Son of Frankenstein (1939) review

 

SON OF FRANKENSTEIN 1939

Basil Rathbone (Baron Wolf von Frankenstein), Boris Karloff (The Monster), Bela Lugosi (Ygor), Lionel Atwill (Inspector Krogh), Josephine Hutchinson (Elsa von Frankenstein), Donnie Dunagan (Peter von Frankenstein)

Directed by Rowland V. Lee

The Short Version: Beautifully shot sequel in the ongoing FRANKENSTEIN series from Universal is arguably the most lavish and best acted of the series. Overflowing with a baroque style echoing the Expressionist cinema of Germany, it's as much a painting come to life as it is the third resurrection of the monster. Rathbone's Frankenstein and Lugosi's crazed crooked-necked hunchback vie for the top spot while Karloff's creature feels like an incidental character. For fans of Uni-Horror, it's a top class fright flick pairing two genre heavyweights and production values to match.

Baron Wolf Von Frankenstein, the son of Henry Frankenstein, moves his family from America to his father's castle in Europe--much to the disdain of the local villagers who haven't forgotten the nightmare wrought by Frankenstein's hellish experiments. Living below the castle in the family crypt is Ygor, the late patriarch's former assistant who miraculously survived a hanging after the court sentenced him to die. Wolf also finds his father's lumbering, murderous creation has likewise survived, but remains comatose. Desiring revenge on the eight jurors that sent him to hang, Ygor convinces the young Frankenstein to revive the monster; unaware that the demented hunchback wishes to use the Monster to kill those who've wronged him.

Traditionally, sequels are lesser affairs compared to the films that beget them. In regards to 1931s FRANKENSTEIN, this is not the case; the films get better with each succeeding entry--reaching an artistic zenith rarely seen in a 'part 3'. It would seem extremely difficult to top--much less match--Whale's BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935), but director Lee achieved just that with this second, even more expensive sequel. After SON, things did begin to slouch comfortably into 'B' movie territory. 

After a successful re-release of some of their top horror titles, Universal decided to revive their Franken-franchise for a third go-round; bringing back some old faces and attaching some new ones. Universal wanted Peter Lorre in the title role, but he turned it down--reportedly because he had tired of villainous roles. However, incoming director Rowland V. Lee preferred Basil Rathbone--whom he'd worked with previously. In a surprising turn--refreshing that it is--the role of the son as played by Basil isn't the madman with the God complex as portrayed by Colin Clive in the previous two films.

Rathbone does flirt with his father's scientific obsession although he never descends into madness over it. His eventual scientific pursuits aren't for personal gain, but to bring legitimacy to his father's work. Colin Clive's Frankenstein wore his insanity like a tailored suit. His son, on the other hand, is a stubborn man seduced into picking up where his father left off; embarking on an ill-advised mission to bring some respectability to the family name; this upon discovering his father's creature is still alive--and quite immortal--if in a comatose state after an accident.

Another character in the film is also ambitious, if for a darker, insidious purpose...

Bela Lugosi's raucous, show-stealing turn as Ygor, the elder Frankenstein's broken-necked assistant, is the very definition of deranged. Ygor takes advantage of Frankenstein's naivete for his own ends. Wolf wishes to redeem his father's work while Ygor secretly wishes to use the Monster as an instrument of revenge against the eight jurors that hanged him. Once Wolf makes the Monster well again, Ygor controls him with a flute-like instrument--sending the creature out into the night to kill. The true monster of the film, Ygor is calculatingly evil. Frankenstein was misguided; Ygor is an outright murderer.

Arguably Lugosi's best performance, he would reprise the part of Ygor in the next sequel, THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN (1942). The actor would instill the same ferocity into his role even if the budget and production values can't measure up. On a related note, the character of 'Igor' is often associated with FRANKENSTEIN (1931) despite that film's unhinged hunchback bearing the name of Fritz (as played to perfection by Dwight Frye). SON is the first movie to utilize such a character bearing that name.

