The Ghost of Frankenstein

Here we go again. In the grand tradition of Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), and Son of Frankenstein (1939) comes the fourth in Universal's series. This time around, the crazy doctor of the title is Ludwig (Sir Cedric Hardwicke), the brother of Basil Rathbone's character in Son of and the (other) son of Colin Clive's original Dr. Frankenstein in the original and Bride of movies.

A generation or so has passed since the villagers last destroyed the Monster in a sulphur pit. But, of course, he's only mostly dead, and his old pal Ygor (Bela Lugosi) holds vigil outside the old Frankenstein castle, hoping the creature will revive himself. At the same time, angry villagers are mobilizing; they decide that there's a Frankenstein curse that's prohibiting their crops from growing and businesses outside of town (named after Frankenstein, for some reason) are refusing to deal with them. The curse must be broken, so off the villagers go to burn down the castle. The explosion indeed wakes up the preserved Monster, and he's reunited with his old pal Ygor.

There's another Frankenstein a village or so away, as the crow flies - Ludwig. Ludwig, who runs an insane asylum out of his house, also works for the police; when the Monster is captured and put on trial, the good doctor is called in to deal with the situation. But Ygor, he's a cunning sort, and he persuades Ludwig to get the Monster remanded to Ludwig's own castle so that Dr. Frankenstein can work on giving the Monster a nice, new brain. (There appears to be some brain damage for the big guy; he can't speak, as he could - haltingly - in previous films, and simple logic isn't his forte.) Ygor, he of the broken neck from being ineptly hanged, wants his own brain to be placed in the creature's cranium.

The setting is as eerie and stark as in other Universal monster movies. Hidden rooms, long staircases, vaulted ceilings - it's a realtor's dream. Ludwig also has a grown daughter Elsa (Evelyn Ankers, another Universal staple), who's probably named after Elsa Lanchester, who starred in Bride of Frankenstein. Elsa's boyfriend is Erik Ernst (Ralph Bellamy), who's stuck between the mob rule of the town and his fondness of the Frankensteins. Lionel Atwill plays one of Dr. Frankenstein's doctor associates. Lon Chaney, Jr., by the way, grunts his way around a macabre set as the Monster itself.

For a movie that's the fourth in a series, Ghost of Frankenstein (so named, perhaps, because the ghost of the original Doctor appears) is competently acted, directed, and shot. No, more than that, it's expertly done. There's some overacting (Ankers), to be sure, but overall it's a very well realized hidden gem among Universal's many horror movies of the early 20th century.

"Ghost of Frankenstein" ended the 11-year run of Universal's classic horror films, which began with "Dracula" and the original "Frankenstein". Bela Lugosi repeats his role as the lugubrious "handyman" Ygor from "Son of Frankenstein", giving the movie a sense of continuity. Boris Karloff had migrated to Broadway for a few years, and so was unavailable for the title role he'd created. The chores, and the patented Jack Pierce makeup, go to Lon Chaney Jr. He's not bad. A different monster than Karloff, he's more beefy, physically menacing, and, so, scarier in a way. It has hints of a true ghost story, with detective tale elements, although there is no mystery, of course, with a title like this. And what a cast! Interestingly, Atwill does NOT repeat his role as the maimed police official from "Son..." and he's at his malicious best in this one. For classic horror completists, a must. After this entry, the Universal monster series deteriorated to the "monster reunion" films in which they'd all show up to contribute mayhem - "Hey, Dracula! How ya doin', Wolfman!"

No one envied George Lazenby when he became the first actor to play James Bond after Sean Connery bowed out of the role. I can only imagine that Lon Chaney Jr. must have felt the same sort of pressure when he was signed to take over the role of Frankenstein's Monster from the great Boris Karloff.

Ghost of Frankenstein is, for some reason, one of the more obscure of the Frankenstein series -- I guess in the same way Lazenby's On Her Majesty's Secret Service is considered one of the lesser known Bond films. Coming on the heels of the Karloff trilogy, it does have a second-hand feel to it that doesn't allow the film to reach the heights of its predecessors.

This is unfortunate because the movie isn't that bad, actually. In terms of inter-film continuity it probably has the strongest ties with the previous film, Son of Frankenstein, thanks to the continuing presence of Ygor (who, for reasons never explained, survived being shot in Son of Frankenstein). Ygor continues to act as Svengali/Pied Piper to The Monster, and Bela Lugosi turns in a performance that in my opinion rivals if not surpasses Dracula. Anyone who thinks Lugosi was a one-note ham actor capable of only variations on Dracula should check out this film and Son of Frankenstein for a revelation.

As the Monster, Lon Chaney isn't bad. Being considerably stockier than Karloff, he somehow appears smaller (blame the sulfur pit, perhaps?). Chaney also chooses to play the role completely mute, a departure from Karloff's growling portrayal. There are several moments where he manages to evoke the types of emotion Karloff was capable of showing under the flat-top -- including a rather puzzling moment where the Monster recognizes Dr. Ludwig Frankenstein, the son of the original Dr. Frankenstein (maybe there's some backstory that we are unaware of?).

Cedric Hardwicke as Ludwig Frankenstein tries hard but is unable to produce the same sort of near-madness that his predecessors Colin Clive and Basil Rathbone exhibited, while Lionel Atwill (playing a different role than the policeman from Son of Frankenstein) has a fairly thankless and somewhat confusingly written role to play in the eventual fate of The Monster.

Universal was not known for its inter-film continuity, and although Ghost manages to tie in quite successfully with Son (if not the earlier films) there are still a few jarring continuity gaffes, the most notable being the use of a different actor for the scene when the original Dr. Frankenstein pays a ghostly visit to his son (hence the source of the title in case you're wondering) -- even though Colin Clive, the original (but by the time this film was made, sadly deceased) actor is clearly shown in a flashback sequence.

Ghost of Frankenstein is far from being the best of Universal's Frankenstein series, but as a middle-of-the-pack entry, it's quite worthwhile. And for serious fans of The Monster who feel that the later "team-up" entries in the series are abominations (that is to say Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula, and Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein), then this film is pretty much the end of the Frankenstein Monster story.

The story picks up somewhat after Son of Frankenstein...Ygor...still alive somehow and the monster go in search of the second son of Frankenstein to recharge the monster and ultimately put Ygor's brain in the monster's body.. That at least is the plan. This is certainly not the best of the Frankenstein cycle but it is a lot of fun. Bela Lugosi again chews up scenery as the demented crook-neck Ygor...a malevolent and evil persona that has befriended the "innocent" creature, played with depth and great ability by Lon Chaney Jr. In point of fact...Chaney's Monster ranks closely to Karloff's for his ability to give the monster a third dimension so to speak. His scene with the little girl and her ball is a gem. Lionel Atwill is in this as a bad scientist(a familiar role for him) and again he is very winning in his portrayal. Evelyn Ankers is good in the female lead and Cedric Hardwicke is adequate in his role as the Frakenstein progeny, although somewhat lacklustre to be sure. All in all a good Frankenstein film!

I watched this last night (on DVD) for the first time in years. It was like seeing an old friend! I remember enjoying this on WOR-TV (NYC's channel 9) years ago.

Bela Lugosi steals the show as Ygor (just as he had in SON OF FRANKENSTEIN), but the entire cast is superior for what is essentially a B-picture. Beautifully photographed and scored, the film is well cast, well acted and a joy to watch. And Lionel Atwill's "miscalculating" Doctor Bohmer is the icing on the cake. Look for familiar (and unbilled) faces among the angry villagers: Brandon Hurst, Dwight Frye, Richard Alexander, Harry Cording, Lionel Belmore and Michael Mark!