The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)

★ 5.8 1h 8m IMDb

Frankenstein's unscrupulous colleague, Dr. Bohmer, plans to transplant Ygor's brain so he can rule the world using the monster's body, but the plan goes sour when he turns malevolent and goes on a rampage.

The Ghost of Frankenstein

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Cast

Cedric Hardwicke
Cedric Hardwicke as Dr. Ludwig Frankenstein / Dr. Henry Frankenstein (ghostly image) Died 1964 · Lye, Worcestershire, England, UK Sir Cedric Webster Hardwicke (19 February 1893 – 6 August 1964) was a noted English stage and film actor whose career spanned nearly fifty years. Hardwicke's theatre work included notable performances...
Ralph Bellamy
Ralph Bellamy as Erik Ernst Died 1991 · Chicago, Illinois, USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Ralph Rexford Bellamy (June 17, 1904 – November 29, 1991) was an American actor whose career spanned 62 years on stage, screen and television. During his career...
Lionel Atwill
Lionel Atwill as Dr. Bohmer Died 1946 · Croydon, London, England, UK From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Lionel Atwill (1 March 1885 – 22 April 1946) was an English stage and film actor born in Croydon, London, England. He studied architecture before his stage deb...
Bela Lugosi
Bela Lugosi as Ygor Died 1956 · Lugos, Kingdom of Hungary, Austria-Hungary [now Lugoj, Timis County, Romania] Blaskó Béla Ferenc Dezső (October 20, 1882 – August 16, 1956), better known by the stage name Bela Lugosi, was a Hungarian stage, screen, and television actor. He is best remembered for his iconic por...
Evelyn Ankers
Evelyn Ankers as Elsa Frankenstein Died 1985 · Valparaíso, Chile Evelyn Felisa Ankers (August 17, 1918 - August 29, 1985) was an American actress best known for playing roles in American horror films during the 1940s..
Lon Chaney Jr.
Lon Chaney Jr. as The Frankenstein Monster Died 1973 · Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Lon Chaney, Jr. (February 10, 1906 – July 12, 1973), born Creighton Tull Chaney, was an American character actor. He was best known for his roles in monster movi...

Audience Reviews

John Chard 5/10 Oct 03, 2015
Your father was Frankenstein. Your mother was lightning.

Of course the problem with the Frankenstein sequels, of the Universal Studios kind, was that they had to follow the genre firework that was "Frankenstein (1931)" and the monolithic titan that followed that one in 1935, "The Bride of Frankenstein". These are tough acts to follow - still are actually!

"Son of Frankenstein (1939)" managed very well, it had Basil Rathbone in it and Bela Lugosi giving great horror oomph as Ygor. Boris Karloff bowed out as the monster after that one, leaving an iconic legacy and an insistence that the monster didn't speak. The result of Karloff's (ahem) request has proved divisive amongst Frankenstein fans, does it need a voice for personality, or is it better off as a lumbering rage machine only?. Point being that in this one, he gets a voice, courtesy of Lon Chaney Junior's stint in the role, and it's not exactly a success.

Ghost of Frankenstein represents the start of the decline of the franchise, a noticeable drop in quality across the board. It's like Universal caught the cash cow disease and decided that quantity and not quality was what mattered. They would eventually team up the bolted necked one with "Abbott and Costello", with fun results, but the horror aspects began to wane here in 1942. Lugosi is on hand for some more Ygor mischief, Cedric Hardwicke and Lionel Atwill as scientists with opposite ideals are reassuring presences, while Evelyn Ankers is sexy and costumed with a great eye for detail.

At just 67 minutes in length the film thankfully doesn't have time to be boring, though action is in short supply, so hooray for castle destruction and fire unbound!. While Woody Bredell and Milton R. Krasner, via their photographic lenses ensure Gothic atmosphere is consistently ripe. Right, it's time for Universal Monster Tag Teams next... 5/10

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