Boris Karloff underneath Jack Pierce's incredible makeup is synonymous with both the FRANKENSTEIN series and the character of the Monster in general. He returns for the third and last time as the mad scientist's stitched-together experiment. Sadly, he's not on-camera that much; and what footage there is, it's basically a run-through of his reactions from the previous entries with little of the pathos of the previous two films. Karloff's noted tiring of the role would mirror that of Christopher Lee's disdain for donning the Dracula cape "just one more time" in a series of Hammer sequels that gave him little to do but snarl at the camera.

Master monster maker Jack Pierce's Franken-appliance is as good as before, but it's his Ygor makeup that both repulses and horrifies. With his bent, broken neck, rotted teeth and wild eyes, you can almost smell the stench of death oozing from Lugosi's lips whenever he speaks his lines. Without the astonishing makeup of Jack Pierce, SON OF FRANKENSTEIN--and a great many other Uni-horrors--wouldn't be the influential classics they remain seventy years later. 

He wasn't as venerable as Karloff and Lugosi, but Lionel Atwill was equally adept in horror film roles having done his fair share of them in the 1930s and 1940s. Among the notable titles on his resume include DOCTOR X (1932), THE MYSTERY IN THE WAX MUSEUM (1932), MURDERS IN THE ZOO (1933), MARK OF THE VAMPIRE (1935), MAN-MADE MONSTER (1941), THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN (1942), FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN (1943), HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1944) and HOUSE OF DRACULA (1945).

Well known for portraying villains (made even more pronounced by his deep voice), Atwill excelled in good guy roles like SON's Inspector Krogh--the one=armed policeman who lost his arm to the Monster as a young boy. The part of Krogh was among the spoofery found in Mel Brooks's classic comedy YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN (1974).

Rowland V. Lee directed both Basil and Boris again in the same year's TOWER OF LONDON--a heavily horror tinted historical drama about Richard III. Rathbone is the hunchbacked Richard while Karloff is his bald-headed decapitator. Vincent Price is among Richard's victims--drowned in a vat of wine. Price got his turn at playing Richard of Gloucester in Corman's own B/W remake in 1962. The horror of his version was even more palpable; even if the monochrome photography was an odd fit nestled between Corman's color adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe's works.

While the famous line of "It's alive!" is uttered once more, the sound of "It's a hit!" was heard in theaters across the country. SON OF FRANKENSTEIN (1939) was a huge success--ensuring the celluloid lineage didn't stop with the SON. And while the level of quality would deteriorate, the entertainment value would live on in four more sequels.

Originally, SON OF FRANKENSTEIN was to have been shot in color, but the decision to film in more moody B/W won out, although some test color footage with Karloff as the monster was shot. The B/W photography is among the best of any horror film with impeccable lighting and shadows draped over virtually every sequence. The influence of German Expressionist cinema is evidenced throughout as well. Lee's film is a veritable painting come to life; a beautiful, macabre picture in motion.

A gamble that paid off (even if they didn't roll the dice again in terms of budget), Universal captured lightning in a bottle with this third Frank flick. Brilliance abounds in this, the longest of the series (approximately 100 minutes in length). One of Universal's best in their long line of Golden Age Horror Pictures. It's not only alive, but the horror lives on all these years later.

This review is representative of Universal's Frankenstein Double Feature DVD paired with THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN (1942). Specs and Extras: Full-frame presentation; Production notes; cast and crew information; running time: 01:39:20

Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy (1955) review

ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE MUMMY 1955

Bud Abbott (Himself), Lou Costello (Himself), Marie Windsor (Madam Rontru), Michael Ansara (Charlie), Dan Seymour (Josef), Richard Deacon (Semu), Kurt Katch (Dr. Gustav Zoomer), Richard Karlan (Hetsut), Mel Welles (Iben), Eddie Parker (Klaris, the Mummy)

Directed by Charles Lamont

The Short Version: Egypt trembles... with laughter in this, the last of the A&C monster gatherings and the last film the duo did for Universal Studios. There's less horror and more physical comedy, with the last 20 minutes being a Pharaoh's treasure full of silliness and not a single Tana Leaf in sight. The gags are frequent and occasionally familiar--the latter of which are, at this point, tired and moldy like the mummy in the movie; and yet many of the best comic moments are those that don't involve the beat of cloth wrapped feet. Cursed with terrible mummy effects, the inexplicable cameo by a giant lizard would make Bert I. Gordon proud. Compared with the previous monster mashes, this is the weakest of the lot.

