….A Freaky Frankenstein Friday!

SON OF FRANKENSTEIN; 1939; Studio: Universal; Director: Rowland V. Lee; Cast: Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill.

The now-classic Universal monster movie series floundered after a few entries due to changes in studio hierarchy and a British embargo on horror movies, but after successful rereleases of 1931’s Dracula and Frankenstein in in 1938, the stars of those two films were united in this relaunch.  Karloff plays Frankenstein’s Monster one last time, now wearing a stylish fuzzy sweater instead of a drab suit, while Lugosi takes on the role of a broken-necked, sinister manipulator called Ygor.  Rathbone is Baron Wolf von Frankenstein, Henry’s son, while Atwill is the one-armed Inspector Krogh.  If any of this sounds familiar, it’s because much of this film served as the inspiration for Mel Brooks’ loving 1974 parody, Young Frankenstein.  In this installment, the Monster exhibits emotional sensitivity but lacks the power of speech he gained one movie earlier in 1935’s The Bride of Frankenstein. “Nothing in nature is terrifying when one understands it.”

Appreciation for the expert commentary on “Son Of Frankenstein” goes to Dr. Arnold Blumberg.  THANKS DOC!!  Doc is an educator, publisher, author, comic and pop culture historian, and former museum curator.  He was the editor of The Overstreet Comic Book Price guide and teaches courses in everything from comics to zombies to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Find him on Twitter @DoctoroftheDead.