The third sequel to James Whale's 1931 masterpiece carries on with the idea put forward in Son of Frankenstein, in that the villagers from the settlement where Dr Frankenstein created his monster believe that their home is cursed. This leads us to Castle Frankenstein, where Bela Lugosi's Ygor is holed up. After the villagers burn the castle down, Ygor finds his 'friend', the monster; and the pair travel to the home of Frankenstein's second son Ludwig, whom Ygor hopes will be able to revitalise the monster. The events of Son of Frankenstein don't play too heavily on the plot of this film, and several important plot points have been ignored so that the plot is able to move as the writer wanted it too. This is somewhat annoying, but there are slight attempts to explain the reappearance of certain key characters that go some way to sorting it. The main plot idea is basically the same as Son of Frankenstein, in that it sees a descendant of the original doctor trying to heal his father's monster at the request of the sinister Ygor.
Watching this film, it's obvious where Hammer Horror got a lot of their ideas for the continued story of Frankenstein from. There isn't a lot of reference towards the classic Mary Shelly story, and like Hammer would go on to do; this is a new take on the classic horror story. The Ghost of Frankenstein is hugely enjoyable as long as you don't go into it expecting more than a B-movie picture. The cast give the film many of it's main plus points. Series star Boris Karloff doesn't appear in this instalment, but classic star Bela Lugosi makes up for his absence. Lugosi's Ygor is the main driving force behind this film, and he brings just the right amount of calculation and malevolence to his crippled character. Lugosi is joined by Lon Chaney Jr, who steps into Karloff's role as Frankenstein's Monster. Really, he doesn't have all that much to do; but he's a worthy replacement for Karloff. Cedric Hardwicke is the doctor this time around, and does a fairly good job; while Lionel Atwill swaps his role of the one-armed inspector in Son of Frankenstein for Doctor Frankenstein's immoral assistant. Overall, this isn't as good as the three films that preceded it; but it offers a good time, and if you're a fan of the series, you'll no doubt like this too.
Watching this film, it's obvious where Hammer Horror got a lot of their ideas for the continued story of Frankenstein from. There isn't a lot of reference towards the classic Mary Shelly story, and like Hammer would go on to do; this is a new take on the classic horror story. The Ghost of Frankenstein is hugely enjoyable as long as you don't go into it expecting more than a B-movie picture. The cast give the film many of it's main plus points. Series star Boris Karloff doesn't appear in this instalment, but classic star Bela Lugosi makes up for his absence. Lugosi's Ygor is the main driving force behind this film, and he brings just the right amount of calculation and malevolence to his crippled character. Lugosi is joined by Lon Chaney Jr, who steps into Karloff's role as Frankenstein's Monster. Really, he doesn't have all that much to do; but he's a worthy replacement for Karloff. Cedric Hardwicke is the doctor this time around, and does a fairly good job; while Lionel Atwill swaps his role of the one-armed inspector in Son of Frankenstein for Doctor Frankenstein's immoral assistant. Overall, this isn't as good as the three films that preceded it; but it offers a good time, and if you're a fan of the series, you'll no doubt like this too.