You can't keep a good monster dead
Added 1/21/2009
The Ghost of Frankenstein is one hour and 7 minutes long and was released on March 13, 1942. This would be Lon Chaney, Jr. only portrayal of the Monster. The film picks up years after the Monster is supposed to have died in the sulfuric pits. Instead his body has been in a coma like tomb. Ygor who we assumed was shot to death in the last picture is alive. The villagers at the town hall say that there is a curse on the town and it s the curse of Frankenstein. The villager's wants to blow up the castle and the Mayor thinks this is all non-sense, but does not want to be ousted in the next election. The Mayor gives and let the villagers blow up the castle. Later that evening the villagers head to the castle to blow it up, but Ygor puts up a losing fight to defend the castle. Ygor escapes through the catacombs and during one of the explosions some of sulfur falls off the Monster. Ygor removes the rest of the sulfur off the Monster and the two makes their escapes before the villages finally do them in. During a thunderstorm the Monster is struck by lightning and becomes strong again. In the last movie it made him and left him in a comatose state. The two head off to Wolf's brother, Dr. Ludwig Frankenstein so he can make the Monster better. The two are in the town of Vasaria and Dr. Ludwig Frankenstein lives in a chateau at the end of town. Before the two can head over there, the Monster wonders off and befriends a little girl named Cloestine. A bunch of bad boys have knocked her ball on a roof. Cloestine asks the Monster if he can retrieve her ball. (In Frankenstein and the Ghost of Frankenstein, little girls are not afraid on the Monster.) The Monster picks up Cloestine and heads up to get her ball. Why on his quest a couple of the town villagers try to take the Monster down and are killed. The Monster retrieves the ball and escorts Cloestine off the roof. He hands the little girl over to her father and the police arrest him. Erik Ernst, the town prosecutor, seeks out Dr. Frankenstein and asks him to come to the police station to examine the Monster. Dr. Frankenstein agrees to do so after he has finished some work. After Erik leaves, Ygor visits Dr. Frankenstein and blackmail the doctor into making him well. Ygor tells Dr. Frankenstein that he would expose the family heritage to the village Dr. Frankenstein reluctantly agrees to do so. At the police station, the Monster is being interrogated by the prosecutor and Ludwig makes his entrance. The Monster seems to recognize the doctor, but when Ludwig denies knowing the Monster, the Monster goes into a fit of rage. It is only through Ygor's music that the Monster calms down and escapes from the station. The two flee the village and later that evening heads to the doctor's chateau. Once there the Monster gets angry and accidently kills Dr. Kettering. Dr. Frankenstein and his daughter Elsa her some noise and hurry to the lab. The Monster captures Elsa and Dr. Frankenstein heads to another room and turns on some form of knock out gas on The Monster, Elsa, and Ygor. When everybody awakes, Elsa is in her bed, Ygor is now a prisoner, and the Monster is strapped to a lab table. The Monster is able to free himself from the straps, but before he can get completely loose Dr. Frankenstein is able to sedate the Monster. It is in the lab that Dr. Frankenstein decides the only way to kill the Monster is through dissection; take him apart piece by piece. Dr. Frankenstein asks for Dr. Theodore Bohmer assistant, but Dr. Bohmer will not do it. Later in the movie just as Dr. Ludwig Frankenstein is about to do the operation, the spirit of Dr. Henry Frankenstein appears. He tells them the Monster has a brain of a criminal but if good brain was but in there then the name of Frankenstein is restored. This convinces Dr. Ludwig Frankenstein to use the brain of Dr. Kettering. This time Dr. Bohmer agrees to help Dr. Frankenstein because it is not murder. Ygor wants nothing to do with it because the Monster will longer be his friend. The tell Ygor it is a new brain or he will dissect the Monster. Ygor reluctantly agrees to the operation. Ygor tells the Monster he is getting a new brain and he will be better. Between then and the operation the Monster leaves the chateau and head to the home of Cloestine Hussman. How the Monster escaped and how he knew with Cloestine lives the movie did not explain. The Monsters hears Ygor music and at first ignores it. The Monster kidnaps Cloestine and grabs her ball. In grabbing the ball he unknowingly knocks over a lantern and a fire begins. The Monster is back at the chateau Ygor tries to convince the Monster to let her go, but the Monster pushes Ygor and nearly crushes Ygor to death. In Ludwig study the Monster brings the girl to Dr. Frankenstein indicating he wants her brain in his head. Dr. Frankenstein is able to free Cloestine and gives the girl to Elsa. Dr. Frankenstein lures the Monster back to the lab. Early on Ygor had convinced Dr. Bohmer