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Cary: Still, here we are ripping on this movie and the fact is it's a damn good movie. I just think it's a little over-hyped.  Production wise, this thing is solid, and once again, Karloff is fantastic. He gets some speaking parts in this one, and while he could have ended up as a caricature, he pulled it off.

Shawn: I completely agree. “SMOKE GOOOOOOD!” Why I haven't seen a T-Shirt at Hot Topic of Frank holding the cigar with that dialog underneath is a real fucking mystery. I would buy that in a heartbeat.

Cary: I also think it's interesting (jumping ahead just a little here) that, after this film, they shut him up again. I know that Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man had dialogue written for the Monster, but it was ultimately scrapped because Lugosi's performance made audiences laugh.

Shawn: I agree with this. I think they should have kept him speaking.

In the opening scene of Bride Of Frankenstein, the story is being told by Mary Shelley (Elsa Lanchester who also played The Bride). She is sitting in the parlor of a castle conversing with her husband and Lord Byron. The scene then changes to pick-up the story from where the 1931 original left off.

Shawn: What did you think about the opening?

Cary: I really don't like that bit much. I think Elsa Lanchester is actually really hot. I even think she's hot when she's in her monster make-up. That's the one thing that Universal consistently gets right in all of these movies (even the lousy ones). The girls are almost always smokin' hot. But that opening bit seems very contrived to me.

Shawn: True, to be in control of the casting couch at Universal must have been an incredibly lucrative position. I admire what they were trying to do with the opening, although I agree, it isn't that strong. Points for originality, though.

Cary: It does offer a very nice segue into the film. Again, though, I want to go back to something I said earlier about the source material: You've read the novel, I'm sure. There is so much there that they could have worked with, even in 1935. Why go with the Pretorious thing at all? Why not have the Monster return and terrorize the doctor himself?

Shawn: I totally agree, although it has been a very long time since I last read the novel. There was no reason for Pretorious, Minnie, or the little fucking royal family that he made. The final sequence with The Bride being "born" makes the whole film worth it for all its flaws. It's staged beautifully, and Elsa really gets into character. Amazing, considering the character is never really developed.

Cary: Whale more than proved himself. That last sequence in the laboratory is worth the price of admission alone. It shouldn't be missed.

Son Of Frankenstein (1939)

Synopsis
Karloff returns as the Monster for one last time in this 1939 sequel. Basil Rathbone stars as Baron Wolf Von Frankenstein, who returns to his father’s castle to claim his inheritance. The local villagers are wary of his return, and it’s not long before they have reason to worry. Bela Lugosi joins this strong cast as Ygor, a criminal who, having survived a hanging, convinces Wolf to revive his father’s creation. He then uses the creature to exact revenge on those that sentenced him to death.

Cary: Let's move on to Son Of Frankenstein

Shawn: My favorite film of all the sequels, believe it or not.

Cary: Wow! Mine too! I love that they did away with the idea of doing a traditional monster movie and instead really did a murder/mystery movie with a monster. Ygor really becomes the villain here, more so than the Monster.

Shawn: Easily. I like the shift in motive for the current Frankenstein as well. How he continues work in order to save the family name. Not because of any real obsession with creating life.

Cary: He becomes a much more sympathetic character, and also, we don't get subjected to another mad scientist moment, which by the end of all the sequels begins to get old.

Shawn: I found online that this is the longest of all the Universal horror films - and at only 99 minutes! I really think that's what helps develop the more convincing, less funny story

Cary: Again, I think you're right on. It is longer. It's much tenser. You are actually pulling for Frankenstein and hoping that the police inspector doesn't discover what's going on. One thing, though: Basil Rathbone is a great actor, but am I alone in feeling he overacted in almost every scene of this movie? Subtlety is not a trait found in abundance during his performance.

