MovieChat Forums > Son of Frankenstein (1939) Discussion > One Of The Greatest Sequels Ever Made

One Of The Greatest Sequels Ever Made

posted 13 years ago by Jimmy_the_Gent4
5 replies | jump to latest

In many ways I like it better than the first film and love it just as much as "Bride Of Frankenstein" though few will agree.

The son (Basil Rathbone)of the original Monster maker returns home with his family to find that his father's creation (Boris Karloff) still lives,guarded by a broken necked,snaggle toothed madman (Bela Lugosi).

I love the atmosphere in this one,it starts slow but the characters are very intriguing and it all builds to a stunning climax at a sulphur pit.

Rathbone is dashing and heroic, Karloff is touching and subdued, Lugosi darkly humorous. An added bonus is Lionel Atwill as a one armed policeman. As a kid I liked that the Baron's little son (curly haired Donnie Dunagan) makes friends with The Monster,calling him a "nice giant"

[–] www1125 13 years ago

This was my favorite of the entire Universal Horror series.

"Do you mind if I don't smoke?" ---Groucho Marx

[–] SteveH2002 13 years ago

Good movie, but I prefer Bride - by a long shot. The sets are great, the kid is adorable. The big problem is The Monster is no longer the star - in this one he serves merely as an extension of Ygor's will. It's not terrible, but it's a big step down.

[–] irishtom99 13 years ago

i kind of like that dr.frankenstein is featured more than the monster

[–] PussyCrusher_Principal 11 years ago

I'm not sure I could say I like it more than the original or Bride, i do like it a lot, almost as much as those two. I like all the sequels, including the. House films, and I think SOF is firmly in the realm of those films (in that we have different actors playing the main roles), yet it's still a near-great film (much as I love the sequels, it's hard to call any of them "great", except Bride, if you consider that a sequel, which I guess it is...when I say "sequel", though, I mean the extended cash-ins like both Houses, Ghost of Frankenstein, Son of Dracula, etc), just a bit below the level of Frank and. Bride.

I believe I remember Robert Osborne calling this his favorite Frankenstein film, for what it's worth.

"I wrote a poem on a dog biscuit;
And your dog refused to look at it..."

[–] Mississippi20 11 years ago

At 99 minutes, it runs about 20 minutes longer than the standard Universal horror movie......I suppose they could've tightened it up a bit. However, when the finale starts to shape up, it's a doozy. In addition to what has already been said about the performances of Lionel Atwill (as the one-armed Inspector) and Bela Lugosi (who arguably steals the show from Karloff as the Monster) - Basil Rothbone's slow unraveling as the movie goes on, culminating in the great scene where he's losing it and playing darts, is a fun performance to watch. It sets up an exciting showdown.

Whale's films have more sensibility and are more well-regarded. 'Son' is really more of a "monster" movie per se - horror and thrills for fun. But it's well-made and there's nothing wrong with that.