Your father was Frankenstein, but your mother was the lightning! – The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)
The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)
Today on Classic Movie Review, we are taking on The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942). I’m excited to fill this hole in my early monster films. This movie explains a bit of the Monster lore that we all know but don’t always know why. Details to come!
Chronologically, this movie is the fourth in the series and occurred following the events in Son of Frankenstein (1939). At the end of Son, The Monster fell into a pit of molten sulfur. There was no way possible for The Monster to survive the boiling. Unless perhaps the popularity of the character and the money to be made.
Not as well made as the previous three movies, The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942) is a pretty good horror flick. I believe Bride of Frankenstein (1935) was the best, followed by Frankenstein (1931), Son of Frankenstein (1939), then today’s film and all the others.
Ghost of Frankenstein (1942) has a fairly low 6.1[1] rating on iMDB.com. On Rottentomatoes.com, the film has a 75 percent score on the Tomatometer and a 41 percent audience score[2]. I am surprised the audiences don’t like this a little more.
Early actor, original Keystone Cop, and director of 146 films, Erle C. Kenton, directed today’s film. Kenton directed an impressive set of horror movies. These movies include Island of Lost Souls (1932), today’s film The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), House of Frankenstein (1944), House of Dracula (1945), and The Cat Creeps (1946).
Bosley Crowther of The New York Times declared that the thought of Frankenstein’s Monster returning in another film following The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942) ”…the thought that he may yet return for further adventures with his body and Lugosi’s sconce fills us with mortal terror. That is the most fearful prospect which the picture manages to convey”.[3] I guess he didn’t like it.
Actors – The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)
Returning
They went all out for Ludwig Frankenstein / Ghost of Henry Frankenstein, casting master stage and screen actor Cedric Hardwicke. Hardwicke was first covered in a nice Film Noir, Lured (1947).
The great wolfman, Lon Chaney Jr., was in The Monster’s role, allowing him to create a trifecta as the Wolf Man in The Wolf Man (1941), as Dracula in Son of Dracula (1943), and today’s film as The Monster. Chaney was first covered for his signature role in The Wolf Man (1941).
Lionel Atwill returned as Doctor Theodore Bohmer, who taught Frankenstein how to create life but was left uncredited and disgraced. Atwill was first covered in Son of Frankenstein (1939) as the one-armed Inspector Krogh.
Bela Lugosi was reduced to the role of Ygor. He did get a lot of screen time and was a main character. This great portrayer of Dracula was first covered as the gypsy Bela in The Wolf Man (1941).
Evelyn Ankers was cast as Elsa Frankenstein, daughter of Ludwig Frankenstein (Cedric Hardwicke). Anker was covered in the role of the wolfman’s love/bite interest in The Wolf Man (1941).
Ralph Bellamy played Erik Ernst, prosecutor and boyfriend to Elsa Frankenstein (Evelyn Aankers). Bellamy somehow seemed out of place in this movie. He was also first covered in The Wolf Man (1941).
The original Dr. Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) was used in uncredited clips. Clive was first covered in Bride of Frankenstein (1935).
Dwight Frye was uncredited as one of the villagers. He was also seen as Henry’s assistant in an uncredited clip. Frye was also first covered in Bride of Frankenstein (1935).
New
With a very interesting name for a horror actor, Janet Ann Gallow was cast as Cloestine Hussman. She was the little girl befriended by and later kidnapped by The Monster. Gallow was born in California in 1937. Gallow was in six movies filmed between 1942 and 1946. In later years, Gallow regularly appeared at horror conventions. She is quoted as saying Lon Chaney Jr. was a gentle giant and a very sweet man. Gallow died in 2020.
Story – The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)
The movie begins with the town folk of the town of Frankenstein complaining to the Burgermister and city council that there is a curse on their town because of the Frankenstein family. None of the other villages like them, visit their town, and there is no food.
The Burgermister says The Monster fell into the sulfur pit under the castle. Dr. Frankenstein shot Ygor (Bela Lugosi) multiple times. One of the villages reminds the council that Ygor was once hanged and didn’t die.
Ygor is shown sitting in the castle’s basement playing his horn for his friend, The Monster, who is buried in the pit below.
The mob of citizens says there will be a new Bergermister at the next election if something is not done. Moved by their logic, the Bergermister grants permission for the villages to destroy the Frankenstein family castle.
Two points: shouldn’t they want to save the castle so they can cash in on the tourist trade, and secondly, wouldn’t it be best to wait until daytime to go to the castle?
The mob runs into the night with a plan to blow up the castle. Armed with torches and dynamite, no pitchforks, Ygor sees the villagers long before they reach the castle. As they attempt to plant the charges, Ygor pushes large stones from the battlement toward the crowd.
The mob manages to set some charges and begin blowing the castle supports. Ygor flees into the castle’s depths as the mob continues their destruction. An explosion knocks Ygor to the ground, but when he recovers, he sees the face of The Monster (Lon Chaney Jr.) protruding from the hardened sulfur. Happy that his friend has survived, Ygor breaks the living Monster from the rock.
