been damaged beyond repair by a lightning strike.  A short while later, Frankenstein is surprised when his son claims to have seen the monster walking about.  To his surprise, his father's creation is still very much alive, and is entirely under the control of Ygor...