Son of Frankenstein
Son of Frankenstein | |
---|---|
Directed by | Rowland V. Lee |
Screenplay by | Willis Cooper[1] |
Produced by | Rowland V. Lee[1] |
Starring | |
Cinematography | George Robinson[1] |
Edited by | Ted Kent[1] |
Music by | Frank Skinner[1] |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Universal Pictures Co. |
Release date |
|
Running time | 99 minutes[1] |
Country | United States[2] |
Language | English |
Budget | $420,000 |
Son of Frankenstein is a 1939 American horror film directed by Rowland V. Lee and starring Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. The film is the third in Universal Pictures' Frankenstein series and is the follow-up to the 1935 film Bride of Frankenstein. Son of Frankenstein stars Rathbone as Baron Wolf von Frankenstein who, with his wife Elsa (Josephine Hutchinson) and son Peter (Donnie Dunagan), returns to his late father's estate. Near the castle lives Ygor (Bela Lugosi), a crazed blacksmith whose neck was broken in an unsuccessful hanging attempt. Among the castle's remains, Frankenstein discovers the remains of the Monster (Boris Karloff) and decides to try to save his family name by resurrecting the creature to prove his father was correct. He finds, however, the Monster only responds to Ygor's commands.
The film was originally announced in August 1938 after a successful theatrical reissue of
Plot
Baron Wolf von Frankenstein, son of
Wolf revives the Monster but it only responds to Ygor's commands; he sends the Monster out to commit a series of murders. Meanwhile, Peter talks of a nice giant who visits him in his room, and to whom he gave one of his picture books. Elsa and Amelia, Peter's nurse, are amused at his imagination, and only Wolf and Inspector Krogh take the story seriously. Krogh suspects that Wolf has created a murderous monster similar to his father's, due to marks on the victims' bodies, but Wolf denies it. Meanwhile, Benson, the Frankensteins' butler, who is also a friend and assistant to Wolf, suggests to Wolf that he tell Krogh about the Monster, which Ygor overhears. Wolf refuses but agrees that his wife and child must leave the castle. Wolf goes to question Ygor about Benson's disappearance; Ygor claims that Benson was so frightened by the Monster that he ran away. Wolf tells Elsa that he wants her and Peter to go temporarily to Brussels, and he will follow later.
After what is at first believed to be an accidental death - a man apparently crushed by his wagon - another murder occurs, and Inspector Krogh realizes that these latest deaths are connected to the previous six. The next day he tells Wolf that he cannot allow any of the family to leave the castle for their own safety, as the villagers are convinced he had something to do with the murders and might attack the castle. Peter shows Krogh a present the giant gave him, which the inspector realizes is Benson's watch. Wolf tries to force Ygor to leave, but the Monster comes to his defence. Ygor boasts that he sent the Monster to kill all the men from the jury that sentenced him to hang, and now they are all dead.
Later, Wolf suggests to Krogh that Ygor is the killer, but Krogh says Ygor was under observation and could not be the murderer. He says he believes that Wolf knows who the killer is: a monster, either one created by Wolf, or his father's creation which is still alive. To appease the villagers, Krogh arrests Wolf for the disappearance of Benson. Krogh then orders Wolf not to leave the castle. Nevertheless, Wolf is determined to throw Ygor off his property; he finds Ygor in the castle's laboratory and when Ygor tried to kill him with a hammer, he shoots him. Ygor collapses, apparently dead. While this is going on, Krogh is searching for a secret passage connecting the castle to the laboratory; in it, he finds Benson's body.
The Monster finds Ygor's body and screams in anguish. In his grief he wrecks everything he can find, finally picking up the picture book given to him by Peter; this makes him pause in his destruction as a thought comes to him. He abducts Wolf's son in revenge but cannot bring himself to kill the child. Krogh, Wolf, Elsa and Amelia pursue the monster to the laboratory where a struggle ensues during which the Monster tears off Krogh's false arm. Wolf swings on a chain and knocks the Monster into a pit of molten sulfur beneath the laboratory, saving his son. Wolf leaves the keys of the Frankenstein castle to the villagers, who turn out to cheer the family as they leave by train.
