Son of Frankenstein (1939)

Today we reiew Universal’s third Frankenstein movie, which is the last one in which Boris Karloff plays the creature. Many consider it to be the best of the three. Perhaps that’s because cinematography was developing rapidly throughout the 1930s, and quality of the film, cameras, sound, and sets was considerably improved. Perhaps its because the actor playing Baron Frankenstein (Basil Rathbone) was a better actor than Colin Clive, who played the Baron in the other two movies. Or maybe it’s just because Universal was hitting its stride with the Frankenstein story. In any event, this film is a must for the completist, if for no other reason than because it’s the main source material for Young Frankenstein (which we’ll get to in due time).

The Plot: Wolf Frankenstein (the son of Henry Frankenstein, who’d created the monster in the first film) has come to live in his ancestral home in the burg of Frankenstein (presumably somewhere in Germany). The townsfolk are unhappy about this, as they remember the havoc created by Henry and his monster. Wolf has arrived with his wife and his son (played by a precocious 4-year-old Donnie Donagan, with an anachronistic Texas accent. Donagan, who soon left show biz and went on to become a career, decorated Marine, appears to be the only surviving actor associated with the early Frankenstein films. If you have evidence to the contrary, please let me know!)

Anyway, Wolf discovers Ygor (or Igor, if you prefer), who has been living in Dr. Frankenstein’s abandoned laboratory and tending to the Monster, who somehow has survived the castle explosion at the end of Bride, but now is sickly and in some sort of a coma. Wolf decides to help the creature, in the hope that it will then be available for study and the advancement of science. Of course, things don’t work out that way…

After the usual mayhem, Wolf realizes he has to terminate the experiment, and the creature is dispatched into a pit of boiling sulfur. Surely that will kill the creature once and for all, right? (Spoiler alert: Probably not.)

The Monster: Played once again by Boris Karloff. You’ll recall that he developed the ability to speak in Bride of Frankenstein, but for some reason he no longer speaks in this installment. He’s also got a mohair suit (but no electric boots; you know I read it in a magazine).

Karloff’s performance is one of this film’s major attractions, but he doesn’t actually get a huge amount of screen time. Clearly the real stars of this film are Basil Rathbone (Wolf Frankenstein), Bela Lugosi (Ygor), and Lionel Atwill (Inspector Krogh). What? Didn’t I mention that Bela Lugosi (of Dracula fame) plays Ygor? It’s actually a very impressive performance. In fact, it’s probably Lugosi’s best role after Dracula. (You’ll recall that Lugosi originally turned down the role as Frankenstein’s monster in the 1931 classic, and eventually came to regret that decision. It’s nice that he could finally get into one of Universal’s Frankenstein movies.)

The Atmosphere: It’s said that this movie was originally planned to be filmed in color, but ultimately it was decided that black and white would provide the better atmosphere. This movie feels like a German expressionist film, with huge sets built at odd angles, deep shadows, the otherworldly laboratory of Baron Frankenstein, and Wolf’s growing detachment from reality.

This has the ideal, classic monster-movie atmosphere: an ancient castle, bleak landscapes, lightning storms, steaming sulphur pits, secret passageways, science-fiction-inspired laboratory equipment, and an all-star cast (Karloff, Lugosi, Rathbone). So much of this film has become monster-movie cliches, but at the time is was fresh indeed. For the modern viewer it has a comfort-food quality, offering familiarity and old-fashioned formulas while not placing much demand on our brains or palates.

General Comments: I really like this movie. True, I can’t see Basil Rathbone without thinking of Sherlock Holmes, and Donnie Donagan is a little too precocious for my tastes. But Karloff does a masterful job again as the monster, and Bela Lugosi is downright scary as the crazed outcast with a broken neck who somehow is able to control the monster. I also want to give special recognition to Lionel Atwill, who plays a police inspector that’s reminiscent of Claude Rains’ French police captain in Casablanca. Both characters have a duty to stop the lead character (Baron Frankenstein and Rick Blaine), but they both also find themselves befriending those lead characters. Atwill’s police inspector is the hinge of the whole plot, and he plays it convincingly and with flair.

So I urge you to check out The Son of Frankenstein. And do so before you watch tomorrow’s entry, which is….

Tomorrow: Mel Brooks takes all three of the Karloff/Universal Frankenstein movies and creates a spoof that’s become a classic in its own right. You can watch Young Frankenstein on Amazon Prime Video, if you have that service. (It doesn’t seem to be available on YouTube.)