to put Ygor's brain into the Monster. When the procedure begins Dr. Bohmer removes Ygor's brain and presents it to Dr. Frankenstein believing it to be Dr. Kettering's brain. At then end of the operation the Monster face is wrapped in bandages. Back at the village and two weeks later the villagers are wondering what ever happen to Ygor and the Monster. They believe that Dr. Frankenstein is hiding the Monster. One of the policemen alerts Erik and he gets on his horse and rides over there. Erik convinces the villagers not to do anything until he has had a chance to talk to Dr. Frankenstein. Once inside the home he tells Dr. Frankenstein that his safety is in jeopardy and at that time Dr. Frankenstein takes him to the dungeon room to show what he has done. Once there Dr. Frankenstein starts talking and asking the Monster do you know who I am. The Monster speaks back in Ygor voice and Dr. Frankenstein is startled and shock by this. Ygor tells Dr. Frankenstein that he convinced Dr. Bohmer to put Ygor's brain into the Monster and now he has the strength of a hundred men. Erik escapes and locks the door as he leaves. Ygor breaks open the door and along with Dr. Bohmer and Dr. Frankenstein heads into the lab to gas the villagers. Dr. Frankenstein tries to stop them but is shoved aside. It is that moment that Ygor realizes that he is blind. Dr. Frankenstein tells Ygor that he has Dr. Kettering' blood in him and that his brain and Dr. Kettering's blood are not compatible and won't feed the senses. Ygor outraged by this kills Dr. Bohmer and start tearing the lab apart. In do this he sets the lab on fire and quickly the chateau catches fire. How Ygor got from the lab to the study the movie does not indicate, but Ygor is in the study when a beam falls on him and meet his end. During the fire scene of the movie, you can see the facial make-up melting off Lon Chaney, Jr. face. In Son of Frankenstein, the Monster and Ygor are portrayed as best buddies. In The Ghost of Frankenstein their relationship seems to come apart as the Monster no longer responds to Ygor control over him. The Monster is back in his old clothes like the original Frankenstein movie. One must assume the sulfur burns his old clothes and the sulfur cost him his eyesight as well. During the whole filming his eyes are not wide open. The movie loses itself after forty minutes and also is gone is the magic as well. The movie would mark the last time the Monster appears as a solo. Starting with Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, he must share movie with his fellow horror monsters. Ghost of Frankenstein movie gets a B- from me.
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Highly enjoyable sequel
Added 12/7/2008
The Ghost of Frankenstein was released in 1942 and was the last time the Monster would have his own movie, after this he would appear in only crossover movies. The Ghost of Frankenstein was the first movie in the series to have another actor to play the Frankenstein Monster who was of course played by the brilliant Boris Karloff. Lon Chaney Jr. now steps into the role of the Monster and he was probably the best choice for the role even if his performance was slightly flawed, which isn't all because of Lon Chaney.
Despite popular belief the Monster isn't a walking idiot or is he really a villain. Whenever people refer to him as that I have to laugh since they obviously never watched these movies even though they claim they did. The Monster was very sympathetic at least when played by Karloff and the only time he was really dangerous is when provoked or scared. The Monster had almost this childlike quality that Karloff brought to the role, but he was hardly an idiot. Lon Chaney made a name for himself in the masterpiece The Wolf Man where like Karloff's Frankenstein's Monster Chaney also played a sympathetic character.
But here in The Ghost of Frankenstein the Monster is not exactly a villain, but he's not the sympathetic character he was when played by Karloff. Quite honestly I liked Lon Chaney as the Monster. At first I didn't, but I was comparing his performance to Karloff's too much, which is understandable since he is playing the same character, but now after viewing this movie again and not comparing Chaney to Karloff I quite liked him and I would possibly rate Chaney as my 2nd favorite actor to play the Monster, but he is a distant 2nd.
The Ghost of Frankenstein is a better movie than often given credit for and better than I have given it credit for in the past, while it offers nothing really new to the Frankenstein series in its own right it is an enjoyable flick. The original is a masterpiece of the genre and Bride of Frankenstein is one of very few sequels that actually matches the greatness of the original and in some ways out does it. It's not easy to keep that going and it's also easy to dismiss this movie when compared to the first 2 and I suppose even the 3rd part Son of Frankenstein. But again in its own right The Ghost of Frankenstein is a semi-classic.
