Son of Frankenstein

"The black shadows of the past bred this half-man/half-demon! Creating a new and terrible juggernaut of destruction!"

1939 1h 39m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

🔥

95%

CERTIFIED FRESH

⭐

IMDB

★6.7TMDB · 284🍅95%Rotten Tomatoes★7IMDB · 13,067

HorrorScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

One of the sons of late Dr. Henry Frankenstein finds his father's ghoulish creation in a coma and revives him, only to find out the monster is controlled by Ygor who is bent on revenge.

“The black shadows of the past bred this half-man/half-demon! Creating a new and terrible juggernaut of destruction!”

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Cast

Basil Rathbone
Baron Wolf von Frankenstein
Boris Karloff
The Monster
Bela Lugosi
Ygor
Lionel Atwill
Inspector Krogh
Josephine Hutchinson
Elsa von Frankenstein
Donnie Dunagan
Peter von Frankenstein
Emma Dunn
Amelia
Edgar Norton
Thomas Benson

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Rowland V. Lee
Writers: Wyllis Cooper
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

87 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Frankenstein (Universal) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Rowland V. Lee, shot by George Robinson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Frank Skinner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ted J. Kent shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Basil Rathbone and Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The black shadows of the past bred this half-man/half-demon! Creating a new and terrible juggernaut of destruction!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Rowland V. Lee directs. George Robinson behind the camera. Frank Skinner scores. Ted J. Kent cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
287 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Part of the "Frankenstein (Universal) Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Rowland V. Lee, shot by George Robinson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Frank Skinner. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Ted J. Kent shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Basil Rathbone and Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "The black shadows of the past bred this half-man/half-demon! Creating a new and terrible juggernaut of destruction!".
9IMDB entry: tt0031951 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 16 themes, including "halloween", "castle", "sequel", "baron".

The technical file

Cinematography: George Robinson
Original score: Frank Skinner
Editing: Ted J. Kent
Costume design: Vera West
Makeup / hair: Jack Pierce
Runtime: 99 min · 1h 39m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $420,000
Original language: EN
IMDB: Son of Frankenstein (1939)
Rotten Tomatoes: 95% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 7/10 · 13,067 votes
MPAA: Approved

Awards

1 win & 1 nomination total

Part of

Frankenstein (Universal) Collection

A Universal Production film series beginning with Frankenstein in 1931 and followed by four sequels up to 1944.

Also by

Rowland V. Lee

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2018-09-30
★ 8/10
Baron Wolf von Frankenstein. Son Of Frankenstein, directed by Rowland V. Lee and starring Basil Rathbone as Baron Frankenstein, Boris Karloff as The Monster (his last turn as the creature), Lionel Atwill as Inspector Krogh and Bela Lugosi as Ygor. That's quite a cast list, add in a sharp script from Willis Cooper and the stunning sets from Russell Gausman, and you got a sequel that's well worth its salt. Following on from Bride Of Frankenstein (25 years later), the film sees son of Frankenstein Baron Wolf von Frankenstein (Rathbone) return to the family home and scene of his fathers monstrosities. Receiving a less than lukewarm reception on arrival, Wolf is presented with a box containing his fathers papers. After being told in no uncertain terms that continuing his fathers work will not be tolerable, Wolf laughs off the notion. However, the next day he's out wandering in the ruins and comes across Ygor, his dead fathers assistant. Where it's revealed that "The Monster" is still alive but very much comatose. Wolf then becomes obsessed with bringing the monster back to full life, thus to prove his father had the right intention but not the right execution of his ideas. It's a ripper of a sequel is this, perhaps lacking in the humour that James Whale brought to the first two films, it is however a well constructed feature boasting great performances from Rathbone (the part was originally planned for Peter Lorre), Lionel Atwill (having a riot with his false arm) and Lugosi (possibly a career high in terms of substance). Lee stamps his own marker on the piece and I think the nicest thing one can say is that his film sits well along side Whale's classics. The only let down is actually Karloff's monster, stripped of voice at Karloff's insistence, the monster is now reduced to being a lumbering robot. It's not a fitting farewell to the great work that Karloff did with this quite brilliant creation on page and screen. 8/10

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