Son of Frankenstein is a 1939 American horror film directed by Rowland V. Lee and starring Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. The film is the third in Universal Pictures' Frankenstein series and is the follow-up to the 1935 film Bride of Frankenstein. Son of Frankenstein stars Rathbone as Baron Wolf von Frankenstein who, with his wife Elsa (Josephine Hutchinson) and son Peter (Donnie Dunagan), returns to his late father's estate. Near the castle lives Ygor (Bela Lugosi), a crazed blacksmith whose neck was broken in an unsuccessful hanging attempt. Among the castle's remains, Frankenstein discovers the remains of the Monster (Boris Karloff) and decides to try to save his family name by resurrecting the creature to prove his father was correct. He finds, however, the Monster only responds to Ygor's commands. The film was originally announced in August 1938 after a successful theatrical reissue of Dracula and Frankenstein. Son of Frankenstein was initially announced under the title After Frankenstein. The screenplay written by Willis Cooper was initially rejected and early script drafts included only the characters that would be used in the final film. The original budget was set at $250,000 but Lee increased it to $300,000 and had a 27-day shooting schedule. Difficulties in production arose when Lee was unsatisfied with the script. Production was delayed until November 9 due to inclement weather and other problems, and filming was completed on January 5, 1939, with a final cost of $420,000. The film was released on January 13, 1939, and received positive reviews from The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Variety and the Monthly Film Bulletin. A sequel, The Ghost of Frankenstein, was released in 1942.
Plot Baron Wolf von Frankenstein, son of Henry Frankenstein, relocates his wife Elsa and their young son Peter to the family castle. Wolf wants to redeem his father Henry's reputation but finds this will be more difficult than he thought after encountering hostility from the villagers, who resent him for the destruction wreaked by his father's Monster years before. Wolf's only other friend is local police Inspector Krogh, who wears an artificial arm because Frankenstein's creature ripped off his real one when he was a child. While investigating Henry's castle, Wolf meets Ygor, a blacksmith who survived being hanged for grave-robbing and has a deformed neck as a result. Ygor brings Wolf to the Monster's comatose body, in the crypt where his grandfather and father are buried; Henry's sarcophagus bears the name "Heinrich von Frankenstein" with "Maker of Monsters" added in chalk. Wolf decides to revive the Monster to prove Henry was correct and to restore honour to his family. Using a torch, Wolf scratches out the word "Monsters" and writes "Men" beneath it. Wolf revives the Monster, but it only responds to Ygor's commands; he sends the Monster out to commit various murders. Meanwhile, Peter talks of a nice giant who visits him in his room, and to whom he gave one of his picture books. Elsa and Amelia, Peter's nurse, are amused at his supposed imagination, but Wolf and Krogh take the story seriously. Krogh suspects that Wolf has created a murderous monster similar to Henry's, due to marks on the victims' bodies. However, Wolf denies it. Meanwhile, Benson, the Frankensteins' butler, who is also a friend and assistant to Wolf, suggests to Wolf that he tell Krogh about the Monster, which Ygor overhears. Wolf refuses but agrees that Elsa and Peter must leave the castle. Wolf eventually questions Ygor about Benson's disappearance; Ygor claims that Benson was so frightened by the Monster that he ran away. Wolf tells Elsa that he wants her and Peter to go temporarily to Brussels, and he will follow later. After what is at first believed to be an accidental death – a man apparently crushed by his wagon – another murder occurs, and Krogh realizes that these latest deaths are connected to the previous six. The next day, he tells Wolf that he cannot allow any of the family to leave the castle for their own safety, as the villagers are convinced he had something to do with the murders and they might get violent. Peter shows Krogh a present the giant gave him, which the inspector realizes is Benson's watch. Wolf tries to force Ygor to leave, but the Monster comes to his defence. Ygor boasts that he sent the Monster to kill all the men from the jury that sentenced him to hang. Later, Wolf suggests to Krogh that Ygor is the killer, but Krogh says Ygor was under observation and could not be the murderer. Krogh believes that Wolf knows who the killer is: a monster, either one created by Wolf, or Henry's creation which is still alive. To appease the villagers, Krogh arrests Wolf for the disappearance of Benson. Krogh then orders Wolf not to leave the castle. Nevertheless, Wolf is determined to throw Ygor off his property; he finds Ygor in the castle's laboratory and when Ygor tries to kill him with a hammer, he shoots him. Ygor collapses, apparently dead. Krogh searches for a secret passage connecting the castle to the laboratory; in it, he finds Benson's body. The Monster finds Ygor's body and screams in anguish. In his grief he wrecks everything he can find. He abducts Wolf's son in revenge but cannot bring himself to kill him. Krogh, Wolf, Elsa and Amelia pursue the Monster to the laboratory where a struggle ensues. The Monster tears off Krogh's false arm and uses it as a shield to deflect Krogh's gunshots. Wolf swings on a chain and knocks the Monster into a pit of molten sulfur beneath the laboratory, saving his son. Wolf leaves the keys of the castle to the villagers, who cheer the family as they leave by train.
Cast
Production
Development Following the release of Dracula's Daughter in May 1936, all horror film productions were dropped from Universal Pictures production schedules. The studio resumed horror film production after a two-year break with the announcement of Son of Frankenstein in August 1938. Initially, Universal considered remaking their earlier films The Old Dark House (1932) and The Raven (1935) but instead decided to make a new Frankenstein film after the success of the triple bill of Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931) and Son of Kong (1933) at Los Angeles' Regina Theatre on Wilshire Boulevard. The screenings at the 659-seat theater packed houses for five weeks, leading Universal to reissue Frankenstein and Dracula on one program in theaters across the United States.
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