Best movie ever!

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Universal was a budget studio. Nonetheless, that opening scene is a real grabber, well- mounted with burning torches, lurid lighting, and charging mob. Fans know that means monster Frankenstein's on the loose. Yes, he's back from the pit he fell into in the last entry. Nothing's surer than death, taxes, and Frankenstein's return, even if it takes Hammer Studios to eventually rescue him from an Abbott and Costello spoof (1). Then too, the passage with the monster helping the little girl despite an angry crowd is poignantly done. I hope they paid little Janet Gallow triple for getting carted around by the big guy like a bag of groceries.The rest of the hour is fairly routine plot-wise. Seems Dr. Frankenstein's son, grandson or whatever (Hardwicke) wants to put a nice guy's brain into the walking cadaver. Trouble is Ygor (Lugosi) wants his own brain installed so he can replace his stunted body with a giant one. So, who's going to get the dubious prize. On the other hand, Ralph Bellamy gets a top billing and about 5-minutes of screen time, while ravishing Evelyn Ankers also gets a top billing but not even one photogenic lung blaster. Anyway, Lugosi gets to ham it up, while Hardwicke and Atwill provide the dignified menace.For a programmer, the hour's an especially well-mounted production with crackling arcs, secret passages, and capable cast, all adding up to a worthy addition to the nutty series.(1) Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, (1948).

Universal Pictures couldn't let a good thing go following the release of the first three Frankenstein movies. This was the first film to follow in the tradition of "Frankenstein" and it's sequels "Bride of Frankenstein" and "Son of Frankenstein". It's been a while since I've seen those, so catching this one today wasn't as jarring by way of comparison. I thought it was fairly entertaining, made particularly so with the various debates over who's brain was going to go into the Monster.The film has a great moody and atmospheric opening, reminiscent more of the original "The Wolf Man" than of the prior Frankenstein flicks. Taking an adrenaline inducing booster shot from a lightning bolt, the Monster is revived from a cement encased tomb to live again, contrary to past continuity, but that never seemed to be a consideration in this franchise. Interestingly, the first time Lon Chaney Jr. appeared as the creature, he resembled the Karloff Frankenstein pretty closely, but as the picture progressed, the facial features of the Monster began to resemble Chaney's own appearance more and more. I thought that was kind of interesting.Considering the Frankenstein name and legacy in the story, I thought Lionel Atwill had a fairly major presence here as Doctor Theodore Bohmer. Personally, I thought the switcheroo with who's brain went into the Monster was handled kind of clumsily, though Ygor's (Bela Lugosi) rationale made sense in a dubious sort of way. He was going for the immortality thing but should have figured things don't always turn out as planned. But then again, he was Ygor, so he probably wasn't thinking of unintended consequences.I caught this on Turner Classics, hosted by film critic Ben Mankiewics, and he offered a cool insight into Chaney's role as the Monster. The actor had a bad reaction to his makeup at one point and needed a week off from filming to recuperate. But things got worse - remember that scene of the Monster encased in cement when he makes his revival? After taking hours to put that scene together, Chaney's patience got tested even more when the entire film crew broke for lunch!

Universal pictures "The Ghost of Frankenstein" was but another link in a long chain of successful sequels that helped movie audiences forget the "horrors of the present" such as WWII. Often times these films had a stock of actors like the John Ford acting troupe playing different characters in different films. In this one veteran actor Lionel Atwell portrays the jealous Dr. Theodore Bohmer who seeks to upstage Cedric Hardwicke (Ludwig Frankenstein) and bring the Frankenstein monster back to full strength. It all seems to be one big family affair as Hardwicke plays Basil Rathbone (Wolf Frankenstein) aka the son of Frankenstein's brother. To make matters worse Atwell dies in this one but re-appears as another character (the mayor) in the sequel "House of Frankenstein". Bela Lugosi (Ygor) of "Son of Frankenstein" re-appears as Ygor and this time wants a new body for his devious brain. Evelyn Ankers who played Lon Chaney Jr. (The Wolfman) girl friend portrays Elsa Frankenstein (Hardwicke's wife). Lon Chaney Jr. sheds his Wolfman garb and appears as the Frankenstein Monster. It's all very confusing.... but somehow the cast and the writers make it all work ... and we can all kick back and forget all the horrible things that are really going on in the real world.

Here we go again. In the grand tradition of Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), and Son of Frankenstein (1939) comes the fourth in Universal's series. This time around, the crazy doctor of the title is Ludwig (Sir Cedric Hardwicke), the brother of Basil Rathbone's character in Son of and the (other) son of Colin Clive's original Dr. Frankenstein in the original and Bride of movies.A generation or so has passed since the villagers last destroyed the Monster in a sulphur pit. But, of course, he's only mostly dead, and his old pal Ygor (Bela Lugosi) holds vigil outside the old Frankenstein castle, hoping the creature will revive himself. At the same time, angry villagers are mobilizing; they decide that there's a Frankenstein curse that's prohibiting their crops from growing and businesses outside of town (named after Frankenstein, for some reason) are refusing to deal with them. The curse must be broken, so off the villagers go to burn down the castle. The explosion indeed wakes up the preserved Monster, and he's reunited with his old pal Ygor.There's another Frankenstein a village or so away, as the crow flies - Ludwig. Ludwig, who runs an insane asylum out of his house, also works for the police; when the Monster is captured and put on trial, the good doctor is called in to deal with the situation. But Ygor, he's a cunning sort, and he persuades Ludwig to get the Monster remanded to Ludwig's own castle so that Dr. Frankenstein can work on giving the Monster a nice, new brain. (There appears to be some brain damage for the big guy; he can't speak, as he could - haltingly - in previous films, and simple logic isn't his forte.) Ygor, he of the broken neck from being ineptly hanged, wants his own brain to be placed in the creature's cranium.The setting is as eerie and stark as in other Universal monster movies. Hidden rooms, long staircases, vaulted ceilings - it's a realtor's dream. Ludwig also has a grown daughter Elsa (Evelyn Ankers, another Universal staple), who's probably named after Elsa Lanchester, who starred in Bride of Frankenstein. Elsa's boyfriend is Erik Ernst (Ralph Bellamy), who's stuck between the mob rule of the town and his fondness of the Frankensteins. Lionel Atwill plays one of Dr. Frankenstein's doctor associates. Lon Chaney, Jr., by the way, grunts his way around a macabre set as the Monster itself.For a movie that's the fourth in a series, Ghost of Frankenstein (so named, perhaps, because the ghost of the original Doctor appears) is competently acted, directed, and shot. No, more than that, it's expertly done. There's some overacting (Ankers), to be sure, but overall it's a very well realized hidden gem among Universal's many horror movies of the early 20th century.