Universal ushered in a new era of horror when this film went into production. After their 1935 horror film The Raven was deemed so grotesque that it almost killed the genre entirely horror made a comeback. Universal quickly put this sequel into production under the direction of Rowland V. Lee. In fact it was out into production so quickly there wasn't even a fully finished script just a brief draft by Wyllis Cooper, that was added to by Lee. The third in Universal's Frankenstein series this film picks up many years after 1935's Bride, and concerns the Baron Wolf von Frankenstein who returns to his father's ancestral home and discovers the monster is still very much alive. In an attempt to restore his father's legacy Wolf decides to restore the monster to its full power however, the hunchback Ygor has plans of his own for the monster. There's a lot good to be said about this film, it's heavily atmospheric and features excellent Expressionist production design. Frank Skinner's iconic score would also later be used in Universal horror films throughout the following decade. Lee's direction is solid, he's not the artist that James Whale was, but I think he still manages to create a good deal of tension even if the film is too long. The driving force behind this film isn't so much the story as it does occasionally drag but the characters and their dynamics. Basil Rathbone, who was a 2 time Oscar nominee at this point plays his role with a level of entitlement and narciscissm of the gentry class of the times that adds layers to his role and to his characters motivations. He feels like he's entitled to do what he's doing because of the knock his father's reputation did to his own personal social station. This leads to many tense encounters with Ygor, played with delicious malevolence by Bela Lugosi in one of his finest portrayals. Ygor is on the opposite end as the Baron in terms of social standing, but he's highly intelligent and cunning, but because of his station the Baron underestimates him at almost every turn. In the middle of all this is Inspector Krogh played by Lionel Atwill one of his few heroic roles in horror films, the one armed Inspector who suspects that the Baron is up to his father's old tricks. Krogh represents the working class in this tale. Each of these three characters is portrayed intelligently but possessing a different kind of intellect and when they face off it's when the movie is at its best. This is also the final time Boris Karloff would play the monster, while it's not as sympathetic a turn as his previous appearances were Karloff had a knack for this creation and his screen presence always captured subtle nuances of movement that would be lost in later portrayals. The makeup by maestro Jack Pierce is of course excellent. It's not as solid a sequel as Bride but it was the last time the franchise would attempt to really be about something before becoming just monster movie fun (which is totally fine I actually like the following film better) but Son of Frankenstein still draws on some deeper themes that are worthy of being explored.

The Bride Of Frankenstein hab铆a terminado de adaptar la novela de Mary Shelley, pero la fama del monstruo hizo que decidieran continuar la historia con esta tercera pel铆cula. No hab铆a exactamente necesidad de hacer otra pel铆cula, pero al menos pudieron hacer una tercera pel铆cula que est谩 a la altura de las anteriores. La pel铆cula se enfoca en el hijo del doctor original, dando a entender que ha quedado descendencia antes de la conclusi贸n de la pel铆cula anterior. Es a partir de esta pel铆cula que se comienza a abordar el legado de Frankenstein como una maldici贸n que ha afectado a los miembros de la familia. Boris Karloff se mete por 煤ltima vez en la piel del monstruo, mientras Bela Lugosi introduce Igor como otro de los monstruos que quedar铆an grabados en la cultura popular. Hay que reconocer que Igor se ha vuelto otro de los mejores personajes que Lugosi llego a interpretar. Igor es la nuevamente maestra que controla al monstruo y manipula a Wolf para conseguir sus objetivos. Aun con la ausencia de James Whale como director, la pel铆cula ofrece una muy buena direcci贸n con planos fascinantes. Adem谩s, esta pel铆cula tiene una duraci贸n m谩s larga que sus predecesoras y ofrece una grata historia que est谩 bien elaborada sin muchos errores. Son Of Frankenstein es sin duda una estupenda pel铆cula que supo continuar la saga y pudo haberla concluido dignamente. Mi calificaci贸n final para esta pel铆cula es un 9/10.

