Son of Frankenstein

Due to some changes at the top at Universal, the monster series had died down. But late in the '30s, a theater ran a double bill of Dracula and Frankenstein and it was a huge success. Universal didn't need much more impetus to get the machinery going in.

The second sequel to Frankenstein, called Son of Frankenstein, was released in 1939. It would be the last time that Boris Karloff would put on the monster makeup for a film. James Whale was not interested in doing another of these, so Rowland V. Lee took over.

The film is set many years after the conclusion of Bride and Frankenstein. Henry Frankenstein's son, Wolf, (Basil Rathbone) is a successful doctor in America, but comes to the village to claim his legacy (a lot of Young Frankenstein's plot comes from this film). He is viewed with more than suspicion by the villagers, including the wooden-armed Inspector Krogh (Lionel Atwill), who had his real arm torn off by the monster as a boy.

Rathbone has no interest in reviving his father's works until he is approached by Ygor (Bela Lugosi), the local cretin, who shows him that the monster is still alive, but comatose. In the interest of science, Rathbone tries to revive him, and succeeds, but Lugosi is only interested in using the monster to kill his enemies.

This is a very interesting film, rather than scary. Atwill is very good, as he is willing to cut Rathbone some slack but if he finds out he's creating a monster he will come down on him. Also, the production design, by Jack Otterman and R.A. Gausman, is fascinating. The Frankensteins live inside a castle, but the architecture is very much in keeping with Expressionism, as there are hardly any ninety-degree angles, and the furniture is grouped together in vast, empty spaces--not very cozy.

There is also a truly horrid juvenile performance by Donnie Dunagan as Rathbone's small son, who for some reason has a Southern accent. He's used to good effect, though, when the monster takes him from the house and for a brief moment dangles him over a sulphur pit.

The Frankenstein series would continue, but in the form of B-pictures, and this one is the last one with any money behind it.