Cast
- Basil Rathbone as Baron Wolf von Frankenstein
- Boris Karloff as The Monster
- Bela Lugosi as Ygor
- Lionel Atwill as Inspector Krogh
- Josephine Hutchinson as Baroness Elsa von Frankenstein
- Donnie Dunagan as Peter von Frankenstein, Wolf and Elsa's young son
- Emma Dunn as Amelia, a servant
- Edgar Norton as Thomas Benson, a butler
- Perry Ivins as Fritz, a servant
- Lawrence Grant as the Burgomaster
- Michael Mark as Ewald Neumüller, a juror
- Lionel Belmore as Emil Lang, another juror
- Gustav von Seyffertitz as Burgher
- Lorimer Johnston as Burgher
- Tom Ricketts as Burgher
- Russ Powell as Burgher
- Caroline Cooke as Frau Neumüller, Edwald Neumüller's wife
- Ward Bond as Gendarme at Gate
- Harry Cording as Bearded Gendarme
Production
Development
Following the release of Dracula's Daughter in May 1936, all horror film productions were dropped from Universal Pictures production schedules.[3] The studio resumed horror film production after a two-year break with the announcement of Son of Frankenstein in August 1938.[4][5] Initially, Universal considered remaking their earlier films The Old Dark House and The Raven but instead decided to make a new Frankenstein film after the success of the triple bill of Dracula, Frankenstein and Son of Kong at Los Angeles' Regina Theatre on Wilshire Boulevard.[4] The screenings at the 659-seat theater packed houses for five weeks, leading Universal to reissue Frankenstein and Dracula on one program in theaters across the United States.[4]
Pre-production
Son of Frankenstein was first mentioned in trade papers on August 29, 1938, when an article in
Among the cast was Josephine Hutchinson, who had signed on for a two-picture deal with Universal, first appearing in The Crime of Doctor Hallet. Hutchinson later stated, "doing a Frankenstein film is kind of a phony bit – you don't have to delve too deeply".[10] The role of Peter was played by Donnie Dunagan, who had worked with Lee on Mother Carey's Chickens.[10] Dunagan later called his performance "corny" and said: "They had this little kid in there with this loud voice. They kept saying 'Speak up!' because I didn't speak that loud then ... And as you speak up, your accent is always accentuated. So here's this little curly-headed jerk runnin' around there with this very deep Memphis-Texas accent! They had the courage to do that".[10]
The director and producer for the film was Rowland V. Lee, who was 45 years old and had been working in the film industry since he was 19.[4] It was Lee's second film for Universal.[11] Wyllis Cooper, the creator of the radio show Lights Out, submitted an original screenplay for Son of Frankenstein that was initially rejected.[5] This screenplay, which was dated October 20, 1938, involved Wolf, his wife Else and their young son Erwin arriving at Castle Frankenstein to claim their inheritance.[5] Wolf's father's will stipulates the monster remain out of commission for at least 25 years following the watchtower explosion before any inheritance can be claimed.[5] Cooper's original script had several other references to Bride of Frankenstein, including the finding of the skeletal remains of Doctor Septimus Pretorius and the Bride of Frankenstein.[5] The script continues with the monster surviving the explosion at the end of the 1935 film and confronting Wolf to make a friend for him, and threatening to kill Elsa and Erwin if Wolf disobeys.[12]
Wolf's antagonist in this script is Inspector Neumüllerr, who vows vengeance against the monster for killing his father.[12] After Wolf fails to make a friend for the monster using corpses, the monster steals Erwin, intending to take him to the lab and carry out brain surgery on him.[12] He is stopped as Wolf enters, and Neumüller and his forces shoot the monster, who falls into a pit.[12] The script was changed to keep most of the characters intact; Neumuller becoming Krogh, who has lost an arm instead of a father, and changed the child's name to Peter.[12] The new version also eliminated the monster's ability to speak and added the character Ygor.[12] The film was originally set at a budget of $250,000 but this sum was increased to $300,000 and received a planned 27-day shooting schedule.[12] Lee briefly considered shooting the film in color but this idea was abandoned after Karloff's makeup looked poor in George Robinson's color tests.[12]
Filming and post-production
Production of Son of Frankenstein began on October 17, 1938, but filming was delayed until November 9 due to Lee's dissatisfaction with Cooper's screenplay.[12][13] The cast was already on salary so the studio gave orders for Lee to go ahead, which led to the budget growing to $500,000.[13] The lack of a completed script led to actors receiving freshly written pages minutes before scenes were set up to be filmed.[10] The finishing date of the production was postponed from December 10 to 17.[10] According to actor Josephine Hutchinson, director Lee did some rewriting on set.[10]
Filming was further delayed by problems including rain and cold weather, which forced Lee to halt some filming.[10][14] In the November 30 issue of The Hollywood Reporter, Universal announced the staff working on the cutting and scoring of Son of Frankenstein had been doubled to meet its scheduled release date.[14] The head of the editorial, sound and music departments - Maurice Pivar, Bernard B. Brown and Charles Previn respectively - alerted their staff about the possibility of working until the New Year holiday to meet the shipping date of the first 20 prints of the film.[14] By December 24, filming had not been completed, and the cast and crew worked until 6:15 pm rather than the usual noon finish.[14]
Production on the film was completed on January 5, 1939.[14] Dunagan said the film took a toll on Karloff, that the monster make-up "was punishing him" due to its weight, and that "when we got through with that movie, my sense was that he did not like that role. And I can promise you he didn't like the costume, which had to hurt him physically".[6] Son of Frankenstein was Karloff's final appearance as the monster in the series; he only portrayed him again for unique appearances on the television show Route 66 and at an all-star baseball game.[6] In 1948, Karloff said: "After Son, I decided the character no longer had any potentialities – the makeup did all the work. Anybody who can take that makeup every morning deserves respect".[6]
