Son of Frankenstein (1939)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Randy T

  
  In spite of great casting, without James Whale at the helm the overall result is campy and less artful. Not a horrible film but not in the same league as Whale's <i>Frankenstein</i> or <i>Bride of Frankenstein</i>.

• AJ V

  
  This movie has a fantastic cast, an interesting story, and a classic monster, but it could have been a better movie. Still, I enjoyed it mostly.

• Wahida K

  
  I saw this once. It is so Amazin to watch the mid 30 Horror Movies with Boris Karloff.

• Chris G

  
  Boris Karloff returns for another round as the monster in Son of Frankenstein, but he isn't the creepiest role in the film. That would have to go to Bela Lugosi. Son of Frankenstein tells the tale of Dr. Frankenstein's son (Basil Rathbone) taking over the castle of his late… More
  Boris Karloff returns for another round as the monster in Son of Frankenstein, but he isn't the creepiest role in the film. That would have to go to Bela Lugosi. Son of Frankenstein tells the tale of Dr. Frankenstein's son (Basil Rathbone) taking over the castle of his late father. The townspeople are on pins a needles for fear that he'll be just like the old man and, of course, he is by reviving the long lost monster with the help of Igor (Bela Lugosi). Karloff is a weird monster in this film. he has lost the ability to talk and wears a fur coat which I don't understand. He's really only going through the motions and is nowhere near the greatness that he was in the first two films. Lugosi, on the other hand, is creepy as hell as Igor, an old grave robber who had been hung for his crimes and now stalks around with a broken neck. He is the creepiest part of the film. Though not as good as the original two, Son of Frankenstein offers a good follow-up to the tale that is light years ahaead of some of the later efforts.

• Cindy I

  
  Finally made it all the way through this. Not a long film, just couldn't stay awake. Not bad, but can't stand up with its earlier siblings, Frankenstein and Bride of. The sets are very sparse, kinda giving the whole thing a "filmed in a warehouse" look. A highlight… More
  Finally made it all the way through this. Not a long film, just couldn't stay awake. Not bad, but can't stand up with its earlier siblings, Frankenstein and Bride of. The sets are very sparse, kinda giving the whole thing a "filmed in a warehouse" look. A highlight is Bela Legosi's portrayal of the broken-necked assistant Igor. Lugosi was a pretty good character actor in his younger days. Don't know why he fell out of favor -- the drug use? The accent? Who knows? Young Frankenstein is basically a comic remake of this film. I found myself wanting to see that again instead. You'll see Gene Wilder all over the performance of Basil Rathbone as Wolf Von Frankenstein.

• Cassandra M

  
  The last Boris Karloff Frankenstein. The Baron's son Wolf (Basil Rathbone) comes to move to his late father's estate--a big beautiful castle. Inside he meets Ygor (Bela Lugosi) a crippled madman who wants to revive the Monster (Karloff). Naturally everything goes wrong.… More
  The last Boris Karloff Frankenstein. The Baron's son Wolf (Basil Rathbone) comes to move to his late father's estate--a big beautiful castle. Inside he meets Ygor (Bela Lugosi) a crippled madman who wants to revive the Monster (Karloff). Naturally everything goes wrong. Elaborate sequel to the series--the last really good one that Universal spent money on. The sets are huge and incredibly bizarre (note the huge wooden stairs going to the second floor). Also they're shot using weird camera angles and making very good use of light and darkness. There's ALWAYS something to look at in this movie. The script is intelligent and literate with almost uniformly good performances. Basil Rathbone chews the scenery as Wolf. Josephine Hutchinson is given nothing to do as his wife--but she does it beautifully. Lionel Atwill (already typecast as a policeman) is good and very amusing with his wooden hand. Lugosi is really creepy as Ygor. Best of all is Karloff--he uses pantomime throughout the whole picture (even though in the previous "Bride of..." he had learned to speak) and gets every meaning across. He doesn't even really start going until an hour in but he makes up for it! The only debit is Frankenstein's son played by an annoying child actor named Donnie Dunagan. His acting is laughable (even for a child) and he speaks with a distinct Southern accent!!! Then again he WAS from Texas. Still, a really good, spooky, elaborate horror film. Highly recommended.

