Son of Frankenstein (1939)

Director:

Rowland V. Lee

Writers:

Mary Shelley (suggested by the story written in 1816)
Wyllis Cooper (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 January 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Horror | Drama

Tagline:

The black shadows of the past bred this half-man . . . half-demon ! . . . creating a new and terrible juggernaut of destruction !

Plot:

Wolf Frankenstein, son of Henry Frankenstein, returns with his wife, to his fathers estate to claim his inheritance...

Plot Keywords:

Laboratory | Inspector | Storm | Frankenstein's Monster | Scientist

Cast

Basil Rathbone	...	Baron Wolf von Frankenstein
Boris Karloff	...	The Monster
Bela Lugosi	...	Ygor
Lionel Atwill	...	Krogh
Josephine Hutchinson	...	Elsa von Frankenstein
Donnie Dunagan	...	Peter von Frankenstein
Emma Dunn	...	Amelia
Edgar Norton	...	Benson
Perry Ivins	...	Fritz
Lawrence Grant	...	Burgomaster
Lionel Belmore	...	Lang
Michael Mark	...	Ewald Neumüller
Caroline Frances Cooke	...	Mrs. Neumüller (as Caroline Cooke)
Gustav von Seyffertitz	...	Burgher
Lorimer Johnston	...	Burgher (as Lorimer Johnson)
Tom Ricketts	...	Burgher
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ed Cassidy	...	Burgher (unconfirmed)
Ward Bond	...	Gendarme at gate (uncredited)
Betty Chay	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Harry Cording	...	Bearded gendarme (uncredited)
Dwight Frye	...	Villager (uncredited)
Jack Harris	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)
Russ Powell	...	Webber (burgher) (uncredited)
Clarence Wilson	...	Dr. Berger (uncredited)
Bud Wolfe	...	Undetermined Role (uncredited)

Directed by
Rowland V. Lee

Writing credits
Mary Shelley		(suggested by the story written in 1816) (as Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
Wyllis Cooper		(screenplay) (as Willis Cooper)

Produced by
Rowland V. Lee	....	producer

Original Music by
Frank Skinner

Cinematography by
George Robinson		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Ted J. Kent		(as Ted Kent)

Art Direction by
Jack Otterson

Set Decoration by
Russell A. Gausman		(as R.A. Gausman)

Costume Design by
Vera West		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Jack P. Pierce	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Fred Frank	....	assistant director

Art Department
Richard H. Riedel	....	associate art director

Sound Department
Bernard B. Brown	....	sound supervisor
William Hedgcock	....	sound technician

Special Effects by
John P. Fulton	....	special effects (uncredited)

Stunts
Bud Wolfe	....	stunts (uncredited)

Music Department
Charles Previn	....	musical director
Hans J. Salter	....	music arranger (uncredited)
Frank Skinner	....	orchestrator (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures (as Universal Pictures Company Inc.)

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1939) (USA) (theatrical)
• Film Classics (1948) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Realart Pictures (1953) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Screen Gems (1957) (USA) (TV)
• Continental Home Vídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (USA) (laserdisc)
• RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video (USA) (VHS)
• Universal Home Entertainment (????) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Home Entertainment (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Home Video (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Nordic (2004) (Sweden) (video)

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

Finland:K-15 (2004) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Finland:(Banned) (1955) | Spain:13 | South Korea:12 | Norway:16 (cut) | Norway:16 (1955) | Finland:(Banned) (1939) | USA:Approved (PCA #4987) | Sweden:7

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The character of Ygor (played by Bela Lugosi in the final film version) does not appear in Wyllis Cooper's October 20, 1938, draft of the screenplay titled "The Son Of Frankenstein". Director Rowland V. Lee was annoyed at Universal's low-balling of Bela Lugosi (who was being paid only $500 per week because he desperately needed a job and Universal knew it), and he kept rewriting the script to make Lugosi's character more central, and to make sure that Lugosi ended up with a decently sized paycheck. The "Ygor" character died in the film, but returned in the sequel, The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942); for unknown reasons, the spelling of the name was altered to "Igor" in the credits (yet the script for the even later Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943) reverted to the original spelling "Ygor."

Goofs:

Continuity: When Wolf von Frankenstein is arguing with Krogh in the castle lobby (73 minutes), he removes his hat and throws it at the high-backed chair to the left of the fireplace. It lands on the floor in front of and to the left of the chair. Later in the scene, the hat switches to the right of and behind the chair. Later still, in the same location, the hat has now flipped upside down. Frankenstein's coat, which was thrown on the floor to the left of the chair also shifts position (to the seat of the chair, in this case).

Quotes:

Baron Wolf von Frankenstein: It appears that my father thought that he could extract from lightning some super-violet ray of life-giving properties.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Enterprise: Horizon (#2.20)" (2003)

Soundtrack:

Sailing, Sailing, Over the Bounding Main

Karloff, Lugosi and Rathbone in one movie? Someone please pinch me.

What a delightful sight, seeing Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi all together in this movie. Seeing the three of them in one shot gave me a special feeling, these three guys are among the biggest screen legends of all time.

Basil Rathbone is always a big pleasure to watch in a movie, he was a true great 'classic' actor. Bela Lugosi was almost unrecognizable in his role as Ygor and he played his character with lots of passion. Unfortunately the age was showing for Karloff. He was well over 50 years old when he played the Frankenstein monster for the last time in this movie. His 'old' age is truly notable, even through his make-up. I think it was a good thing that he never played the famous classic horror character again after this movie.

The story is still interesting enough to make this movie original, even though the depth and emotions of the previous two Frankenstein movies is missing.

It's a bit strange that the first two Frankenstein movies with Karloff are very well known but this movie is not. This movie is truly excellent and should deserve so more recognition and appreciation. The atmosphere is just as good as from the previous two movies and the monster is still one powerful horror character, even though his role is rather limited compared to the first two movies. This time the real main part is Baron Wolf von Frankenstein played by Basil Rathbone. Some people might be disappointed by this but being a fan of Rathbone I'm not complaining about this.

The movie has enough originality and the story is surely interesting enough to call this movie a worthy addition to the Frankenstein movie legacy. But what made this movie truly interesting and amazing to me, were the three main actors of the movie Rathbone, Karloff and Lugosi.

9/10