The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Erle C. Kenton

Writers:

Scott Darling (screenplay)
Eric Taylor (story)

Release Date:

13 March 1942 (USA)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Stark Terror! Added Thrills! in a Spine-Tingling Experience !

Plot:

Ygor resurrects Frankenstein's monster and brings him to the original doctor's son, Ludwig, for help...

Plot Keywords:

Brain | Villager | Frankenstein's Monster | Lightning | Score Employs Stock Cues

Cast

Cedric Hardwicke	...	Frankenstein (as Sir Cedric Hardwicke)
Ralph Bellamy	...	Erik
Lionel Atwill	...	Doctor Bohmer
Bela Lugosi	...	Ygor
Evelyn Ankers	...	Elsa
Janet Ann Gallow	...	Cloestine
Barton Yarborough	...	Dr. Kettering
Doris Lloyd	...	Martha
Leyland Hodgson	...	Chief Constable
Olaf Hytten	...	Hussman
Holmes Herbert	...	Magistrate
Lon Chaney Jr.	...	The Monster (as Lon Chaney)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Richard Alexander	...	Villager (uncredited)
Lionel Belmore	...	Councillor (uncredited)
Colin Clive	...	Dr. Henry Frankenstein (archive footage) (uncredited)
Harry Cording	...	Frone (uncredited)
George Eldredge	...	Constable (uncredited)
Dwight Frye	...	Villager (uncredited)
Lawrence Grant	...	Mayor (uncredited)
Otto Hoffman	...	Villager (uncredited)
Brandon Hurst	...	Hans (uncredited)
Michael Mark	...	Councillor (uncredited)
Jimmy Phillips	...	Indian (uncredited)
William Smith	...	Village Boy (uncredited)
Ernie Stanton	...	Constable (uncredited)
Julius Tannen	...	Sektal (uncredited)
Harry Tenbrook	...	Villager at Hearing (uncredited)
Glen Walters	...	Village Mother of Hungry Children (uncredited)
Janet Warren	...	Goose Girl (uncredited)

Directed by
Erle C. Kenton

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Scott Darling		screenplay (as W. Scott Darling)
Eric Taylor		story

Produced by
George Waggner	....	producer

Original Music by
Hans J. Salter		(as H.J. Salter)

Cinematography by
Elwood Bredell		(director of photography) (as Woody Bredell)
Milton R. Krasner		(director of photography) (as Milton Krasner)

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
Ellis Burman	....	makeup department technician (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Charles S. Gould	....	assistant director

Art Department
Harold H. MacArthur	....	associate art director

Sound Department
Bernard B. Brown	....	sound director
Charles Carroll	....	sound technician

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

Stunts
Eddie Parker	....	stunts (uncredited)

Music Department
Charles Maxwell	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Charles Previn	....	composer: stock music (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1942) (USA) (theatrical)
• Realart Pictures (1948) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (199?) (USA) (VHS)
• Universal Home Entertainment (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Home Video (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Nordic (2004) (Sweden) (video)

Runtime:

67 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) | Spain:13 | USA:Approved (PCA #8125) | Sweden:15 | Sweden:7 (re-rating) | Germany:12 | Finland:(Banned) (1948)

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

During breaks in filming, Lon Chaney Jr. would often treat child cast members to ice cream.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The dramatic shadow cast by the monster's hand when first discovered by Ygor in the sulfur pit comes from a light source completely at odds with the overhead light shining down into the sulfur pit in which we see the monster encased.

Quotes:

Chief Constable: [the Monster recognizes Ludwig] He seems to recognize you Doctor.
Dr. Ludwig Frankenstein: [referring to the Monster] I never saw this...man before in my life. I know nothing about him.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Buenas noches, señor monstruo (1982)

The Ghost Of Frankenstein (1942) ***

I have something of a love-hate relationship with this film. It was only the second in the Frankenstein series I had watched: shown on Italian TV in the summer of 1989 as part of a late-night show hosted by 2 oddly endearing monster puppets(!), I managed to tape the transmission and saw it again a few days later, enjoying it a great deal both times. However, when I caught up with it again on DVD 12 years later, its charm had ebbed considerably and I felt it was a very routine effort all around with little of the high style which had marked the three previous entries in the saga; viewing it, by way of Universal's double-feature DVD, paired as it was with the magnificent SON OF FRANKENSTEIN (1939) - which, up to that point, I had never watched in its entirety! - certainly didn't help matters any! So, this time I decided to reverse the formula, as it were, and watched GHOST prior to SON - and it worked, as I found much to like in it all over again! In fact, now I would rate it above the even more contrived monster bashes HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1944) and HOUSE OF Dracula (1945) - as here we still have the luxury of one monster for the entire duration. Of course, the film doesn't remotely measure up to the irreproachable quality of its predecessors and the reduced budget is quite evident, but the formula seems to work all the same - even if the end result is relatively discreet, particularly when compared to SON's ornate set design and its overgenerous running time.

The brain transplant plot is interesting enough and one actually wonders why it wasn't utilized earlier since the abnormal brain given to the monster clearly is behind its anti-social, criminal behavior (though, in all fairness, it was never given much of a chance by the suspicious, unfriendly townsfolk!). The cast, as always, is first-rate although the performances aren't: Cedric Hardwicke clearly wishes he was elsewhere (it was unfortunate as well that when the titular ghost appears, it does so in Hardwicke's persona and unmistakable voice!); Ralph Bellamy and Evelyn Ankers are no great shakes as the romantic leads; Bela Lugosi (who returns as evil shepherd Ygor), fails to repeat the character's essential repulsiveness since here he has no opponent to equal Basil Rathbone in SON; Lon Chaney Jr., in his sole stint as the monster, is only fair (he's best at demonstrating the creature's strength - controlled by Ygor - but his scenes with the little girl, intended to bring its emotive powers to the fore, aren't as interesting and result only in being sappy); also, for those who know about his fate, I can't help feeling that Lionel Atwill as the once-great doctor brought down by a scandal and reduced to the level of assistant - albeit a duplicitous one - to his former student (Frankenstein) is basically playing himself here! The lack of a proper budget (forcing the use of standing sets and musical cues from THE WOLF MAN [1941]!), however, doesn't preclude some effective shadowy lighting throughout or a fiery climax which is so well done that Universal would recycle sections of it into the finale of HOUSE OF Dracula!!