Customer Reviews

The Ghost of Frankenstein / Son of Frankenstein (Universal Studios Frankenstein Double Feature)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have owned these films on video for years and occasionally pop them in the VCR to revisit my childhood. I grew up watching these movies and consider them a staple of my childhood. It is nice to own them on DVD because, as we all know, videos can get worn over the years. The picture clarity on the double-feature DVD is a giant step above the video renditions. A lot of the junk on the screen in the video version of Son is cleaned up, but the picture is darker. Overall, the transitions are very good, with the exception of a slight cut in Son. In the part when Basil Rathbone learns from his young son that he was visited by a "giant," the good doctor runs to his laboratory looking for evidence of the monster or Ygor. He goes to the tomb where his father and grandfather are buried during his search and finds nothing. The slight cut occurs when Rathbone climbs up a ladder from the tomb back into the lab. There's not much missing, we just don't see him crawlng through the floor. In the video version, we do see Rathbone climbing onto the floor. I know this is a minor concern, but it doesn't make sense why this is missing when it exists on the video version. Asfor Ghost, it has never looked better.There's something special about the Universal horror films of the 30s and 40s that I believe will endure throughout the 21st century. Regarding these two gems, Bela Lugosi's role as Ygor is unquestionably his finest performance, even more so than Dracula. He dominates both films. I'm certain that if Universal would have kept his dialogue in Frankensten Meets the Wolfman, his performance would have dominated that film, as well. I plan on getting that film on DVD - which is coupled with House of Frankenstein - but I understand it doesn't contain any new scenes where the monster speaks. For those who don't understand what I'm talking about, at the end of The Ghost of Frankenstein, Ygor's brain is placed inside the skull of the monster, played by Lon Chaney Jr., where it continues to function - dangerously. In fact, the monster speaks with Ygor's voice. In the sequel to that film, Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman, Lugosi plays the monster, but comes off as a moronic goon. The reason for this is because Universal heads found the monster's lines unacceptable and had them removed from the film before it was released. During a sneak preview of the film, it is said audience members laughed so much when the monster began relating his story to Lon Chaney it forced the studio's upper brass to cut the dialogue all together. The deleted dialogue and some scenes were never restored to the film. I wonder if the scenes still exist? If they do, it's curious why Universal has never presented a restored version of the film. I bet it would be spectacular. Universal has restored the original Frankenstein film with some deleted dialogue and the controversial scene where the monster throws the little girl into the lake, so I don't think it's outside the realm of possibilities to restore Lugosi's lost footage to Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman.

Little need be said here to convince you to buy this disc if you grew up watching these on TV horror shows like I did (and assembling the model kits, buying the mags, they were called mags then, etc.) If you're new to the Universal classics all I can say is what are you waiting for? Universal is thankfully giving us the lesser titles as two-fors, so it really makes buying them just about irresistable. OK, so Son and Ghost are on the downhill slide after the peak of Bride, but still far more entertaining and well-made (particularly Son) than what typically passes for a movie now. And if you're a fan of Young Frankenstein, Son is an absolute must-see. You can find out all about the movies a million other places so I'm talking about the DVD.
First, the good news. The prints look spectacular, even better than those used on the previous VHS editions. I don't know if it's just the increased resolution of DVD or if they did some additional work on the prints, but they are so much richer and detailed than the pre-records it's just stunning. Not to mention that my VHS copy of Son in particular is riddled with dropouts.
The extras are minimal, including chapter stops, talent bios, and a trailer for Ghost (Son's trailer is mysteriously missing). What annoys me about this DVD though, and keeps it from a five star review, is the irritating and self-serving way Universal has structured the disc. What I mean is that, besides the obligatory WARNING screen that we're now all forced to sit through when we pop in a DVD, on this disc when you press the onscreen "Play the Movie" button, you're also forced to sit through over a minute of Universal's marketing twaddle before the actual movie starts. OK, you can click through it to the opening titles or you can go straight into the movie from the chapter stops screen (an easy enough workaround once you figure it out) but it's still mildly annoying how they constantly try to shove this marketing crap in your face. Don't let this minor gripe stop you from buying, it's just a drag 'cause this disc would be near-perfect otherwise. I am waiting expectantly for all the rest of them. Monolith Monsters on DVD! I can dream can't I?

I have been a fan of the Universal monsters for as long as I can remember. These movies give us a chance to see some of the greatest actors of the Universal horror era (e.g., Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr., Lionel Atwill, Sir Cedwick Harwicke to mention a few.)