The screenplay by Scott Darling is actually pretty good overall; while not as creative as the previous parts and as I stated earlier this one doesn't really offer anything new to the series it is well written and has a solid bunch of characters. Maybe not everything here works, but the good is good enough to make up for any shortcomings. The script does borrow heavily from the original, which is fine since the original had a terrific script.
This was the first of 3 Monster movies directed by Erle C. Kenton, as he would later to go on and direct the crossover movies House of Frankenstein & House of Dracula. Of the three, The Ghost of Frankenstein in my opinion was by far the best of the three. The movie runs at a nice pace, while the middle sections slowdown a bit Kenton always keeps the movie interesting and is able to build some decent suspense. Erle C. Kenton may not make a masterpiece of the genre, but he does make a really fun movie.
Like I said before this time around the Monster is a bit more of a villain rather than the sympathetic character he was when played by Karloff. The Monster is a bit angrier and is a lot quicker to attack than he was previously. There are moments when you can see the humanity in the Monster in particular the scenes with the little girl Cloestine played by Janet Ann Gallow. But besides those scenes the Monster is a bit angrier and meaner and is quite different at times than he was in the other parts, but I suppose a different director and a different take on the Monster. But this time around he's a bit more of a villain. Even in Son of Frankenstein even though played by Karloff the Monster was a bit different than he was in the first 2.
I did like what Lon Chaney Jr. brought to the role, but he was failed by his writer and director. While I did like the script and the directing, but the Monster wasn't given much to do. When I brought up how people see the Monster as a walking idiot it did sort of start around this time; even in Son of Frankenstein, the Monster wasn't given much to do, but just sort of stumble around. And here we have the same problem; I guess they both lacked the James Whale touch who really knew how to use the Monster. The problems with Chaney really weren't due to him. Bottom line is he's no Boris Karloff, but he does manage to bring a little more to the role than what he was given to work with.
Bela Lugosi returns as Ygor and again is excellent in the role. By this time in Lugosi's career he was pretty much reduced to Poverty Row and when in a movie by a studio like Universal it was normally a cameo or a part that was either non-speaking or very little dialogue. Cedric Hardwicke is great as Ludwig Frankenstein and Evelyn Ankers one of the scream queens of the 40s provides an excellent performance as well as Elsa Frankenstein. Lionel Atwill is often forgotten, but he appeared in many of these movies for Universal and is always a pleasure to watch.
This was also the last of the Monster that was created by Dr. Frankenstein, well sort of. I don't wanna give away any major details of the movie away, but after this in the next installments it isn't the same Monster by right, but in the next movie Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man the final act of this movie was ignored and the Monster was back to being that of the original creation of Dr. Frankenstein. Bela Lugosi stepped into the role and is often knocked for his performance of the Monster, but he played the role the way it was meant to be played, but due to the editing all mentions of Ghost of Frankenstein were taken out and thus ruined Lugosi's performance, which wasn't so bad when taking into fact he's not the same Monster, but due to editing the Monster is now back to being the same Monster from previous parts his performance was ruined.
Overall The Ghost of Frankenstein is a better movie than if often gets credited for. While this might be the weakest of the series (ignoring the crossover movies) it's still a pretty good movie with solid characters and solid acting. While Lon Chaney isn't anywhere near the level of Karloff as the Monster, Chaney still delivers an excellent take on the Monster and is probably my 2nd favorite. His performance was a lot better than even I originally gave him credit for. Again he's no Karloff, but Lon Chaney still made a great Frankenstein Monster.
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A GHOST OF IT'S ORIGINS, BUT IT'S STILL A LOT OF FUN!
Added 2/22/2008
Exit Karloff enter Chaney Jr. in the role of the monster! 'Ghost of Frankenstein' has the great sets and the atmosphere, but it lacks Karloff's depth in the monster department. Chaney Jr. is stiff as the monster and so enters the beginning of the brainless robot monster that inhabits the 'Frankenstein' films hereafter.
