When Ygor brings the Monster to Dr. Ludwig Frankenstein for care, Ludwig gets the idea of replacing the Monster's current criminal brain with a normal one.
The Ghost of Frankenstein is an American monster horror film released in 1942. The movie is the fourth in a series of films produced by Universal Studios based upon characters in Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein and features Lon Chaney, Jr. as the Monster, taking over from Boris Karloff, who played the role in the first three films of the series, and Béla Lugosi in his second and final appearance as the demented Ygor. The supporting cast features Lionel Atwill, Cedric Hardwicke, Ralph Bellamy and Evelyn Ankers.
The citizens of the small German town of Frankenstein are once again incensed about Castle Frankenstein. Even though Wolf Frankenstein, son of the original "mad doctor" Heinrich/Henry, has been exiled, and the Monster and Ygor are supposedly dead, the villagers are claiming to have seen Ygor, and they believe that the presence of the Frankensteins has left a curse on their town. So they ask the mayor for permission to destroy the castle; it's granted. After they spot Ygor at the castle their fervor is increased. The destruction reveals the Monster encased in hardened sulfur, which apparently has been therapeutic for him. Ygor takes the Monster and escapes to Vasaria, home of another Frankenstein son, Ludwig. Of course chaos ensues.
An often overlooked and under-appreciated entry in Universal's classic "Frankenstein" series that succeeds as an atmospheric, effortlessly paced monster movie. Dark, stormy nights, crashing thunder and lightning -- all add in setting the stage for a thoroughly satisfying night of chills.
After having played the definitive version of Frankenstein's Creation three times already, Boris Karloff vowed not to continue with the series at this point. It must have been a formidable task for Lon Chaney to take over the part for The Ghost Of Frankenstein, but while he doesn't make as compassionate a monster as Karloff did, Lon does manage to endow the character with an awesome display of brute strength with his otherwise stone-faced performance.
 |
| You can't keep a good monster down! |
The real star of the movie is Bela Lugosi as Ygor, continuing his role from `Son of Frankenstein. `Ghost of Frankenstein' comes across as insubstantial when you compare it to the first three Frankensteins. If you're a fan of Universal monster movies you'll find plenty to enjoy in this movie. It's one of the better/more enjoyable movies that is part of the official Frankenstein franchise and it certainly doesn't have a bad ending.
Oddly enough, even though Colin Clive (who died in 1937) is clearly seen in the flashback sequence as Henry Frankenstein, it is also clearly Hardwicke portraying Henry's "Ghost". Dwight Frye also seen in the flashback, has a small role as a villager at the beginning of the film.
Ghost of Frankenstein is far from being the best of Universal's Frankenstein series, but as a middle-of-the-pack entry, it's quite worthwhile. And for serious fans of The Monster who feel that the later "team-up" entries in the series are abominations (that is to say Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man, House of Frankenstein, House of Dracula, and Bud Abbott Lou Costello Meet Frankenstein), then this film is pretty much the end of the Frankenstein Monster story.
The material is not as deep and thoughtful as it's highly regarded predecessors, but the patchwork script ends up turning into b-grade shenanigans shooting at the straight and narrow. At least the nippy pace makes sure it never truly flags about, and there are some effective set-pieces laid out by Earl C. Kenton's able direction. The music score on the other hand, can fall into the overkill category and tries to hard to leave a mark in every possible sequence. There's no harm to the legacy, but neither is it an impressive addition. But otherwise I've always enjoyed these Universal monster features, no matter what the quality is.
Trivia:
Lon Chaney Jr. was known for his hard-drinking ways. During production of this film, Chaney became inebriated while in full costume and got "lost" in the intricate mazes that were part of the laboratory sets. It took several minutes for him to find his way free. A similar incident occurred many years later when Chaney played the Frankenstein Monster on an episode of Tales of Tomorrow. Once again, Chaney became intoxicated and mistakenly believed that the show's live telecast was actually the final dress rehearsal. For much of the performance, Chaney stumbled about, picking up breakaway props he was supposed to destroy and then setting them back down.
It was reported that the rubber headpiece used for the Frankenstein monster make-up was very uncomfortable for Lon Chaney Jr. to wear. It sat directly on his forehead and he constantly complained. Once he asked for it to be removed. Angry and frustrated when no one listened, he ripped it off himself, tearing open a bloody gash in his forehead. Production on the film was shut down for a couple of days.
Ygor and the Monster weren't the only characters who came back from the dead. Michael Mark and Lionel Belmore, who play the two council members murdered in Son of Frankenstein (1939) are back as council members in this one, seemingly none the worse for wear.
During breaks in filming, Lon Chaney Jr. would often treat child cast members to ice cream.
Dwight Frye appears as 2 different characters. First as one of the villagers who destroys the Frankenstein castle at the beginning of the film. Later in flashbacks to the original Frankenstein (1931) where he played Fritz, the hunchbacked assistant to the original Dr. Frankenstein.