In the Son of Frankenstein (sequel to Bride of Frankenstein), we see Karloff's last performance as the Frankenstein monster but as in Frankenstein and Bride of, he gives a great performance. I wonder how the series may have been if Karloff had continued in the monster's role. Basil Rathbone is the son trying to vindicate his father's name, but Ygor, played by Bela Lugosi, has other plans.

In the Ghost of Frankenstein (sequel to Son of Frankenstein), Lon Chaney Jr. plays the Frankenstein monster and Bela Lugosi again plays Ygor and both are superb in their roles. It picks up where the Frankenstein monster is discovered in the sulphur pits. Sir Cedric Harwicke wants to dissect the monster but is convince by his father's ghost to continue with his work. The sequel is Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man.

It is fanatic to have these movies on DVD.

Try watching these movies on a late stormy night.

"Son of Frankenstein" is the better of these two sequels by far. Although the level of storytelling has begun a definite descent from the heights of "Bride," the production is still buoyed by excellent performances by distinguished Universal stalwarts of the period. Karloff, in his last appearance as the Monster, is given shamefully little to do. Bela Lugosi, however, excels as the cheerfully wicked Ygor. Basil Rathbone adds a touch of class as Wolf von Frankenstein, and Lionel Atwill steals scenes as Inspector Krogh, whose encounter with the Monster as a child left him with an artificial arm.

"Ghost of Frankenstein" totally coasts on the strength of the Frankenstein magic. If you're like me, you'll be entertained just because it's an old Universal Frankenstein movie, but it really does very little on its own to deliver that entertainment value. Lugosi is still great as Ygor, but Lon Chaney, Jr. projects none of the personality and pathos of Karloff--although, admittedly, the screenplay gives him little opportunity to do so. The plot is too busy, full of dull characters running in and out of secret passages with torches and ending with the obligatory explosion while the obligatory boring young lovers sigh in each others arms.

"SON OF FRANKENSTEIN" Last one for Boris Karloff as The Monster and as good as it gets!! Basil is great, the little boy wont annoy you , the scenes are works of art. The story is great..c'mon do you need any coaxing to own "SON OF FRANKENSTEIN"? GET IT!

Like most sequels Son of Frankenstein stands or falls based on the script and direction. Luckily both are top flight in Rowland Lee's third installment of the Monster's saga. Karloff's last performance as the Monster isn't as powerful as Bride (he's given less to do here). Bela Lugosi manages to chew the scenery as Igor and make up for Karloff's dimished role in the film. Basil Rathbone makes a jittery, nervous Frankenstein carefully carrying on the tradition of actor Colin Clive.

Although the film lacks much of James Whale's wit, the stunning photography, lighting and sets help to offset the general straight forward approach of the film. Although a bit weaker than the previous film (Bride remains the benchmark for all Universal horror films), Son of Frankenstein has its moments and stands as the last strong Universal horror in this series.

Oh, and I love the wool pullover the Monster wears. Didn't catch on as a fashion trend.

Ghost of Frankenstein is little more than a pale imitation of Son. It has its moments. Contrary to the amazon.com review, Lon Chaney,Jnr. gives a good performance for as the Monster; he just isn't given much to do. By this fourth installment the Monster became little more than a prop grafted onto the plot with all the skill of Dr. Frakenstein himself.

The Monster mysterious returns to his old clothes and pre-Bride ways. Lugosi gives another larger than life performance. Lionell Atwill deserves kudos for an interesting performance.

The absurd but fun twist ending made a fitting end to this series. Yes, I know that there were four more films in the series. There shouldn't have been.

My view of these two films runs counter to that of many Frankenstein fans. I found Son of Frankenstein rather disappointing, while Ghost of Frankenstein actually rather impressed me. I wasn't that impressed with Bela Lugosi's character Ygor in the first film but warmed up to him quite well in the second (this is not to say Bela Lugosi did not do a superb job in both - I just didn't think the character of Ygor worthy of him in Son of Frankenstein). I also found the performance of Lon Chaney, Jr., as the monster in Ghost of Frankenstein more engaging than that of Boris Karloff in Son of Frankenstein - while Karloff will always be the definitive monster, his character really had little opportunity to shine in the last of his three Frankenstein films.