Dr. Zoomer has discovered the tomb of Klaris the Mummy, an evil Prince and the eternal guardian of the Princess Ara. The doctor is interested in the Mummy's sarcophagus, said to contain a sacred medallion that leads to a vast treasure. Zoomer is looking for two good men to escort the mummy back to the United States. But before he can do that, he's murdered by two henchmen of the High Priest Semu. Stranded in Egypt, Abbott and Costello hear about the job but arrive too late; not only do they end up framed for the doctor's murder, but they unwittingly gain possession of the cursed medallion. Meantime, other interested parties want to get their hands on it while the mummy Klaris wants to get his hands on Bud and Lou.

The fourth and final of A&C's horror adventures has several genuinely hysterical moments, even if the film as a whole is barely average, cursed with a doomed script rife with plot holes. Many of the gags are recycled from the previous movies and seem lazy at their inclusion this late in the series. Ironically, the best comic moments are those that don't involve the Egyptian shambler at all. Some of these include Lou, curious to hear his Tough Guy tonality, imitating a gangster voice into a tape recorder. Another is a variation of the duo's famous 'Who's On First?' routine, but substituting baseball with digging tools. Naturally there's lots of physical comedy, too--many of these scenes come complete with the requisite camera mugging.

 
Abbott gets a bit more to do this go round as opposed to just being the joke to Lou's punchline. Lou might have the floor for most of the show, but Bud gets to cramp his style a few times. Towards the end, there's a multitude of mummies--one of Madam Rontru's henchmen (Michael Ansara) puts on a makeshift mummy suit and Abbott decides to take a stab at ancient Egyptian fashion sense by wrapping himself in cloth. Bud gets one of the better gags of the picture; saved for the last sequence, Bud has an idea on how to keep the memory of Klaris alive forever--his plan, to bring Capitalism to Cairo via the Kafe Klaris, a nightclub replete with live entertainment and a five-man bandaged band that plays all your Egyptian favorites. Speaking of bandages....

If all the shenanigans in the middle weren't as entertaining as they are, you might be wondering just where in the hell the mummy is during all this. John Grant's script is arguably the poorest of the four films in how the monster is utilized. Lamont's movie is actually much funnier without him. Aside from a brief appearance near the beginning, the mummy doesn't rise again till the last 20 minutes. Curiously, the gauze-wrapped garroter seen here (instead of Kharis, this one's Klaris) is revived via an unexplained serum. He can take bullets like any of his withered brethren, but for whatever reason, he's easily knocked unconscious by a wack on the noggin! 

The special effects are the least of the four films, with the mummy being the worse for wear. Stuntman Eddie Parker isn't tightly wrapped, instead wearing a suit that creases and bends when he walks. You can see what looks like shoes on his feet! It's a far cry from the intricate Jack Pierce makeup of the 30s and 40s. Parker had a thing for bandages having doubled the moldy neck-wringers in Universal's previous mummy movies. Had ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948) had anything less than the quality of its inspirational antecedents, it likely wouldn't be the sincere classic it remains today.

 
To bolster what little atmosphere of horror there is, John Grant's script finds room for moldy corpses, dangling skeletons, animated bats and a brief, hair-brained scene where a giant lizard, seemingly wandering in off the set of a Bert I. Gordon movie, gives Lou a scare in the tunnels around the mummy's crypt! Aside from that, there's a bit of murderous mayhem near the beginning that matches the mixture of chills and laughs of the best this quartet has to offer; in it, Lou keeps trying to alert Abbott that he's seen a dead body, but it takes a lot of running around before Bud ever finally sees the corpse, and even then, he's sabotaged by his own partner when he asks him to take a picture so the authorities will believe them. Instead, the way Lou takes the pic, it is assumed they have in fact, committed the murder! Unfortunately, the disappearance of this plot element later in the film is yet another curse placed on this fourth, and last Uni-monster match-up with Abbott and Costello.

