Frankenstein kehrt wieder

Here we go again. In the grand tradition of Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), and Son of Frankenstein (1939) comes the fourth in Universal's series. This time around, the crazy doctor of the title is Ludwig (Sir Cedric Hardwicke), the brother of Basil Rathbone's character in Son of and the (other) son of Colin Clive's original Dr. Frankenstein in the original and Bride of movies.

A generation or so has passed since the villagers last destroyed the Monster in a sulphur pit. But, of course, he's only mostly dead, and his old pal Ygor (Bela Lugosi) holds vigil outside the old Frankenstein castle, hoping the creature will revive himself. At the same time, angry villagers are mobilizing; they decide that there's a Frankenstein curse that's prohibiting their crops from growing and businesses outside of town (named after Frankenstein, for some reason) are refusing to deal with them. The curse must be broken, so off the villagers go to burn down the castle. The explosion indeed wakes up the preserved Monster, and he's reunited with his old pal Ygor.

There's another Frankenstein a village or so away, as the crow flies - Ludwig. Ludwig, who runs an insane asylum out of his house, also works for the police; when the Monster is captured and put on trial, the good doctor is called in to deal with the situation. But Ygor, he's a cunning sort, and he persuades Ludwig to get the Monster remanded to Ludwig's own castle so that Dr. Frankenstein can work on giving the Monster a nice, new brain. (There appears to be some brain damage for the big guy; he can't speak, as he could - haltingly - in previous films, and simple logic isn't his forte.) Ygor, he of the broken neck from being ineptly hanged, wants his own brain to be placed in the creature's cranium.

The setting is as eerie and stark as in other Universal monster movies. Hidden rooms, long staircases, vaulted ceilings - it's a realtor's dream. Ludwig also has a grown daughter Elsa (Evelyn Ankers, another Universal staple), who's probably named after Elsa Lanchester, who starred in Bride of Frankenstein. Elsa's boyfriend is Erik Ernst (Ralph Bellamy), who's stuck between the mob rule of the town and his fondness of the Frankensteins. Lionel Atwill plays one of Dr. Frankenstein's doctor associates. Lon Chaney, Jr., by the way, grunts his way around a macabre set as the Monster itself.

For a movie that's the fourth in a series, Ghost of Frankenstein (so named, perhaps, because the ghost of the original Doctor appears) is competently acted, directed, and shot. No, more than that, it's expertly done. There's some overacting (Ankers), to be sure, but overall it's a very well realized hidden gem among Universal's many horror movies of the early 20th century.

"The Ghost of Frankenstein" was the fourth film in Universal's Frankenstein series. Although both the budget and running time had been cut back, it nevertheless remains an entertaining film.

The story picks up following the ending of "Son of Frankenstein" (1939) where the monster and his friend Ygor had apparently perished. Not so. You can't keep a good monster down these days. The villagers (including Dwight Frye) plan to destroy what is left of Frankenstein's castle. As they prepare to blow it up Ygor (Bela Lugosi) is spotted on the castle walls. He had been keeping a vigil over the spot where the monster was believed to have perished.

The explosion reveals the monster (Lon Chaney Jr.) to be alive. Ygor spirits him away just in time and takes him to the village of Dr. Ludwig Frankenstein (Cedric Hardwicke), the second Frankenstein son. The monster takes a liking to a little girl Cloestine Hussman (Janet Ann Gallow) but kills two villagers who try to rescue her. The monster is overpowered and arrested. A trial ensues and the prosecutor Erik Ernst (Ralph Bellamy) tries to find out who and what the monster is. Dr. Frankenstein testifies that he does not know the monster. This sends the monster into a rage and he escapes with Ygor.

Ygor takes the monster to Frankenstein's home and convinces the doctor to help restore the monster to his former strength. Meanwhile his daughter Elsa (Evelyn Ankers) discovers her father's papers and we are shown in a flashback to the original film, how the monster was created. Frankenstein decides that the only thing to do is to destroy the monster.

His father's ghost (i.e. the "Ghost" of the title also played by Hardwicke) appears to him and suggests that giving the monster a new brain would be a better solution. Frankenstein agrees and wants to use the brain of a colleague whom the monster has just murdered. But Ygor convinces Frankenstein's assistant Dr. Bohmer (Lionel Atwill) otherwise and......

Chaney plays the monster as a total mute and shows little emotion except when the little girl is involved. It would be Chaney's only appearance as the monster. Hardwicke lacks the passion of Colin Clive in the two first installments which weakens his performance. Atwill who had played the police inspector in the previous film is suitably sinister as the mad doctor who joins with Ygor. Lugosi again turns in an excellent performance as the evil Ygor. Ankers lets go with a couple of her patented ear splitting screams. Bellamy has little to do as Ankers' love interest and prosecutor.

Oddly enough, even though Colin Clive (who died in 1937) is clearly seen in the flashback sequence as Henry Frankenstein, it is also clearly Hardwicke portraying Henry's "Ghost". Dwight Frye also seen in the flashback, has a small role as a villager at the beginning of the film.