Son of Frankenstein has its charms, but what I see here is the beginning of the stereotypical monster. Sure, he has a couple of somewhat emotional scenes, but all such emotions are turned into hatred and manifested in a desire to kill and destroy. This film does have a saving grace, however, in the form of Lionel Atwill, who steals the show time and again as Inspector Krogh. Basil Rathbone starts out quite swimmingly as Baron Wolf von Frankenstein, but the mania that overtakes him in the second half of the film just doesn't ring true to me, especially when the man's sudden desire to justify his father's work takes precedence over the safety of his own wife and child.

Some twenty-five years have passed since the events chronicled in Bride of Frankenstein. Baron Wolf von Frankenstein (Rathbone) has now returned to the family castle, with wife and little boy in tow. The old castle isn't exactly empty, for Ygor of broken-neck fame (Lugosi) has made a place for himself there. The son can hardly wait to see his father's old laboratory - and whom should we find in an underground crypt but the monster (Karloff) himself. He's not quite himself these days, but young Frankenstein immediately sets to work reviving the monster in an attempt to vindicate the family name. Unfortunately, Ygor commands the monster to do his own bidding. When a number of individuals are found murdered in the village, suspicion naturally falls on the house of Frankenstein. Enter Inspector Krogh (Atwill) and his ridiculous yet entertaining artificial arm; without this fascinating character, Son of Frankenstein would be a wholly forgettable movie.

With no lines and few chances to express any real emotion other than murderous fury, Karloff's monster is a shadow of its former self. Even the makeup job appears second-rate and less than imposing. Frankly, I'm really unsure what so many others see in this movie. All it did was turn Frankenstein into a big dumb monster that would be forced to stumble and bumble its way through one film after another for decades to come. It's impossible to feel much sympathy for him in this context, and I eventually found myself hoping they would just kill the monster already and get the film over and done with.

Much to my surprise, I actually enjoyed Ghost of Frankenstein much more than Son of Frankenstein. There's no denying that Lon Chaney, Jr., who took up the role of the creature, pales in comparison with Boris Karloff, but I actually found the monster more sympathetic this time around. You won't see the type of pathos and innocence that Karloff brought to the role, yet Chaney subtly shows a human side to the creature on a couple of occasions (and, to be frank, the script didn't allow him much room to maneuver).

This film could easily have been called The Other Son of Frankenstein. Ygor (Bela Lugosi) despite being shot numerous times by Baron Wolf von Frankenstein in the last film, still lives; in the course of fleeing the villager-besieged castle, he finds his good, monstrous friend (whom we last saw sinking into a pit of boiling sulphur) and decides to take him to the other Frankenstein brother. Ludwig (Sir Cedric Hardwicke), is none too happy to see Ygor or to deal with the creature he believed had finally been killed, yet rather than destroy the monster, he decides to give him a new brain. In this way, he believes, he can resurrect his father's shattered reputation and renew the good name of Frankenstein.

I must say I loved Hardwicke's performance. Ludwig is a serious fellow who never slips into the madness that claimed his father and brother; his desires to substantiate his infamous father's work and to restore the family name are the driving forces behind his decision-making. Everything might have turned out all right, too, if it weren't for Ludwig's assistant Dr. Bohmer (Atwill). It is in the pool of Bohmer's bitterness that the ever-resourceful Ygor finds the leverage he needs to pull one over on Dr. Frankenstein. Ygor, you see, wants his own brain transplanted into the creature's body.

In Ghost of Frankenstein, I found Ygor to be a much more engaging fellow. I still don't believe it is one of Lugosi's better characters, but clearly Lugosi contributed a great deal to the overall success of this movie. Is Ghost of Frankenstein as impressive a film as the first two Frankenstein films? Hardly. It is, though - at least in my opinion - a much better film than Son of Frankenstein. Chaney turns in a very solid performance as the creature; while not in the same league as Boris Karloff, he deserves much credit for his contributions to the evolving Frankenstein storyline.

While "Frankenstein" and "Bride of Frankenstein" defined and redefined the American horror genre for all time to come, "Son of Frankenstein" and "The Ghost of Frankenstein" fall far shorter, at best merely keeping the franchise going and, at worst, driving a stake through it's heart and bringing the series to a screeching halt.

