Son of Frankenstein [DVD]

My personal favourite of all the Universal horror movies, 1939's Son of Frankenstein was the last of the classic trio starring Boris Karloff as the Frankenstein Monster, and marked the high point of the Universal horror cycle; with an all-star cast and a satisfying, fast-moving storyline, this lavish A-picture still stands up well today.
After fleshing out the character in Bride of Frankenstein (1935), Karloff now returns the Monster to the status of a mute brute and a more obviously straightforward villain, though his friendship with Bela Lugosi's broken-necked Ygor is still quite touching; and speaking of Lugosi, he gives the performance of his life here, losing the oily hair and hammy gestures of his melodramatic Count Dracula to play a toothy, grotesque grave-robber with real relish. Basil Rathbone's wired paranoia makes him a worthy successor to Colin Clive as the scientist, and Lionel Atwill enjoys his greatest role (famously spoofed in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein) as the one-armed Inspector Krogh.
With its grand, expressionistic sets and doom-laden atmosphere, Son of Frankenstein is for me the definitive horror film of the period, using the era's most famous stars to great effect in a production worthy of their talents. Unlike James Whale's two Frankenstein films, there are no duff notes in the performances, with the one possible exception of Donnie Dunagan, the small boy who plays Frankenstein's son. He drops a couple of lines and his comic timing is terrible, however, as he is visibly about four years old this is easily forgiven.
After this movie Karloff decided that he had done all he could with the Monster, and it was time to leave the part behind; however, Universal had no intention of giving up on such a profitable formula and continued to churn out more ever-more contrived sequels with a variety of stiffs replacing him in the role.

While this film never received the critical acclaim of "Bride of" I have always rated it better. It may not have the imagery, symbolism or black humour of the former but as a horror film it succeeds far better.
Rathbone gives gravitas to the role of Wolf the titular son striking a subtle balance of mania and scientific knowledge. Lugosi is brilliant as Ygor, yes it is his finest role surpassing the vampire count. Atwill's police inspector may represent law and order but the underlying menace of his performance reminds us constantly of the many villians which Lionel played.
Karloff is superb despite his lack of script. Once again he evokes fear and also sympathy by a wonderfully balanced performance.
This is universal horror at its' best, chilling, believable performances. Gloomy, foggy and futuristic sets, and a rattling plot which never loses pace.
All in all wonderfully represenative of the genre as a whole but a film capable of standing on its' own merits as you don't need to have seen the prequels to enjoy it.

The opening scene when Wolf (Rathbone) arrives in Frankenstein, the village named after his infamous father, is quite atmospheric, as the train negotioates a petrified, gnarled landscape. And Lugosi's performance as Ygor is inspired though predictably hammy. Lionel Atwill delivers a memorable and believable performance as Inpector Krogh (lampooned affectionately in Young Frankenstein). But that's about all to commend this film. I love Rathbone in his Sherlock Holmes role, but I'm afraid I think his performance here is well over the top. Some scenes make me cringe in fact.He later castigated this film as a 'penny dreadful' but I'm afraid he's more than a few quid dreadful here.
Karloff's monster is now reduced to a speechless dummy wearing a grubby fleece, denuded of any emotional expression. He does, however give the film its only moment of pathos, in the scene where he discovers Ygor's body. My last complaint is 'little' Donnie Dunagan, who sounds like Arnold out of Diffr'ent Strokes, talking infant jive in a crummy, shrill American accent. Talk about anachronism or miscasting.
The 'expressionist' set is certainly striking but scarcely believable. My final point is to speculate- how much better would this film have been if Peter Lorre, the original choice to play Wolf, had played the part instead of Rathbone?