Although this is not a classic, it is a very entertaining installment in the series. Lugosi,Atwill and Hardwicke..they're all here in this low budget fright fest which was one of the first cheap 40's Universal horrors. This is available on DVD in the Frankenstein Legacy collection and on a double bill with 'Son of Frankenstein'. The DVD transfers are very good. I rate this film 3 1/2 stars
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Lugosi's Ygor completes his takeover of the Frankenstein monster
Added 8/12/2005
Boris Karloff was wrong when he objected to having the monster speak in "Bride of Frankenstein." The progression of the character from the inarticulate brute of first "Frankenstein" movie was a smart move and the second film in the Universal series is the best of the bunch. How wrong Karloff was about his most famous creation is amply proven in "The Ghost of Frankenstein," the fourth film in the series and the first with someone other than Karloff playing the monster (Karloff's daughter agrees with me). Lon Chaney, Jr. gets the honors and he follows Karloff's lead from the previous film, "The Son of Frankenstein," where no longer speaks and is shuffling with a much stiffer gait. In other words, Chaney is reinforcing the stereotype of the Frankenstein Monster that exists today.
It is easy to defend the earlier films in the Universal "Frankenstein" series. After all, the first two were directed by James Whales and stuck the closest, all things considered, to Mary Shelley's original novel, and Karloff played the monster in the first three. By when we get to "The Son of Frankenstein" and "The Ghost of Frankenstein" the driving force of the stories is no longer the monster or his creator, but Bela Lugosi's Ygor. Ironically, Lugosi had turned down the role of the monster in the first "Frankenstein," which then catapulted Karloff to stardom and codified his performance as the finest monster in screen history. Consequently, I can look at Lugosi's two Frankenstein movies as his revenge (and not in a good way).
"The Ghost of Frankenstein" was written by Scott Darling ("Charlie Chan at the Opera") from a story by Eric Taylor ("The Black Cat"), and was directed by Erle C. Kenton ("Island of Lost Souls"). Actually, this 1942 film is more "The Son of Frankenstein II" because the Dr. Frankenstein of this one is Ludwig von Frankenstein (Cedric Hardwicke of the 1939 version of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"), another son of the original Dr. Frankenstein. Ludwig helps people suffering from diseases of the mind and when he finds out that his father's monster is still running around his solution to the creature's apparent immortality is dissection. If his father could sew a body together, then unsewing it to take it apart makes sense. But Dr. Bohmer (Lionel Atwill) thinks this is a bad thing and Ludwig does not feel compelled to argue the point, especially after the ghost of his father shows up and tells him to play along in the family business.
When their colleague Dr. Kettering (Barton Yarborough) is killed by the monster, Ludwig comes up with the bright idea of replacing the criminal brain in the monster's skull with that of Kettering. However, Ygor, who has survived having his neck broken after being hung, and now has also survived the three bullets that Basil Rathbone put in his chest in "Son," has a better idea. So the question is whose brain is going to end up in Chaney's skull, especially since the monster has his own weird suggestion. There is a minor plot line involving Ludwig's daughter Elsa (Evelyn Ankers) and the local proescutor (Ralph Bellamy) adds little to this 67-minute film.
Basically, the problem with this movie is that Lugois's Ygor is a more interesting character than Hardwicke's Ludwig and breaking the fundamental dynamic of a Frankenstein movie to make the insane assistant more important than the mad doctor is not a smart move. I was almost going to round up on this one because of the twist provided by one of the basic medical concepts regarding transplants that comes into play at the end, but not quite. The idea of transplanting a second, "better" brain into the monster's head is pursued more successfully in later films, most notably Hammer's "Revenge of Frankenstein" and "Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell." Certainly the makers of these later films were inspired by the failure of "The Ghost of Frankenstein" to even come close to maximizing the story line's potential.