"SON OF FRANKENSTEIN" was clearly the recipient of a surprising amount of effort on the part of the studio, but that effort didn't get it very far. In addition to the legendary Boris Karloff, Universal brought screen legend Basal Rathbone and Universal's own legend, Bela Lugosi (Dracula) to the project. Additionally, the director seemed to have a clear artistic vision for the film, utilizing a mixture of Modernism and Expressionism in his sets, lighting, and over-all shot composition, apparently attempting to depict the three disconnected worlds of the new Baron Frankenstein (modern, scientific, detached), the villagers (medieval, worn, cramped), and the old Laboratory (chaotic, asymmetrical, unnatural). Unfortunately, the script fails to deliver, giving us characters with fantastically intriguing potential, but ultimately no internal conflict nor character development. Nothing is ever truly at stake in this film beyond the lives of a few villagers and the freedom of Dr. Frankenstein. Whereas the first two Frankenstein films were intense character studies (one could even argue that, like the Incredible Hulk, Dr. Frankenstein and the monster represented conflicting aspects of the same person), there is absolutely no depth of character to be found in this film. Even Karloff, who gets thrown a bone with two short, emotional scenes that are almost entirely irrelevant to the plot, does not get to act until almost an hour into the film, and spends most of the remaining time as a thoughtless henchman serving another villain. Karloff, in his final appearance as the Frankenstein monster, is relegated to supporting cast in a franchise that should have been centered entirely upon his character. This is a decent film for a lazy Sunday viewing, but I would hesitate to call it memorable or even a worthwhile inclusion in this franchise. Side note: Mel Brooks' "Young Frankenstein" is based almost entirely upon this installment in the Frankenstein series.

"GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN" is, undoubtedly, the weakest installment in the Frankenstein series. By this point, the premise has completely lost its way, borrowing heavily from the previous film and practically ignoring the heavy themes, astonishing artistic value and, above all else, humanity contained in the first two films. In this uninspired tale, the Frankenstein monster, still befriended by Ygor (from the last film) has become far more casual about killing and terrorizing than in previous installments. Whereas the creature once sought understanding and only met violence with violence, he now kills whenever someone puts a hand on his shoulder or happens to be in his way. Perhaps this is a logical progression after so many disastrous encounters with people over the years, but director Eric Kenton fails to lend any sense of tragedy to this fact, treating the monster as a cold, viscous killer whose only redemptive quality is that he befriends children. Gone is any sense of the overwhelmingly earthy protagonist from the first two films. He truly has become little more than a monster. Perhaps I could have forgiven the film if that had been all the damage it dealt to such a beloved character, but it goes much further. By the end of the film (no spoilers here), the Frankenstein monster has been utterly ruined beyond salvation, surgically changed into a far more generic, dramatically void antagonist that was never going to earn another sequel. An otherwise brilliant franchise was stopped dead by one truly tasteless installment.

There's something to be said for the appeal of B horror films, but these are not B films. They were backed with decent Hollywood budgets and featured talented A list stars. That, as well as the fact that they follow two of the greatest horror films ever made, makes this volume an honest tragedy, entirely lacking the enjoyable recklessness of silly B films that never had a chance to begin with.

I just recently watched this movie for the first time and was blown away by how good it was! I am a horror / Universal fan, but I also appreciate good movies. When Ygor is describing the plot to the monster (and of course really to the audience) it sounds ridiculous. However, with the brillance of Bela Lugosi as Ygor, it makes sense and is not just sequel driven. To me it shows how twisted and somewhat evil the Frankenstein family really is. Although Bela is by far the best thing in this movie, Lon Chaney Jr does some proper underacting and is pretty convincing as a monster. There are plenty of scenes with Frankenstein's monster in it, unlike some movies that hide away the creature or killer. The few special effects are pretty decent and don't detract at all from the movie's story. Looking at the fact that this is considered one of the lesser of the Frankenstein films, it is miles above what today would be considered the best of the horror movies.

OK, We all know that The Frankenstein series went from classic to campy though 7 Frankenstein films(I count Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein). Son of Frankenstein is a excellent film, but it could have been edited better. It's the longest in the series by far, clocking in at around a 100 minutes. Karloff is great, the sets are fantastic and it could have been a fitting end to the series. I'm glad it wasn't because I loved all of these films as a kid and they still hold fond memories for me. Ghost of Frankenstein is the first of the cheap sequels. Chaney is stiff as the monster, but the sets are still looking good. It's a lot of fun and sets up the sequel to both "The Wolfman" and "The Ghost of Frankenstein". Number 5 in the series "Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman" Who can resist that title! The DVD transfers are very good for both these films. Look for all six of the Legacy sets, they are worth every penny and you can relive the good old days.