Movie Review: Son of Frankenstein
Often touted as the 'best of the Frankenstein movies,' Son of Frankenstein was highly anticipated viewing in my family of two. We finally settled down to watch it last night.
But first, a rant:
I'll admit to being a closet movie freak, which is why I've started posting these movie reviews on my journal. I own a rather significant amount of movies, most of which are still on VHS (I'm replacing them with DVD slowly but surely). While I can only profess to knowing every word to a handful of films (Clockwork Orange, Naked Lunch, and several Doctor Who episodes to name a few), I'm not as freakish as you might believe. At the least, saying that makes me feel better.
So why do I bother writing reviews in a journal that hardly anyone reads? First, I've always loved reviewing movies. It is a small passion of mine, and I cannot really explain when it began. As a film lover, I enjoy reading other opinions of movies, even when I don't agree with them. It's one of the ways I get in touch with the world, however ridiculous that may sound. Like getting to know a person based on what's in their spice rack, I can often tell a great deal about a person by their movie preferences.
I suppose it's an addiction, albeit a healthy one (unless I take too many trips to the multiplex, of course). I was raised by parents who loved to go to the movies at least every couple of weekends, and I cannot thank them enough for this habit that I've inherited. We were one of the first families in our neighborhood to get cable TV, and I remember the excitement of the early days of HBO - when great (and not so great) movies were suddenly accessible at home without commercial interruptions or expensive equipment rentals. I was a lucky kid at times.
Now that I'm a bit older, and I can afford to go to the movies twice a month, I'm a bit more choosy about what I go to the theater to see. And I don't actually have cable or satellite anymore, thanks to the invention of DVD rentals online. I also had a great deal of time to waste on movies as a kid, so the rare moments I get to see them now are highly cherished slivers of time.
Now onto the review:
Baron Wolf von Frankenstein (played by the occasionally brilliant but usually desperate-for-work Basil Rathbone) is the son of the original monster maker, Dr. Henry Frankenstein. His knockout wife Elsa (Josephine Hutchinson... grrrowl) and annoyingly acted son Peter (Donnie Dunagan, who goes on to later play the voice of Young Bambi), take a train to his late father's estate. Even in the midst of the bleak, hulking rubble of the English countryside, filled with smoke and craggly trees, they sense the adventure and the excitement of the unknown. Of course, it's all a foreshadowing of the 'bleak' events yet to unfold.
The villagers greet them with jeers and moans. After the doings of his father, they don't take too kindly to the Frankenstein name. And the son is also a scientist (how amazingly convenient), which only adds to their disdain. However, once the cutesy little family begin settling into the castle, they are visited by the charming Inspector Krogh (Lionel Atwill). At first, he seems stiff and fearsome, but as their patter continues we discover that Krogh is a very decent and understanding man. Everybody's just cozy and happy, but the weather's getting worse outside.
As all this fun stuff is going on, Ygor's little head pops up here and there. Ygor is genuinely creepy, but occasionally he comes off as a little campy (and flat as only Bela can be). Mix Zathras in B5 with Torgo from Manos: Hands of Fate, and you basically have Ygor, an awkwardly-speaking, slow moving freak with feral undertones. You don't want this guy hanging around your house.
The 'plot' thickens as we discover Baron Frankenstein secretly harbors great sympathy for his father and the same undying obsession for 'science.' He stumbles into the old lab, meets Ygor, finds the monster, and somewhere along this short hop he turns from respectable family man to amoral necromancer. It's a huge credibility jumb, which is why the plot sort of fades into the background at this point.
Inspector Klogh comes round occasionaly, giving the Baron a chance to let his niceties show. We find out that Klogh's lifelong dream was to be a soldier, but when the Monster ripped off his arm years ago, his future career was ruined and he was stuck being a police inspector instead. While Frankenstein is busy being terribly nice to Klogh, he's also hiding the fact that he's reanimated the monster. It's complicated.
We spend the next hour laughing and hum-hawing at the 'horrific' antics of Ygor and the Monster. Ygor is using the stupid monster to kill off everybody that had Ygor hanged years before, but the Monster is oblivious to the fact that he's being used (because he's stupid). Still, the monster thinks that Ygor is his only friend, and he goes berserk when Frankenstein shoots Ygor full of holes. About three minutes later, Inspector Krogh puts all the pieces together and meets the Monster with his gun. Of course, guns don't stop the monster.
Just when something dashing and exciting begins to happen, Baron Frankenstein knocks the monster into a boiling pit of sulfur. We cut to a scene where he's giving the estate to the villagers, and the fun is over.
Son of Frankenstein has an impressive lineup of stars and a surprising level of character complexity (for 1939). However, I wouldn't call it a significant classic, and I don't agree that it is the BEST Frankenstein movie. If anything, it's a passable B-movie with some charm thrown in (the Baron and the Inspector's dart-playing scene, for instance). It's a genuine attempt at taking the Frankenstein franchise in a different direction, but they could have done better. Next time I watch this movie, I'll probably be riffing it, and writhing in pain when Bela comes on the screen with his scraggly-tooth, bearded, broken-necked stooge antics.
Out of 10, I'd love to give it a 7 for originality, but because of the goofiness of the Igor/Monster relationship and the hammy acting from Bela, it's got to be a 6.
Until next time......
posted by novachild @ Thursday, September 09, 2004,