Although the ending is a little over the top, the film is still pretty good thanks to its excellent cast of veteran performers.

Followed by "Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman" (1943) in which Lugosi plays the monster.

`Son of Frankenstein,' the third Frankenstein movie from Universal, started a trend. In the first two movies, the Monster was an active force in the story – his actions carried the story along. By the third film, he became a background character, more prop than participant (which is what Boris Karloff feared would happen). By the fourth film in the series, `Ghost of Frankenstein,' the transformation is complete: the Monster is now a supporting character in his own movie.

The real star of the movie is Bela Lugosi as Ygor, continuing his role from `Son of Frankenstein.' Miraculously recovered from death by gunshot wounds, he finds the Monster (now played by Lon Chaney Jr) and sets off the restore his friend to full power. He locates Dr. Ludwig Frankenstein (Cedric Hardwicke), a respected physician in the nearby town of Visaria, and blackmails him into helping with his father's creation. But Ygor is also plotting with Dr. Frankenstein's fellow scientist Dr. Bohmer (Lionel Atwill in his second Frankenstein film) to alter the experiment a little…

`Ghost of Frankenstein' comes across as insubstantial when you compare it to the first three Frankensteins. The acting is decent: Bela Lugosi does a good job hamming it up as Ygor (a far cry from the elegant Count Dracula), and the other players go through their paces admirably. Lon Chaney makes a competent Monster; he can lurch pretty well, and has a few moments of pathos, but he doesn't get much a chance to really act. Of course, that's not really his fault; the script didn't give him much to do.

I suppose `ghostly' is the best word to describe this movie after all. It manages to generate atmosphere and thrills when you're watching it, but it dissipates in the light of day.

No one envied George Lazenby when he became the first actor to play James Bond after Sean Connery bowed out of the role. I can only imagine that Lon Chaney Jr. must have felt the same sort of pressure when he was signed to take over the role of Frankenstein's Monster from the great Boris Karloff.

Ghost of Frankenstein is, for some reason, one of the more obscure of the Frankenstein series -- I guess in the same way Lazenby's On Her Majesty's Secret Service is considered one of the lesser known Bond films. Coming on the heels of the Karloff trilogy, it does have a second-hand feel to it that doesn't allow the film to reach the heights of its predecessors.

This is unfortunate because the movie isn't that bad, actually. In terms of inter-film continuity it probably has the strongest ties with the previous film, Son of Frankenstein, thanks to the continuing presence of Ygor (who, for reasons never explained, survived being shot in Son of Frankenstein). Ygor continues to act as Svengali/Pied Piper to The Monster, and Bela Lugosi turns in a performance that in my opinion rivals if not surpasses Dracula. Anyone who thinks Lugosi was a one-note ham actor capable of only variations on Dracula should check out this film and Son of Frankenstein for a revelation.

As the Monster, Lon Chaney isn't bad. Being considerably stockier than Karloff, he somehow appears smaller (blame the sulfur pit, perhaps?). Chaney also chooses to play the role completely mute, a departure from Karloff's growling portrayal. There are several moments where he manages to evoke the types of emotion Karloff was capable of showing under the flat-top -- including a rather puzzling moment where the Monster recognizes Dr. Ludwig Frankenstein, the son of the original Dr. Frankenstein (maybe there's some backstory that we are unaware of?).

Cedric Hardwicke as Ludwig Frankenstein tries hard but is unable to produce the same sort of near-madness that his predecessors Colin Clive and Basil Rathbone exhibited, while Lionel Atwill (playing a different role than the policeman from Son of Frankenstein) has a fairly thankless and somewhat confusingly written role to play in the eventual fate of The Monster.

Universal was not known for its inter-film continuity, and although Ghost manages to tie in quite successfully with Son (if not the earlier films) there are still a few jarring continuity gaffes, the most notable being the use of a different actor for the scene when the original Dr. Frankenstein pays a ghostly visit to his son (hence the source of the title in case you're wondering) -- even though Colin Clive, the original (but by the time this film was made, sadly deceased) actor is clearly shown in a flashback sequence.

Ghost of Frankenstein is far from being the best of Universal's Frankenstein series, but as a middle-of-the-pack entry, it's quite worthwhile. And for serious fans of The Monster who feel that the later "team-up" entries in the series are abominations (that is to say Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula, and Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein), then this film is pretty much the end of the Frankenstein Monster story.

I watched this last night (on DVD) for the first time in years. It was like seeing an old friend! I remember enjoying this on WOR-TV (NYC's channel 9) years ago.

Bela Lugosi steals the show as Ygor (just as he had in SON OF FRANKENSTEIN), but the entire cast is superior for what is essentially a B-picture. Beautifully photographed and scored, the film is well cast, well acted and a joy to watch. And Lionel Atwill's "miscalculating" Doctor Bohmer is the icing on the cake. Look for familiar (and unbilled) faces among the angry villagers: Brandon Hurst, Dwight Frye, Richard Alexander, Harry Cording, Lionel Belmore and Michael Mark!