On paper, there is no reason why this movie should be as good as it is. This isn't directed by James Whale, the director of the first two. The original Henry Frankenstein actor, Colin Clive, had passed away. They are no longer even pretending to be adapting anything from Mary Shelly's original work. And all the other Universal Monster Movies severely drop in quality by the third entry. But despite it all, if you are only going to watch one Frankenstein movie, this is the one I recommend. The story follows, as the title would suggest, the son of Frankenstein. The man with the coolest name of all time, Wolf Frankenstein. He is played by Basil Rathbone, the man who would be best known for Sherlock Holmes. He does an excellent job in the role, being both sympathetic but also a bit vindictive and maniacal. He really captures the spirit of both the book Frankenstein and the Colin Clive portrayal of the character. Karloff returns as the monster for the final time, and this is finally the film where Ygor is introduced. The previous ones had assistants, and even hunchbacks, but this is the first one with Ygor. He is played by the iconic Bela Lugosi. Him together with Karloff make for the best villainous duo of any of the Universal Monster movies. This movie is well worth your time, give it a watch this next Halloween, you won't regret it.

A Horror Classic and a good ending to one of the greatest if not the greatest horror trilogy ever made. It is the weakest of the three though but that really speaks to the quality of the series. The editing is solid and everything else is really well done about it. It's significantly longer than the others but it doesn't really feel like it. Basil R. is really good as the son and Karloff is just as good as ever. Legosi as Igor is very memorable also and I can see why he's more remembered than Fritz. Exploring the son and how the sins of the father carry and overshadow him and the family legacy is a very interesting subject to explore and this does a great job doing that. The cinematography really does a great job capturing the gothic style Whale used in the other two and is the one aspect that is just as strong as the others. It's very moody, atmospheric, and memorable. Where this struggles is the fact that it basically repeats what the others did recylcling the same ideas. Also, they get rid of all the character of Karloff so he's back to not talknig which is a big letdown. Basil R. is a good character to fill in that gap and very likeable too. But Igor ironically takes a lot of the spotlight and so does the Monster. It feels like sometimes Igor's revenge quest overshadows the son and Monster. Add all that together and there is a sense of deja vu watching it and takes away some of the suspense. The direction and the fact it's still copying the others along with a good new character in the sn helps quite a bit though. It really needed to do a better job tying all 3 stories together in the middle as it can feel like it forgets one or the other at points. It does tie together well enough in the end though and makes perfect sense. Anyone who is a fan of horror, the previous ones, the direcotr, or any actors in this will like this a lot.

3.0 stars. So what are the chances that if you have to make a third movie sequel to a series, that it will be as good as the first two? In this case, I think they did a good job. First, you have to collect two big names in horror films (Karloff and Lugosi) from that era (the 1930s). And for support, you throw in Basil Rathbone (a veteran from mystery and horror films, who would go on to star in the Sherlock Holmes series) and Lionel Atwill (who had played supporting roles in the first two films of the series). The plot was also unique from the series. There was a role reversal in that the Son of Frankenstein was only trying to clear his father's name, and in the process was bullied into creating the same sin as his father. I liked the series plot twist.

I love watching the old Universal Monster movies like this one.

I didn鈥檛 realize this before, but Young Frankenstein is essentially a comedic version of Son of Frankenstein. There are plot points and characters that are nearly identical to one another. I was also surprised that Frankenstein鈥檚 creature (portrayed by Boris Karloff) is more of a side character in this movie. Most of the story revolves around Baron Wolf von Frankenstein and Ygor, and Bela Lugosi鈥檚 portrayal of Ygor is compellingly creepy. In my opinion, viewers should skip Bride of Frankenstein and go straight to Son of Frankenstein after watching the original 1931 movie. It鈥檚 the better sequel.