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Chaney tries hard
Added 6/25/2004
Lon Chaney Jnr tries his guts out in this next installment of the Frankenstein series but unfortunately falls a little flat. Don't get me wrong , this is still a quality movie from Universal but Chaney is a little away from his usual character of the Wolfman and it is difficult to see him in any other role. I think Universal struggled a little with the Monster with Chaney and then Lugosi in the main role until Glenn Strange came along. Lugosi's Ygor becomes a little laborious but how could you not love the Master of Horror. Sir Cedrick Hardwick adds his professionalism to the screen and probably holds the movie together. All in all this is a pretty good flick and is great addition to anyones collection
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You can't keep a good monster dead
Added 1/21/2009
The Ghost of Frankenstein is one hour and 7 minutes long and was released on March 13, 1942. This would be Lon Chaney, Jr. only portrayal of the Monster. The film picks up years after the Monster is supposed to have died in the sulfuric pits. Instead his body has been in a coma like tomb. Ygor who we assumed was shot to death in the last picture is alive. The villagers at the town hall say that there is a curse on the town and it s the curse of Frankenstein. The villager's wants to blow up the castle and the Mayor thinks this is all non-sense, but does not want to be ousted in the next election. The Mayor gives and let the villagers blow up the castle. Later that evening the villagers head to the castle to blow it up, but Ygor puts up a losing fight to defend the castle. Ygor escapes through the catacombs and during one of the explosions some of sulfur falls off the Monster. Ygor removes the rest of the sulfur off the Monster and the two makes their escapes before the villages finally do them in. During a thunderstorm the Monster is struck by lightning and becomes strong again. In the last movie it made him and left him in a comatose state. The two head off to Wolf's brother, Dr. Ludwig Frankenstein so he can make the Monster better. The two are in the town of Vasaria and Dr. Ludwig Frankenstein lives in a chateau at the end of town. Before the two can head over there, the Monster wonders off and befriends a little girl named Cloestine. A bunch of bad boys have knocked her ball on a roof. Cloestine asks the Monster if he can retrieve her ball. (In Frankenstein and the Ghost of Frankenstein, little girls are not afraid on the Monster.) The Monster picks up Cloestine and heads up to get her ball. Why on his quest a couple of the town villagers try to take the Monster down and are killed. The Monster retrieves the ball and escorts Cloestine off the roof. He hands the little girl over to her father and the police arrest him. Erik Ernst, the town prosecutor, seeks out Dr. Frankenstein and asks him to come to the police station to examine the Monster. Dr. Frankenstein agrees to do so after he has finished some work. After Erik leaves, Ygor visits Dr. Frankenstein and blackmail the doctor into making him well. Ygor tells Dr. Frankenstein that he would expose the family heritage to the village Dr. Frankenstein reluctantly agrees to do so. At the police station, the Monster is being interrogated by the prosecutor and Ludwig makes his entrance. The Monster seems to recognize the doctor, but when Ludwig denies knowing the Monster, the Monster goes into a fit of rage. It is only through Ygor's music that the Monster calms down and escapes from the station. The two flee the village and later that evening heads to the doctor's chateau. Once there the Monster gets angry and accidently kills Dr. Kettering. Dr. Frankenstein and his daughter Elsa her some noise and hurry to the lab. The Monster captures Elsa and Dr. Frankenstein heads to another room and turns on some form of knock out gas on The Monster, Elsa, and Ygor. When everybody awakes, Elsa is in her bed, Ygor is now a prisoner, and the Monster is strapped to a lab table. The Monster is able to free himself from the straps, but before he can get completely loose Dr. Frankenstein is able to sedate the Monster. It is in the lab that Dr. Frankenstein decides the only way to kill the Monster is through dissection; take him apart piece by piece. Dr. Frankenstein asks for Dr. Theodore Bohmer assistant, but Dr. Bohmer will not do it. Later in the movie just as Dr. Ludwig Frankenstein is about to do the operation, the spirit of Dr. Henry Frankenstein appears. He tells them the Monster has a brain of a criminal but if good brain was but in there then the name of Frankenstein is restored. This convinces Dr. Ludwig Frankenstein to use the brain of Dr. Kettering. This time Dr. Bohmer agrees to help Dr. Frankenstein because it is not murder. Ygor wants nothing to do with it because the Monster will longer be his friend. The tell Ygor it is a new brain or he will dissect the Monster. Ygor reluctantly agrees to the operation. Ygor tells the Monster he is getting a new brain and he will be better. Between then and the operation the Monster leaves the chateau and head to the home of Cloestine Hussman. How the Monster escaped and how he knew with Cloestine lives the movie did not explain. The Monsters hears Ygor music and at first ignores it. The Monster kidnaps Cloestine and grabs her ball. In grabbing the ball he unknowingly knocks over a lantern and a