Universal Pictures couldn't let a good thing go following the release of the first three Frankenstein movies. This was the first film to follow in the tradition of "Frankenstein" and it's sequels "Bride of Frankenstein" and "Son of Frankenstein". It's been a while since I've seen those, so catching this one today wasn't as jarring by way of comparison. I thought it was fairly entertaining, made particularly so with the various debates over who's brain was going to go into the Monster.
The film has a great moody and atmospheric opening, reminiscent more of the original "The Wolf Man" than of the prior Frankenstein flicks. Taking an adrenaline inducing booster shot from a lightning bolt, the Monster is revived from a cement encased tomb to live again, contrary to past continuity, but that never seemed to be a consideration in this franchise. Interestingly, the first time Lon Chaney Jr. appeared as the creature, he resembled the Karloff Frankenstein pretty closely, but as the picture progressed, the facial features of the Monster began to resemble Chaney's own appearance more and more. I thought that was kind of interesting.
Considering the Frankenstein name and legacy in the story, I thought Lionel Atwill had a fairly major presence here as Doctor Theodore Bohmer. Personally, I thought the switcheroo with who's brain went into the Monster was handled kind of clumsily, though Ygor's (Bela Lugosi) rationale made sense in a dubious sort of way. He was going for the immortality thing but should have figured things don't always turn out as planned. But then again, he was Ygor, so he probably wasn't thinking of unintended consequences.
I caught this on Turner Classics, hosted by film critic Ben Mankiewics, and he offered a cool insight into Chaney's role as the Monster. The actor had a bad reaction to his makeup at one point and needed a week off from filming to recuperate. But things got worse - remember that scene of the Monster encased in cement when he makes his revival? After taking hours to put that scene together, Chaney's patience got tested even more when the entire film crew broke for lunch!
The film has a great moody and atmospheric opening, reminiscent more of the original "The Wolf Man" than of the prior Frankenstein flicks. Taking an adrenaline inducing booster shot from a lightning bolt, the Monster is revived from a cement encased tomb to live again, contrary to past continuity, but that never seemed to be a consideration in this franchise. Interestingly, the first time Lon Chaney Jr. appeared as the creature, he resembled the Karloff Frankenstein pretty closely, but as the picture progressed, the facial features of the Monster began to resemble Chaney's own appearance more and more. I thought that was kind of interesting.
Considering the Frankenstein name and legacy in the story, I thought Lionel Atwill had a fairly major presence here as Doctor Theodore Bohmer. Personally, I thought the switcheroo with who's brain went into the Monster was handled kind of clumsily, though Ygor's (Bela Lugosi) rationale made sense in a dubious sort of way. He was going for the immortality thing but should have figured things don't always turn out as planned. But then again, he was Ygor, so he probably wasn't thinking of unintended consequences.
I caught this on Turner Classics, hosted by film critic Ben Mankiewics, and he offered a cool insight into Chaney's role as the Monster. The actor had a bad reaction to his makeup at one point and needed a week off from filming to recuperate. But things got worse - remember that scene of the Monster encased in cement when he makes his revival? After taking hours to put that scene together, Chaney's patience got tested even more when the entire film crew broke for lunch!