Son of Frankenstein
Year:
1939
Directed by:
Rowland V. Lee
Rated:
Not Rated
Country:
United States
Runtime:
1 hr. 38 min.
Production Company:
Universal
Written by:
Wyllis Cooper
Starring:
Basil Rathbone
Boris Karloff
Bela Lugosi
Josephine Hutchinson
Another worthy Universal Frankenstein film.
Son of Frankenstein, released in 1939, was already the fourth Frankenstein film to be made (including Edison's Frankenstein, 1910). Amazingly, this film marked the fourth time the material was used reverently, too. All the adaptations up to and including this movie miraculously avoid exploiting the monster for its own sake, instead providing dynamic, intelligent, and moving cinematic experiences that to this day are considered genre essentials. This movie, though not as good as its predecessors, keeps that tradition alive and is worthy of the Frankenstein name. Son of Frankenstein continues not only the story of the monster and the Frankenstein family but the theme of caution and responsibility, of the consequences paid by a man who jumps too optimistically into a world that is far too big for him.
Whereas Bride of Frankenstein (the first sequel of Universal's Frankenstein films) was actually about the bride of Dr. Frankenstein's monster, Son of Frankenstein is truly about Dr. Frankenstein's son, Baron Wolf von Frankenstein, who has inherited his father's estate. Unfortunately, the townspeople hold nothing but contempt for the Frankenstein name, so when Frankenstein, his wife Elsa, and his son Peter arrive, they are not welcomed warmly. Frankenstein is warned by the townspeople not to take up his father's work, and he has no intent to do so (even though he's sympathetic with his father's pursuit), but as you can probably guess he ends up getting dragged into it anyway, and before you know it he has secretly revived our old friend the monster in the name of science. Of course the monster, along with Ygor, the original Dr. Frankenstein's lab assistant, proves once again to be more than a man can handle, and Frankenstein is plunged into a series of events that he has no control over but for which he is undeniably responsible.
He should have listened to the voice of reason, yes, but he also should have paid attention to many other things. That is the downfall of Wolf von Frankenstein -- he is blindly optimistic. While riding on the train to his new home, for instance, all that surrounds him is a desolate wasteland: a storm-ridden environment with a deathly gray sky and nothing to adorn the landscape but scattered, leafless trees. Despite this, Frankenstein is as dumbly cheerful as ever. "It's exciting, isn't it?" he says, "Out there in the darkness, a new life lies before us. Haha!" From the very beginning, the film makes it clear that Frankenstein is a foolhardy optimist. Of course this recklessness builds to the moment he decides it will be smart to revive the being that, he is told, was responsible for the deaths of many men. It is the trademark weakness of the Frankenstein family.
The theme of a man getting himself involved in something that is way too big and complex for him is emphasized by the film's set design and cinematography. Many of the rooms are so large that they seem to swallow their inhabitants. The camera contributes to the expansiveness by remaining at a distance, showing just how small the characters are compared to the place in which they have put themselves, or, rather, the place in which Wolf Frankenstein has put them. There are also many shots of large walls with small openings through which the characters are seen -- not only Frankenstein, but the monster and Ygor as well. It is not only the mad scientist who has thrown himself headlong into something so oceanic, but Ygor has, too, and the world -- the whole world -- is intractably massive to the monster just as it is to all infants. This visual technique is one that brilliantly applies to all three main characters.
Further compounding our experience of these endeavors is the film's expressionism, which is more pronounced than that of its two predecessors. Its purpose here is to convey the feeling that Frankenstein has gotten himself into a situation he does not fully comprehend. At some points in the film, I feel like I'm watching The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. The castle's facade widens near the top as if to emphasize its own presence, the shadows are so big and bold that they appear painted on, and the main stairwell has such large features and harsh angles that it looks designed by someone working with a yard stick instead of a carpenter's rule. This all works to create a world that we feel unused to, emphasizing the unfamiliarity of the situation Frankenstein is in but in which he nevertheless proceeds to play carelessly. That's not to mention the inherent attractiveness of the visuals' dynamics themselves. The expressionism both helps to evoke the appropriate feeling and to spice up the film's surface.