fire begins. The Monster is back at the chateau Ygor tries to convince the Monster to let her go, but the Monster pushes Ygor and nearly crushes Ygor to death. In Ludwig study the Monster brings the girl to Dr. Frankenstein indicating he wants her brain in his head. Dr. Frankenstein is able to free Cloestine and gives the girl to Elsa. Dr. Frankenstein lures the Monster back to the lab. Early on Ygor had convinced Dr. Bohmer to put Ygor's brain into the Monster. When the procedure begins Dr. Bohmer removes Ygor's brain and presents it to Dr. Frankenstein believing it to be Dr. Kettering's brain. At then end of the operation the Monster face is wrapped in bandages. Back at the village and two weeks later the villagers are wondering what ever happen to Ygor and the Monster. They believe that Dr. Frankenstein is hiding the Monster. One of the policemen alerts Erik and he gets on his horse and rides over there. Erik convinces the villagers not to do anything until he has had a chance to talk to Dr. Frankenstein. Once inside the home he tells Dr. Frankenstein that his safety is in jeopardy and at that time Dr. Frankenstein takes him to the dungeon room to show what he has done. Once there Dr. Frankenstein starts talking and asking the Monster do you know who I am. The Monster speaks back in Ygor voice and Dr. Frankenstein is startled and shock by this. Ygor tells Dr. Frankenstein that he convinced Dr. Bohmer to put Ygor's brain into the Monster and now he has the strength of a hundred men. Erik escapes and locks the door as he leaves. Ygor breaks open the door and along with Dr. Bohmer and Dr. Frankenstein heads into the lab to gas the villagers. Dr. Frankenstein tries to stop them but is shoved aside. It is that moment that Ygor realizes that he is blind. Dr. Frankenstein tells Ygor that he has Dr. Kettering' blood in him and that his brain and Dr. Kettering's blood are not compatible and won't feed the senses. Ygor outraged by this kills Dr. Bohmer and start tearing the lab apart. In do this he sets the lab on fire and quickly the chateau catches fire. How Ygor got from the lab to the study the movie does not indicate, but Ygor is in the study when a beam falls on him and meet his end. During the fire scene of the movie, you can see the facial make-up melting off Lon Chaney, Jr. face. In Son of Frankenstein, the Monster and Ygor are portrayed as best buddies. In The Ghost of Frankenstein their relationship seems to come apart as the Monster no longer responds to Ygor control over him. The Monster is back in his old clothes like the original Frankenstein movie. One must assume the sulfur burns his old clothes and the sulfur cost him his eyesight as well. During the whole filming his eyes are not wide open. The movie loses itself after forty minutes and also is gone is the magic as well. The movie would mark the last time the Monster appears as a solo. Starting with Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, he must share movie with his fellow horror monsters. Ghost of Frankenstein movie gets a B- from me.
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Highly enjoyable sequel
Added 12/7/2008
The Ghost of Frankenstein was released in 1942 and was the last time the Monster would have his own movie, after this he would appear in only crossover movies. The Ghost of Frankenstein was the first movie in the series to have another actor to play the Frankenstein Monster who was of course played by the brilliant Boris Karloff. Lon Chaney Jr. now steps into the role of the Monster and he was probably the best choice for the role even if his performance was slightly flawed, which isn't all because of Lon Chaney.
Despite popular belief the Monster isn't a walking idiot or is he really a villain. Whenever people refer to him as that I have to laugh since they obviously never watched these movies even though they claim they did. The Monster was very sympathetic at least when played by Karloff and the only time he was really dangerous is when provoked or scared. The Monster had almost this childlike quality that Karloff brought to the role, but he was hardly an idiot. Lon Chaney made a name for himself in the masterpiece The Wolf Man where like Karloff's Frankenstein's Monster Chaney also played a sympathetic character.
But here in The Ghost of Frankenstein the Monster is not exactly a villain, but he's not the sympathetic character he was when played by Karloff. Quite honestly I liked Lon Chaney as the Monster. At first I didn't, but I was comparing his performance to Karloff's too much, which is understandable since he is playing the same character, but now after viewing this movie again and not comparing Chaney to Karloff I quite liked him and I would possibly rate Chaney as my 2nd favorite actor to play the Monster, but he is a distant 2nd.
The Ghost of Frankenstein is a better movie than often given credit for and better than I have given it credit for in the past, while it offers nothing really new to the Frankenstein series in its own right it is an enjoyable flick. The original is a masterpiece of the genre and Bride of Frankenstein is one of very few sequels that actually matches the greatness of the original and in some ways out does it. It's not easy to keep that going and it's also easy to dismiss this movie when compared to the first 2 and I suppose even the 3rd part Son of Frankenstein. But again in its own right The Ghost of Frankenstein is a semi-classic.