 
But prior to that, the movie opens with an eye-catching stunt display as Bud and Lou enjoy a stage show with men and women performing an acrobatic brawl with flips, rolls and falls through balsa wood props. The whole film feels like a variety show, actually. There's a few scenes that feature singing and dancing intermixed with the comedy. If only the sequences with the mummy rose to the occasion with the same level of precision. 

Going back to the cast, despite listing Bud Abbott as Pete Patterson and Lou Costello as Freddie Franklin in the end credits, they are playing themselves. This is the one time in the Uni-comedy-horror quartet where you hear Lou yell out his famous catch-phrase, the 'Bat Signal' of the A&C comedy routine, "Heeeyyyy, Abboooott!"

Richard Deacon was far more believable as Lumpy's dad on LEAVE IT TO BEAVER (1957-1963) than he was as an Egyptian High Priest, but it goes with the goofy territory the plot hole-punched script traverses. He'd done a smattering of background roles in a handful of SciFi pictures around this time with titles like THEM! (1954) and THIS ISLAND EARTH (1955).

Elsewhere there's everybody's favorite Klingon, Michael Ansara (above pic in middle) as one of the Egyptian toughs after the medallion. Ansara has an incredible resume of character roles. One of the most famous being the role of Kang, the merciless Klingon adversary from the season three episode of STAR TREK (1966-1969), 'Day of the Dove'. He's acted in lots of genre-specific roles including two for the late William Girdler, DAY OF THE ANIMALS (1977) and THE MANITOU (1978). One of the man's most mesmerizing portrayals was as a futuristic killing machine in the season two episode of THE OUTER LIMITS (1963-1965) titled 'Soldier'.

ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE MUMMY (1955) doesn't seem to aspire to much more than entertaining its audience, no matter how average or conventional the set-ups are. It's only slightly more entertaining than the least horror-infused entry, ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE INVISIBLE MAN (1951); nor is it anywhere close to the dark, serio-comic level of ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE (1953). For what it's worth, Bud and Lou's mummy meeting may desecrate the tomb of all the dessicated shamblers before it, it still remains a fun way to close out the string of mad monster parties starring the famous comedy duo.

This review is representative of the ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE MONSTERS Universal 2 disc set, sharing a disc with ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE. Specs and Extras: 1.33:1; theatrical trailer.

Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953) review

ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE 1953

Bud Abbott (Slim), Lou Costello (Tubby), Boris Karloff (Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde), Craig Stevens (Bruce Adams), Helen Westcott (Vicky Edwards), Reginald Denny (Inspector), John Dierkes (Batley)

Directed by Charles Lamont

The Short Version: The third of the A&C comedy horror monster-pieces gets the scare-tactics back on track with this entry--on par with the spook spoof classic, ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN. Prat falls and visual gags are frequent, yet the film adds some unusually dark moments to the formula. Action comes as frequent and fast as the numerous time-lapse dissolve transformations of various actors into both mice and monsters. Karloff puts this one high atop the pestilent pedestal with a risibly evil interpretation as the diabolical Dr. Jekyll and his monstrous other half, Mr. Hyde. Recommended fusion of fun and frights.

Slim and Tubby, two American police officers training at London's Scotland Yard, get caught up in a mob brawl after a clutch of men scoff at a women's suffrage gathering. Bested by the fiery females, the two Keystone Cops lose their jobs and figure the best way to get them back is to catch the mysterious monster committing murders late-night on London's fog-enshrouded streets. Meanwhile, Dr. Jekyll conducts experiments--on himself--to curb man's dark side, but instead transforms into an ape-like creature who kills those who oppose him. Jekyll likewise intends to kill the ex-bumbling bobbies Slim and Tubby (now just bumbling), and a snooping reporter who has eyes on the lady the mad doctor obsesses over.

The third entry, and second best of the A&C horror-comedy combos increases its value by adding Boris Karloff among its cast. Basically a chase picture, MEET DR. JEKYLL has enough entertainment style high voltage to keep Dr. Frankenstein in business for days. Returning to the creepshow comedy routine of ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948), this third monster mash avoids the predominantly humorous tone of the previous movie, ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE INVISIBLE MAN (1951), opting to crank up the horror. Charles Lamont's movie is noticeably darker than the above-mentioned MEET FRANKENSTEIN from director Charles T. Barton--people die in this one. Much like the combined efforts of Chaney, Strange and Lugosi, Karloff brings a lot of prestige because of his genre affiliations.

