MovieChat Forums > Son of Frankenstein (1939) Discussion > Why does the Monster look bigger?

Why does the Monster look bigger?


Compared to the previous films (especially the first) the monster looks alot fatter. I know Boris Karloff didn't gain weight because he's pretty thin looking in House of Frankenstein when he plays the Scientist.

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Karloff did gain a little weight between 1931 and 1938, when SoF was filmed, although he was still a relatively trim, fit man (he enjoyed playing both cricket and tennis). One thing that made the Monster look thinner and more cadaverous in the first film was Karloff's idea of removing a dental bridge from his mouth; I'm not sure if he did that when making "Son...". I think Karloff's face filled out a little in the intervening years in any case. Also, that big woolly vest that the Monster wore (which Karloff hated) probably made the character look heftier.

As for Karloff's appearance in "House of Frankenstein", he lost weight during that period because he was suffering from constant back pain. In fact, he underwent emergency spinal surgery not long after "House..." was shot.

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The bridge was removed for Son of... You can tell during the close-ups when the monster is still in a coma.

Karloff did put on some weight after Frankenstein when he went from starving-actor status to movie star. Karloff's face did look even broader when he filmed Son, than it did in Bride. The wool vest did add to his size, but I think they may have added more padding as well since the monster looked so much larger the 3rd time around.

Or maybe Ygor was a really good cook.

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You're right, they did add to Karloff's padding in "Son...", as well as forcing the infamous wool vest on the actor. Scott Allen Nolen's bio of Karloff, "A Gentleman's Life", states the Monster costume weighed 64 pounds total, while, according to historian Greg Mank, his outfit for "Bride..." was a measley 47 pounds!

I shudder to think of what Ygor would consider fine cuisine!



UPDATE/EDIT: I erred discussing the weight of Karloff's costume above; it was 48 pounds during the production of 1931's "Frankenstein". It increased to 62 pounds for "Bride..." according to Mank's book "It's Alive! The Classic Cinema Saga of Frankenstein", and, as mentioned above, Nolen's Karloff bio claims it weighed 64 pounds in "Son..."

Still, it seems Dear Boris wore more padding in the third film.

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I think they wanted to make the Monster seem more enormous and superhuman.

They seemed to be deliberately veering away from the more sympathetic portrayal in the first two, towards making him a sinister presence. Thus, to make him seem more of a malevolent giant, Karloff's costume was padded up.

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I agree that the monster was less sympathetic than he was in the first two moves, but in the context of this film, that makes sense. The monster was been in hiding from humanity, who want to destroy him, for many, many years. I imagine that the monster has lost much of his innocence and has become very jaded and filled with hate.

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The lack of sympathy here is, IMHO, due to his being depicted primarily as Ygor's puppet/tool. It might have been decided to leave out the Monster's killing of Benson (according to photos published by Forrest J. Ackerman in a 1967 issue of Famous Monsters of Filmland, such a scene was set up and therefore almost certainly filmed) because it wasn't at the twisted-neck fellow's behest but for some food the butler was taking somewhere.

The GREEN HORNET Strikes Again!

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there are townspeople this time with sledges? by the way, didn't he stand awfully close to the dartboard? i watched this entire movie and had no idea it was boris karloff repeating the role as the monster, thought they got some other guy.


a hurting place,
i didn't know i put there yesterday,
but might be at glance today,
every time you pass that place,
well i didn't mean,
to cause a hurting scene.

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Now that you mention it, Karloff was over fifty years old when this was filmed, and given the descriptions of the weight, etc., of the outfit and the back injury he was reported to have suffered while filming the original, his playing the part here sounds like a bad idea. Maybe in a lot of shots, especially the long ones, it was somebody else but Karloff got full credit for publicity purposes. It definitely is Boris in at least some close-ups, but I'll check my copy again. Thanks for the idea.

UPDATE: Said check has been made, and there are indeed quite a few non-stunt shots wherein it might not be Karloff. In fact, in the entire sequence of the one truly on-screen murder he commits for Ygor (trying to make it appear that his victim accidentally fell under the wheel of his wagon), it looks like whoever substituted for Lugosi in the role when the Monster is found in the ice in Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman.

The GREEN HORNET Strikes Again!

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Actually I thought the monster looked smaller but with the jacket I guess he does like a bit pudgy.

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