From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Son of Frankenstein
Son of Frankenstein movie poster
Directed by	Rowland V. Lee
Produced by	Rowland V. Lee
Written by	Mary Shelley (novel) Wyllis Cooper (screenplay)
Starring	Basil Rathbone Boris Karloff Béla Lugosi Lionel Atwill
Music by	Frank Skinner
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date(s)	January 13, 1939
Running time	99 min
Language	English
Preceded by	Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Followed by	The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

Son of Frankenstein is the third film in Universal Studios' Frankenstein series and the last to feature Boris Karloff as the Monster.

The film was a reaction to the incredibly popular re-releases of Dracula and Frankenstein as a double-feature in the late 1930s. Universal's declining horror output was revitalized with the enormously successful Son, and the studio enjoyed two more decades of popular monster movies.

The story begins with Wolf Frankenstein (Basil Rathbone), the son of the monster's creator, relocating his wife and young son to the Frankenstein estate in the village that bears the family name. Wolf's dedication to recasting his father's reputation is strengthened to obsession by what he believes to be unfounded hostility from the townspeople.

With the help of demented blacksmith Ygor (Béla Lugosi), Wolf finds the monster's ailing carcass, and he imagines rehabilitation of the creature to be the perfect means by which to restore the family's honor. When he heals the monster (Boris Karloff), but only to consciousness, Wolf discovers that its horrible legend is a reality, but his residual denial prolongs the search for the monster and its eventual destruction. By the film's end, Wolf has realized his role as a father is more important than his role as a son.

• Basil Rathbone as Baron Wolf von Frankenstein
• Boris Karloff as The Monster
• Béla Lugosi as Ygor
• Lionel Atwill as Inspector Krogh
• Josephine Hutchinson as Elsa von Frankenstein
• Donnie Dunagan as Peter von Frankenstein
• Emma Dunn as Amelia
• Edgar Norton as Benson
• Perry Ivins as Fritz
• Lawrence Grant as Burgomaster
• Lionel Belmore as Lang
• Michael Mark as Ewald Neumüller
• Caroline Frances Cooke as Mrs. Neumüller
• Gustav von Seyffertitz as Burgher
• Lorimer Johnson as Burgher
• Tom Ricketts as Burgher

• Dwight Frye as Villager
• Ward Bond as Gendarme at Gate
• Ed Cassidy as Webber (burgher)
• Russ Powell as Webber (burgher)
• Harry Cording as Bearded gendarme
• Clarence Wilson as Dr. Berger
• Betty Chay as Extra
• Jack Harris as Extra
• Bud Wolfe as Extra

After director James Whale had departed from Universal Films, Univeral selected Rowland V. Lee to direct Son. Lee's film explores dramatic themes: family, security, isolation, responsibility, and father-son relationships.

Son of Frankenstein significantly alters the monster's evolving persona from the previous film, Bride of Frankenstein. Gone are his alert intelligence and speech capabilities; in Son, the monster is duller and mute, which is his basic image through not only the rest of the series but also in the lasting public perception of the character. The monsters brain was obviously damaged in the explosion from the end of the last film, and has reverted into a childlike state. His immensly fond of Ygor, and finds faith only in him. Allthough he lost his ability to talk, he obviously remembers his creater, as he sees the resemblance of Henry Frankenstein in Wolf. The films most touching scene is when the monster finds Ygor dead, trying to wake him up, and when he understands that his only friend is gone, he screams out in sorrow.

In the next film, Ghost of Frankenstein, Lon Chaney, Jr.'s performance solidifies the monster's reputation as a frowning, robotic brute.

Igor appears in the 2003 film Van Helsing. There, he betrays Dr. Frankenstein for Count Dracula, saying he pays better.

Igor appears in Inspector Gadget, during the "Minions Anonymous" meeting.