Post-production units only had a few days before the set January 7 preview dates. The first cut of the film ran over 100 minutes and was reduced. The final cost of the production was $420,000.[14]
Release
Son of Frankenstein was distributed theatrically by Universal Pictures on January 13, 1939.[2] The film performed well at the US box office; according to The Hollywood Reporter, the film had reaped greater returns than any prior horror film in key city openings.[15] The first-weekend revenue in Los Angeles, Boston and Richmond exceeded those of previous Universal film openings in those three cities.[15]
In 1948, Realart Pictures Inc. secured the reissue rights to the majority of Universal Pictures' library, which included the Universal monster movies.[16] In 1952, the company re-released Son of Frankenstein theatrically.[17] In late 1957, a television subsidiary of Columbia Pictures put together a package of Universal's films and screened them in a series called Shock Theater across the United States.[17] This series included Son of Frankenstein. [17][18] According to the book "Universal Horrors", the baby boomers generation primarily discovered these films through this television series.[18][19] In 1987, Universal/MCA found an uncut print of Son of Frankenstein and debated whether to release it or the more familiar edited version on home video.[20] The company decided on the latter.[20] The film was released on DVD as part of "The Monster Legacy Collection" and "Frankenstein: The Legacy Collection" on April 27, 2004.[21]
Reception
According to the authors of the book Universal Horrors (2007), Son of Frankenstein is "the last of the great Frankenstein films", and "every aspect of the picture, from the acting to the technical departs, is first-rate", concluding the film is "grandiose in scope, magnificent in design, it supplanted the quaint romanticsm and delicate fantasy flavoring of Bride of Frankenstein with a stark, grimly expressionistic approach to horror".
In the book Horror Movies (2018),
Legacy
After the success of Son of Frankenstein, Universal announced a follow-up film, The Ghost of Frankenstein, on November 13, 1941, saying they had been searching for a new lead to play the monster.[31] The next day, producer George Waggner was instructed to order the same type of makeup Karloff wore for the new actor, with instructions that changing the appearance may "kill the interest of Frankenstein follower".[31] Lon Chaney Jr. was chosen to play the monster.[31] The Ghost of Frankenstein was released on March 13, 1942.[31]
See also
- Bela Lugosi filmography
- Boris Karloff filmography
- List of horror films of the 1930s
- List of Universal Pictures films (1930–1939)
References
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 182.
- ^ a b c "Son of Frankenstein (1939)". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on October 17, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
- ^ Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 13.
- ^ a b c d e Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 183.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 185.
- ^ a b c d Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 193.
- ^ Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, pp. 193–194.
- ^ Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 194.
- ^ a b Edwards 1997.
- ^ a b c d e f g Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 188.
- ^ Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 184.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 186.
- ^ a b Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 187.
- ^ a b c d e f Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 189.
- ^ a b c Rhodes 1997, p. 112.
- ^ Okuda & Yurkiw 2016, p. 8.
- ^ a b c Pettigrew 2014, p. 149.
- ^ a b Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 585.
- ^ Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 584.
- ^ a b Buehrer 1993, p. 136.
- ^ "Son of Frankenstein (1939) - Rowland V. Lee | Releases". AllMovie. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
- ^ Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, pp. 194–195.
- ^ a b c Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 195.
- ^ Crisler 1939.
- ^ "Son of Frankenstein". Variety. Vol. 133, no. 6. January 18, 1939. p. 12.
- ^ A.P. 1939, p. 21.
- ^ Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 190.
- ^ Hoberman 2011.
- ^ Gilliam.
- ^ a b Marriott & Newman 2018, p. 50.
- ^ a b c d Weaver, Brunas & Brunas 2007, p. 275.
Sources
- A.P. (1939). "Son of Frankenstein". Monthly Film Bulletin. Vol. 6, no. 61. British Film Institute. p. 21.
- Buehrer, Beverley Bare (1993). Boris Karloff: A Bio-bibliography. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 031327715X.
- Crisler, B.R. (January 30, 1939). "The Screen; 'Son of Frankenstein', With Boris Karloff, Seen at the Rivoli; New Soviet Film at the Cameo At the Cameo". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 20, 2017. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
- Edwards, Phil (January 1997). "Son of Frankenstein". ISBN 0786402571.
- on August 20, 2017. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
- Gilliam, Richard. "Son of Frankenstein (1939)". AllMovie. Archived from the original on May 14, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
- ISBN 9781787391390.
- Okuda, Ted; Yurkiw, Mark (2016). Chicago TV Horror Movie Shows: From Shock Theatre to Svengoolie. SIU Press. ISBN 978-0809335381.
- Pettigrew, Neil (2014). Lionel Atwill: The Exquisite Villain. Midnight Marquee. ISBN 9781936168484.
- ISBN 0786402571.
- Weaver, Tom; Brunas, Michael; Brunas, John (2007) [1990]. Universal Horrors (2 ed.). McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-7864-2974-5.