Although the story isn't as strong as it's two predecessors. seeing Karloff, Lugosi, and Rathbone doing what they do best, make up for that

the little cute boy makes all the film

Very slow movie. Too much time spent focusing on the son and dealing with his dad's past. We did not see the Frankenstein monster in action until 20 minutes left in the movie.

Son of Frankenstein has the virtue of being the last movie in the series that can be described as good. It is the longest movie in the franchise. After Frankenstein and his bride, it was not surprising that the next film should be about a son instead. Indeed family relationships might be said to be the movie's theme. Appropriately enough, Boris Karloff (once more returning as the Monster) became a father for the first time while making this film. The title is misleading to anyone who imagines that the Monster is now having a child. The son of Frankenstein is the son of the original Henry Frankenstein, or possibly an allusion to the monster himself, since he is the creation of the original scientist. "Do you mean to imply then that that is my brother?" says the son, as he looks at the Monster. The Monster too seems to feel this kinship. In one scene, he grips his 鈥榟alf-brother' by the shoulders and neck, but cannot seem to harm him. These facts do not paint a nice picture of Wolf, and his behaviour at the end of the movie is not endearing. As the death toll rises, Wolf refuses to take responsibility, or even to take them seriously. He is petulant and self-pitying, and continues to deny his involvement. "By heaven, I think you're a worse fiend than your father", cries the disgusted Krogh. This is not helped by Basil Rathbone's hysterical and exaggerated acting. Rathbone's distaste for making horror movies is betrayed by his performance here. The acting laurels go to Lionel Atwill and Bela Lugosi. Their characters have been endlessly parodied in an affectionate manner by later films, and this sometimes makes it hard to take them as seriously as they deserve, which is a pity. Both actors had a distinctly limited range, but within those parameters they had a good screen presence. Atwill brings dignity and pathos to the role of Krogh. As Ygor, Lugosi delivers one of his best acting performances. He was grateful for the opportunity, and it revived his career. Karloff was less pleased. While his career too was boosted by the success of Son of Frankenstein, the character of Ygor overshadowed his performance as the Monster. As a result, he refused to play the role again, and it was left to Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr and Glenn Strange to take on the role in future sequels. Karloff had some reason to feel aggrieved. In Bride of Frankenstein, the Monster was more than just a monster. He was a human being of sorts. He learned to listen to music, to smoke and drink, to seek out friends and a mate, and even to talk. Perhaps if the Monster had found someone to treat him with kindness, he could still have become civilised. For reasons, that are never explained, the Monster in Son of Frankenstein has lost all those abilities. The Monster is just that 鈥� a monster. He has no interest in trying to be human. He has lost the power of speech, and communicates in growls and roars like an animal. He has a couple of redeeming traits 鈥� his loyalty to Ygor and his gentleness towards Peter 鈥� but even those affections are nothing stronger than what a beast might feel. On the whole, Son of Frankenstein is a flawed movie, marred by over-acting, a bombastic music score and a script that was thrown together at the last minute while they were still filming. However it benefits from being the last film to be made on a decent budget. The film creates some memorable characters, and preserves a good sense of pace. I wrote a longer appreciation of Son of Frankenstein on my blog page if you would like to read more: https://themoviescreenscene.wordpress.com/2018/05/04/son-of-frankenstein-1939/

We complain about sequels these days, but it looks like it is not new. Even in 30's they were doing sequels that would hurt the predecessor. The movie is discarding every meaning of Mary Shelley's book.

How can you possibly go wrong with Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi in a horror movie? Answer is, you can't!

It misses the point of the original story.

Son of Frankenstein is a great movie! I really love Bela Lugosi as Ygor, Baron Wolf von Frankenstein played by Basil Rathbone performance was fantastic. I recommend this movie.