The screenplay by Scott Darling is actually pretty good overall; while not as creative as the previous parts and as I stated earlier this one doesn't really offer anything new to the series it is well written and has a solid bunch of characters. Maybe not everything here works, but the good is good enough to make up for any shortcomings. The script does borrow heavily from the original, which is fine since the original had a terrific script.
This was the first of 3 Monster movies directed by Erle C. Kenton, as he would later to go on and direct the crossover movies House of Frankenstein & House of Dracula. Of the three, The Ghost of Frankenstein in my opinion was by far the best of the three. The movie runs at a nice pace, while the middle sections slowdown a bit Kenton always keeps the movie interesting and is able to build some decent suspense. Erle C. Kenton may not make a masterpiece of the genre, but he does make a really fun movie.
Like I said before this time around the Monster is a bit more of a villain rather than the sympathetic character he was when played by Karloff. The Monster is a bit angrier and is a lot quicker to attack than he was previously. There are moments when you can see the humanity in the Monster in particular the scenes with the little girl Cloestine played by Janet Ann Gallow. But besides those scenes the Monster is a bit angrier and meaner and is quite different at times than he was in the other parts, but I suppose a different director and a different take on the Monster. But this time around he's a bit more of a villain. Even in Son of Frankenstein even though played by Karloff the Monster was a bit different than he was in the first 2.
I did like what Lon Chaney Jr. brought to the role, but he was failed by his writer and director. While I did like the script and the directing, but the Monster wasn't given much to do. When I brought up how people see the Monster as a walking idiot it did sort of start around this time; even in Son of Frankenstein, the Monster wasn't given much to do, but just sort of stumble around. And here we have the same problem; I guess they both lacked the James Whale touch who really knew how to use the Monster. The problems with Chaney really weren't due to him. Bottom line is he's no Boris Karloff, but he does manage to bring a little more to the role than what he was given to work with.
Bela Lugosi returns as Ygor and again is excellent in the role. By this time in Lugosi's career he was pretty much reduced to Poverty Row and when in a movie by a studio like Universal it was normally a cameo or a part that was either non-speaking or very little dialogue. Cedric Hardwicke is great as Ludwig Frankenstein and Evelyn Ankers one of the scream queens of the 40s provides an excellent performance as well as Elsa Frankenstein. Lionel Atwill is often forgotten, but he appeared in many of these movies for Universal and is always a pleasure to watch.
This was also the last of the Monster that was created by Dr. Frankenstein, well sort of. I don't wanna give away any major details of the movie away, but after this in the next installments it isn't the same Monster by right, but in the next movie Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man the final act of this movie was ignored and the Monster was back to being that of the original creation of Dr. Frankenstein. Bela Lugosi stepped into the role and is often knocked for his performance of the Monster, but he played the role the way it was meant to be played, but due to the editing all mentions of Ghost of Frankenstein were taken out and thus ruined Lugosi's performance, which wasn't so bad when taking into fact he's not the same Monster, but due to editing the Monster is now back to being the same Monster from previous parts his performance was ruined.
Overall The Ghost of Frankenstein is a better movie than if often gets credited for. While this might be the weakest of the series (ignoring the crossover movies) it's still a pretty good movie with solid characters and solid acting. While Lon Chaney isn't anywhere near the level of Karloff as the Monster, Chaney still delivers an excellent take on the Monster and is probably my 2nd favorite. His performance was a lot better than even I originally gave him credit for. Again he's no Karloff, but Lon Chaney still made a great Frankenstein Monster.
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A GHOST OF IT'S ORIGINS, BUT IT'S STILL A LOT OF FUN!
Added 2/22/2008
Exit Karloff enter Chaney Jr. in the role of the monster! 'Ghost of Frankenstein' has the great sets and the atmosphere, but it lacks Karloff's depth in the monster department. Chaney Jr. is stiff as the monster and so enters the beginning of the brainless robot monster that inhabits the 'Frankenstein' films hereafter.
Although this is not a classic, it is a very entertaining installment in the series. Lugosi,Atwill and Hardwicke..they're all here in this low budget fright fest which was one of the first cheap 40's Universal horrors. This is available on DVD in the Frankenstein Legacy collection and on a double bill with 'Son of Frankenstein'. The DVD transfers are very good. I rate this film 3 1/2 stars
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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