Son of Frankenstein (1939)

Directed by Rowland V. Lee. Starring Basil Rathbone, Lionel Atwill, Béla Lugosi, Josephine Hutchinson, Boris Karloff, Edgar Norton, Donnie Dunagan, Emma Dunn, Lawrence Grant, Lionel Belmore, Perry Irvins, Michael Mark.

Third Universal Frankenstein film isn’t quite in the same league as the previous two, but is still a high-quality production, intelligent and atmospheric and even a touch poignant. Lee’s direction can’t replicate the stark terrors and sly humor that James Whale brought to the earlier pictures, but the art direction, makeup and lighting are first-rate, and Rathbone, Lugosi and Atwill contribute zesty portrayals of new characters: (respectively) the son of Dr. Henry Frankenstein who has returned to the family castle to restore his father’s reputation, the sinister blacksmith named Ygor (broken-necked, not hunchbacked, although he does have experience robbing graves), and the one-armed inspector who suspects the young doctor is resuming the work of his father. Lingers a little too long in the introductions and setup, but tension builds well to a frenetic crescendo in the final act. Karloff’s final performance as the Monster, although he mostly just goes through the motions until the climactic incidents, and is out-classed by Lugosi, whose bitter desire for revenge against those who hanged him years ago makes him the more compelling “monster”. Try to spot Ward Bond as a police officer.

77/100