Now I know where Mel Brooks got the idea for the character of Inspector Kemp and the dart game scene in "Young Frankenstein". "Son of Frankenstein" is actually a good movie. The biggest reason is, as is usually the case, the cast. The late Basil Rathbone does a decent job as Baron Wolf von Frankenstein. He does overact in a few scenes, especially towards the end, but overall he gives a good performance. The late Boris Karloff does well in his final performance as the Frankenstein Monster. You could tell the late Bela Lugosi was having the time of his life as Ygor. He looked like Burgess Meredith in the original version of "Clash of the Titans" and sounded like Burgess Meredith in "Rocky", Also, the late Lionel Atwill is terrific as Inspector Krogh. However the movie is not without its problems. The biggest is Donnie Dunagan as Wolf von Frankenstein's son Peter. He was annoying as hell. Every second he is on screen is absolutely insufferable. Also, why is the Frankenstein Monster mute again, didn't he learn how to speak in the previous two movies? Despite its flaws, "Son of Frankenstein" is a good and entertaining movie, but it is not perfect. It's still worth seeing at least once.

Beautifully atmospheric. That town looks amazingly spooky like old Romania. Wow, the set pieces in this movie are very creative and definitely a lot of artsy thought was put into it. The inside of the house looks so not cozy and ominous like those stairs that look like MC Esher's disorienting labyrinth stairs. Really creepy and atmospheric imagery all throughout the movie. It's very inspirational. Cute and funny little boy. Oh man Ygor's broken neck looks so fucked up. They did a really good job with the prosthetics there. I love how they bring cosmic aspects into the whole Frankenstein story. Apparently the monster is basically an alien that was given life by some cosmic lighting bolt that might very well be the energy that gives us life. Interesting to see how the Ygor commands the monster around as if it were his puppet. Committing crimes for him like killing the village folk. Bela Lugosi, who plays Ygor, was pretty damn funny. The movie drags on at times and I found myself losing interest sometimes. Some of the acting was either over the top or mediocre. Parts of it are kind of silly like the acting and some of things that the monster does. I think the problem is I can't take this movie seriously or scary at all. But if there's one thing that stands out most in this movie, it's how atmospheric and eerie everything looks. It's almost on 鈥楾he Innocents' level.

Far removed from the characters and events of the first two films, this is still a solid entry into the series. Rathbone entering as Frankenstein's son adds a lot charm to the shenanigans. It's novel for being Karloff's last turn as the monster, fitted with a stylin new poncho. Lugosi enters the series in a really juicy role as the devilish Ygor, one of the best of his career. In a way this is kind of where the series ended...

This film has been described as slow and boring! Nothing can be further from the truth! Amazing set designs and wonderful casting triumph over shortcomings such as Karloff's limited scream time! While it is noted that Bela Lugosi has his greatest performance here as Ygor we must not forget Lionel Atwill's turn as Inspector Krogh! He is authoritative and somewhat menacing! Basil Rathbone's scenery chewing as Baron Frankenstein has had it's detractors but it plays well after you watch the film a few times! Little Donnie Donnegan as the Baron's infant son was an inspired choice...yes he grates on you but he was just 4 years old ! His performance is the key, however, to any sympathy you may have for BK's last turn as the monster! This time out the monster is a killing machine being used by Ygor to exact revenge! His appearance ...very robust and with a fuller face startled some when first released but was all part of making him most gigantic...the furry vest added to the uniqueness of this film! Remember the Big"U" had a new "family"running it and hired the hottest director on the lot when James Whale flatly refused! Rowland V. Lee threw away the ridiculous script handed him and shot this film as he wrote it...yes everyone involved was on edge because of this yet the result speaks for itself! SON was a major hit for it's studio! It was the longest horror film from Universal and their last horror film given an "A" grade consideration! SON was the last hoorah of the classic Universal Monsters of the 30's

Karloff's third and final outing as Frankenstein's creation. While the film doesn't quite rise to the level of the previous two, the walk through the fallout of those films, as well as the presence of Karloff, Lugosi, and Rathbone, make this a solid entry in the franchise.