Shawn: Yes, Rathbone indeed took it up a notch in his performance. But still, it wasn't hard to look past that. And what a likeable inspector, too! You don't feel he is just an obstacle, either. All you feel is hatred for Ygor for being a piece of shit.

Cary: Let me just state emphatically something I believe we're both hinting at: Other than Karloff, Bela Lugosi as Ygor is the best thing to happen to this entire franchise. He is incredibly evil and it's not just in the makeup. His delivery is evil. His mannerisms are evil. He comes across as someone you would be incredibly uncomfortable being in the same room with, and that feeling still comes across even today!

Shawn: Yes, he is phenomenal in this movie. Another great bit is the jab against the judicial system. How they can't hang Ygor again because he has already been pronounced dead. There is an obvious commentary about justice-in-action going on there. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any original release reviews that took note of that. Of course, films weren't quite analyzed in the same way they are now.

Cary: What did you think of the ending? I like that there's a "hostage" situation and that Basil Rathbone becomes an action hero suddenly. He's the thinking man through the whole movie, and then suddenly it's not the townspeople or the police inspector who throws down with the bad guys, it's Dr. Frankenstein. Pretty cool that he's finally a hero.

Shawn: It fits the film in a way. He's been given shit by everyone throughout the entire film, and he has been high-strung ever since his son started talking about the "giant." I'm all for him going John McClane

Cary: Any final thoughts before we move on to Ghost?

Shawn: Yeah, I think that the whole "horn" thing is pretty stupid. I mean, the Monster already lost his ability to speak, and his mate, why did he have to lose free will... to a fucking horn.

Cary: You know. I forgot about that, but yeah, now that you mention it, it is kind of stupid. I guess I always forgave it because the rest of the story is so good, but you're right. That's really idiotic.

Shawn: and I really don't like that Ygor still has control over him in Ghost Of Frankenstein...

Ghost Of Frankenstein (1942)

Synopsis
Ygor (once again played by Bela Lugosi) revives the Monster (this time played by Lon Chaney Jr.). The Monster is weak, though, and Igor takes him to see Ludwig Frankenstein, the youngest son of the Monster’s creator, in hopes of restoring him to his full powers. Frankenstein agrees, but falls prey to a scheme by Ygor and another doctor to transplant Ygor’s brain into the creature, thus giving Ygor eternal life.

Cary: Of the batch, Ghost Of Frankenstein is my least favorite, but I disagree with you; I like that Ygor is still in charge. I love Lugosi in that role. The Monster is a mindless servant most of the time, while Ygor is the one plotting and manipulating things. If you've already gone that direction with Son Of Frankenstein, why not continue it?

Shawn: Because repetition is the route by which all that sucks travels. You are absolutely right about Lugosi being awesome, but bringing that back to Ghost felt like little more than a retread. Why is there all of a sudden a second son to Frankenstein that previously went unknown?

Cary: Must have been from one of the maids.

Shawn: Ha! No doubt. It's great that this Frankenstein had his own manor within a day's travel from his brother. Yet no one in his town hates him for it.

Cary: You know, this is the instance when all of these movies begin the long slow slide into complete camp, and it occurs midway through the film. There are some great moments, still. I love the part with the Monster holding the little girl on the roof, but by the time he gets to trial and we start talking brain transplants, we're headed down the path that eventually leads to the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Shawn: I only wish that Ghost Of Frankenstein had half of Rocky Horror's creativity.

Cary: Well, let's quickly talk about something we missed when talking about Son Of Frankenstein, and that's direction. Son Of Frankenstein still has great direction, even though it may not have Whale's visual sensibilities that you pointed out earlier. With Ghost, though, you're in Boringsville, USA.

Shawn: Lon Chaney, Jr. doesn't have half the charisma of Karloff, either. Also, so much of Ghost takes place outside, and films of this nature need to be darker. The only truly memorable scene is the Monster being chained to the chair and his subsequent breaking out.

Cary: You're right. Great scene, but the only really memorable thing Chaney contributes.