The first draft of the script was written by Eric Taylor was considered too depressing. The original Taylor treatment brought Wolf von Frankenstein back into play, as well as Ygor, plus a misshapen hunchback, Theodor. Ygor's plan was to create a vengeful mob of society's rejects, ala Freaks (1932), led by himself, with the Monster as brute force. A rewrite was ordered and given to veteran writer Scott Darling who retained the fundamental scenario but made significant changes.
Lon Chaney Jr. was cast while he was still filming The Wolf Man (1941).
Lon Chaney Jr. finished The Wolf Man (1941) on November 27, 1941, then started this film on December 15, finishing on January 15, 1942. Release took place on April 3.
Boris Karloff, then acting in the hit Broadway show which became Arsenic and Old Lace(1944), had no interest in working on the film. Producer George Waggner wisely decided to retain Karloff's make-up out of fear that the public would not accept any change in the monster's appearance.
Ralph Bellamy had previously played a member of law enforcement who hunts a murderous monster. The first film was The Wolf Man (1941). In both movies Lon Chaney Jr. plays the monster.
Four of the principal actors from Universal Pictures' The Wolf Man (1941), which had finished shooting just a few weeks before production began on this film and which was released during production, also appeared in this movie. Lon Chaney Jr., Ralph Bellamy, Bela Lugosi, and Evelyn Ankers all also appeared in this film; with the exception of Lugosi, each portrays a character very similar to their roles in The Wolf Man.
This film featured the smallest budget for a Universal Pictures' Frankenstein franchise film up to that point. Budgets would continue to be slashed in the future films, and this would prove to be the final Frankenstein film shot by Universal's A-unit production crews.
Lon Chaney Jr. would play the Monster a number of times later: footage from this film appears as stock shots in House of Dracula (1945); he doubled Glenn Strange for three shots in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) when Strange twisted his ankle; he played the role in a half-hour version of "Frankenstein" on TV's Tales of Tomorrow(1951); and he appeared (masked) in two comedy sketches with Bud Abbott and Lou Costello on a 1952 The Colgate Comedy Hour (1950) show.
Lon Chaney Jr. developed a serious allergic reaction to the makeup required to play the Monster. At one point, he developed such a bad rash that production had to be halted for several days in order for him to recover.
In addition to the woes Lon Chaney Jr. experienced from wearing Jack P. Pierce's makeup and prosthetic devices, the makeup he had to wear in order to portray the Monster emerging from the dried sulfur was a particularly difficult burden for Chaney. In order to get the right look for the Monster trapped in the dried sulfur from the sulfur pit, Pierce essentially covered Chaney with cement and only provided a hole for him to breath out of by placing a straw in his mouth. The makeup process lasted from around 6:00 am until noon, at which point the cast and crew all went to lunch, leaving Chaney alone on set while his cement-based makeup dried.
The miniature of the burning castle shown at the climax of The Ghost of Frankenstein is identical to the miniature of the burning mansion shown at the climax of Night Monster(1942).
Universal Studios developed a marketing campaign for the film that encouraged theaters to place an empty chair in the lobby with a sign reading: "Will you lend me your brain?".
The outside scenes shot in the fictional town of Visaria reused the town square set from All Quiet on the Western Front (1930).
This is the final Frankenstein film to feature the Monster by himself. Each remaining Universal Pictures' Frankenstein sequel featured a pairing of Dr. Frankenstein's creation with one or more of the title monsters from the rest of Universal's horror canon.
 |
| Ygor and Dr. Frankenstein |
Part of the SON OF SHOCK package of 20 titles released to television in 1958, which followed the original Shock Theater release of 52 features one year earlier.
Reaching a height of 6'3" and weighing in at 220 pounds, Lon Chaney Jr. was a large man even before he was "enlarged" for the role of Frankenstein's Monster. After Chaney had donned Jack P. Pierce's makeup and prosthetic devices, he stood 6'9" tall and weighed 284 pounds.
Although this film refers back to its predecessor, Son of Frankenstein (1939), and derives much of its plot from events that happened in the previous film, it rather notoriously revives several characters who had died in the previous film. The Monster, Ygor, and the councilmen played by Michael Mark and Lionel Belmore all return after meeting their ends in Son of Frankenstein. Universal Studios refused to acknowledge this perplexing revival as an error, and instead publicly announced that the return of these characters (even the rather minor councilmen characters) provided a continuity to the rest of the franchise that the public craved.
 |
| The King of all Monsters strikes again! No chains can hold him! No tomb can seal him in! |
Lionel Atwill's character (Dr. Bohmer) is responsible for ensuring Ygor's (Bela Lugosi) brain is switched with that of the monster (Lon Chaney Jr.) making him far more dangerous than he was before. In Man Made Monster (1941) Atwill plays a mad doctor who makes Chaney Jr.'s character dangerous via electricity (which originally brought life to the Frankenstein Monster)
This is the only film in Universal Pictures' Frankenstein franchise in which a member of the Frankenstein family, in this case Dr. Ludwig Frankenstein, is killed. Several characters in several of the sequels mention that the original Dr. Frankenstein (whose name changes from film to film) is deceased, but his death occurs off screen and does not take place in any of the films.