• Michael G

  
  One of the better Frankenstein sequels. The part where the monster rips of the Burgomaster's arem is great.

• Byron B

  
  This is the longest of the films in the Frankenstein series and the final appearance of the great Boris Karloff as the Monster for Universal. Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein parodies a couple things from the previous films in this series, but this is the film that provided the… More
  This is the longest of the films in the Frankenstein series and the final appearance of the great Boris Karloff as the Monster for Universal. Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein parodies a couple things from the previous films in this series, but this is the film that provided the main content for that hilarious spoof. I found this picture and most of its elements to be extremely enjoyable. I think it is nearly as good as the previous two entries in the Frankenstein franchise. Karloff as the creature, who apparently cannot die, was hit by lightning out of the controlled environment of the lab and this caused him to fall into a coma. In this picture Ygor finally plays a part. Bela Lugosi is the broken necked, bearded, thickly accented, sinister Ygor. He too has miraculously escaped death and influences the monster claiming him as his only friend with the haunting music of a strange folk instrument. His motive is revenge (and one of his targets is Belmore, now demoted to an ordinary town council member and apothecary). Basil Rathbone is great as Wolf von Frankenstein, a son of the original Dr. Frankenstein. He arrives in the town of his father's castle (the town now oddly called Frankenstein) with his wife and son. Though the first name is different, it is funny to think that this grandson of the original doctor could be the inspiration for Gene Wilder's character in Young Frankenstein. This little boy easily becomes friends with the creature, a "giant," but is way overdoing it in trying to be adorable. His voice becomes quite annoying. Ygor has been living in the ruins of Frankenstein's old laboratory and underneath it is now a deadly sulfur spring. The set designers have added a secret passage from one side of the old lab down to a crypt and on under the castle with more hidden passages for entry into various rooms. Wolf becomes seduced by the god-like power he could possess if he could bring his father's creation back to life, so he fixes up the lab. He unfortunately involves his butler Benson played by Norton. Lionel Atwill plays the at first helpful and then suspicious Inspector. He has an artificial right arm because of the monster. Again I liked the melodramatic style of acting employed especially by Rathbone and Atwill and was happy that the camp was left out. The story builds the thrills effectively with serious perils for multiple characters in the final minutes. It appears that some of the same sets were used but were more sparsely decorated. I liked the look of these wide open Gothic sets. With the shapes and shadows this film at times had an even more German Expressionistic flavor than either of the other two Frankenstein movies.

• Matthew Y

  
  Young Frankenstein has basically ruined any chance of this film being taken seriously. Constable Lionel Atwill's artifical arm is supposed to be a solemn reminder of the monsters menace, but we can't help but laugh hysterically and hope he looses control of it. Unlike… More
  Young Frankenstein has basically ruined any chance of this film being taken seriously. Constable Lionel Atwill's artifical arm is supposed to be a solemn reminder of the monsters menace, but we can't help but laugh hysterically and hope he looses control of it. Unlike Bride, which actually added to the story and Frankenstein lore, Son does little but rehash the first films storyline. It's better than the countless other sequels that follow and it does have Bela Lugosi. Worth a watch

• MJS M

  
  The surprisingly decent sequel to Bride of Frankenstein. This is certainly not in the same league as the first two films, but it isn?t anywhere near as crappy as some of the other Universal sequels got. Basil Rathbone is good as athe son of Dr. Frankenstein and Boris Karloff is… More
  The surprisingly decent sequel to Bride of Frankenstein. This is certainly not in the same league as the first two films, but it isn?t anywhere near as crappy as some of the other Universal sequels got. Basil Rathbone is good as athe son of Dr. Frankenstein and Boris Karloff is doing his thing about as well as ever, but the one who really steals the show is Bela Legosi who has a great turn as Ygor. There is however a really annoying kid in it and the movie actually runs a good twenty minutes longer then the last two, which is probably not necessary.

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