Last seen around A&C Land in the monster-less ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE KILLER, BORIS KARLOFF (1949), the famed, and former Frankenstein Monster had retired from such roles. With no desire to spoof himself as the lumbering patchwork creation in the timeless classic ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN, it would seem he had no real interest in playing Jekyll and Hyde, either. But he did, and he does a ghoulish job of being evil as the two-faced scientist.

Expectedly, Karloff makes a delightfully devilish Dr. Jekyll who is pure sadist right from the start--fully aware of his murderous tendencies (as in Stephenson's original novella). He claims a desire to quell the beast within man, but he seems more interested in releasing it while satisfying a desire of another sort. His lustful intentions towards the much younger Helen are made disturbing when he reveals, "You can't marry him, you belong to me. I've loved you ever since you were a child. Every plan I ever made I made for you!" After saying all this, when Jekyll transforms and tries to carry her off to the man-cave, the bestiality subtext is profound. Curiously, nearly all the scenes with Mr. Hyde are played for laughs while everything with Karloff is played serious. And Mr. Hyde is extremely spry, maneuvering in, around, and on top of various buildings when he's onscreen.

Naturally, it's not Karloff doing all the climbing and rooftop sprinting during the film's handful of chases; all that kinetic activity was handled by (uncredited) Uni-horror stuntman, Eddie Parker. Karloff does participate in all the scenes where he changes into his even more evil alter ego. Whatever his misgivings for doing A&C movies, Karloff's participation in two of these productions only enhances them, this one especially.

Another area of the script that takes things into a darker realm of subtext is the means by which Dr. Jekyll administers his formula; instead of drinking the serum he injects it into his bloodstream. Treating his all too frequent altered state of conscious as a drug addiction was possibly not intended, but it's not hard to draw that conclusion. Okay, now to lighten things up... 

Charles Lamont's film echoes the feel of Barton's MEET FRANKENSTEIN, revisiting some of that picture's set pieces. For instance, the scene in the wax museum is a more elaborate do-over of the same one in Barton's movie; there's even a waxen model of both Frank's Monster and Dracula! The former briefly "comes to life" after a frayed electric cable hits it. With no Bud Abbott around, Lou goes it alone, being spooked by a floating head and chased by Mr. Hyde right into an Iron Maiden. It's possibly the best sequence of an already impressive lot. 

Some of the jokes get repetitive, such as all the cartoon-style sneaking up behind the oblivious Lou Costello. He gets stalked multiple times by Mr. Hyde and Batley, played by John Dierkes (Dr. Chapman in THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD [1951]). You won't find quite as much comedic wordplay as in the previous movies so it's up to the visual gags to keep the pace flowing. As a result, there's lots of action and the movie never lags. There's even a big, battle of the sexes brawl that kicks things off.

Additionally, the script includes a number of transformations; some of which involve Lou Costello turning into his own version of Mr. Hyde and even a mouse! During the last 20 minutes the hijinks kick into serious overdrive with many scenes of Jekyllian style mistaken identity. There are two Hyde's running around wrecking all sorts of hilarious havoc in broad daylight. By the end, there's a whole heap o' Hyde's to contend with. 

The Hyde masks recall the Fredric March film version from 1931, and the design looks forward to John Chambers work on PLANET OF THE APES (1968). Both the Hyde and mouse masks were sculpted by Chris Mueller. The Hyde disguise turned up again in Universal's TARANTULA (1955). 

 
Without Karloff, it's doubtful MEET DR. JEKYLL would be as entertaining as it is. His scenes are played even more serious than those of the multi-monster cast in ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948). A fairly thin, if seamless plot is padded with several cartoon's worth of elaborate chases. Just a small notch below that aforementioned 1948 classic, Boris and the Boys see right through 1951's Invisible Man entry; and now it's on to Egypt for the fourth and final film of the A&C monster match-ups....

This review is representative of the Universal's ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE MONSTERS 2 disc set paired with ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE MUMMY. Specs and Extras: 1.33:1; audio commentary with film historians Tom Weaver and Richard Scrivani; theatrical trailer.