Ygor leads the weakened Monster out of the castle and into a cemetery. They see the castle fall before heading into the countryside. Lightning begins to strike, and The Monster runs toward the bolts, holding his hands skyward. Ygor tries to stop the giant. Finally, a lightning bolt hits The Monster, and he becomes recharged. Ygor understands what he must do.
Ygor says they will find Dr. Henry Franeknstien’s second son, Ludwig (Cedric Hardwicke), and have him restore The Monster to full power. The pair travel to the village of Vasari, where Ludwig runs a clinic for diseases of the mind.
Ludwig conducts surgery with the help of his two assistants, Doctor Theodore Bohmer (Lionel Atwill) and Dr. Kettering (Barton Yarborough). Today, they have removed a mental patient’s brain, repaired it, and replaced it back in the living patient. They reference a failed experiment by Dr. Bohmer. Ludwig states that although the experiment failed, it pointed medical science in the right direction. Dr. Bohmer calls his mistake a slight miscalculation. He also says that he was the teacher then, and Frankenstein was the student.
The Monster and Ygor enter Visaria in broad daylight and are divided by a flock of geese. The lovely goose girl (Janet Warren) answers questions for Ygor, telling the town name and where Dr. Frankenstein lives and works. Ygor says he knows the doctor, his brother, and his father very well.
The Monster has wandered away and sees a small girl, Cloestine Hussman (Janet Ann Gallow), being bullied by some boys. The Monster picks up Cloestine and climbs towards a rooftop to retrieve her ball. One village tries to stop The Monster and is knocked down the stairs. The girl’s father chooses not to attempt a rescue. Another man climbs to Cloestine and The Monster. The Monster knocks the man to his death.
As Ygor watches, Cloestine relays from her father to bring her down, and no one will harm The Monster. The Monster does as asked, and Cloestine is safe. The police and the villagers proceed to beat The Monster to a pulp.
Elsa Frankenstein (Evelyn Ankers), the daughter of Ludwig, is reading in the garden of their home. Elsa’s boyfriend, town prosecutor Erik Ernst (Ralph Bellamy), arrives in a carriage and needs to speak with Ludwig.
Elsa takes Erik to her father. Ludwig approves of Erik. Erik says that The Monster has already killed two villagers. He is worried that if The Monster breaks free from his chains, there could be a lot of mayhem. Ludwig begrudgingly agrees to visit the prisoner later.
Erik and Elsa leave the room shortly before the maid Martha (Doris Lloyd) announces that a visitor from the town of Frankenstein is waiting in the outer room. Ludwig instructs Martha not to tell Elsa about the visitor.
Ludwig enters the room to find Ygor hiding in the corner. Ludwig is shocked that Ygor is alive. Ygor tells Ludwig that he must take possession of The Monster and restore his power. Ludwig doesn’t want to do it, but Ygor threatens to expose the family history.
Elsa sees Ygor as he is leaving. Ludwig takes the time to pull his brother and father’s journal off the shelf near his desk. Elsa comes in to ask about the strange visitors. Ludwig keeps quiet about Ygor’s identity.
In the town, The Monster is chained to a chair in the courthouse. Erik is getting ready to hold a hearing, and a large crowd of villagers is attending. Ludwig has not arrived when the hearing begins. Erik asks questions, but The Monster does not reply. The judge asks that Cloestine attempt to talk to The Monster. Her father protests, but the little girl walks right to The Monster. Ludwig arrives, and Cloestine’s father pulls her away.
Erik calls Ludwig to examine The Monster. The Monster recognizes Ludwig and smiles, but Ludwig tells the court he knows nothing about The Monster. The Monster frowns. The Monster rips the wooden chair apart, freeing himself. Okay, don’t chain monsters to wooden chairs!
The Monster pushes through the police and is about to kill Ludwig when he hears Ygor playing his horn and is redirected. The pair jump in a wagon and flee the town as a mob of villagers give chase. They are the same villagers that cleared the courthouse in fear a few moments prior.
Later that night, Elsa is in her father’s study, reviewing the unique family record books. Of course, there is a lighting storm sparking. As she reads the journal, scenes of Dr. Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) and Henry’s assistant (Dwight Frye) are shown as they steal bodies and prepare The Monster for life in the laboratory. It is always nice to see the old equipment sparking along.
Elsa finishes reading as The Monster is unwrapped. A flash of lightning reveals The Monster and Ygor outside the window. Elsa closes the curtains instead of running out of the room as I would have. She freezes with fear as her father opens the door. She reports what she has seen.
Outside, Ygor repeatedly tells The Monster to break the door down by saying, Frankenstein. As soon as they enter the hall, in a stroke of bad timing, Dr. Kettering walks into the corridor. So he’s dead. Ygor leads The Monster away before Ludwig finds the dead body.
Elsa arrives just in time for The Monster to come back around the corner and grab her. Like Closetine’s father not trying to rescue his daughter, Ludwig jumps into a room. He bolts the door, leaving Elsa and The Monster on the other side. Holy cow! Ludwig has the entire building plumbed for gas distribution.
He turns the gas on the outside of his room. The dead Dr. Kettering is out, Elsa falls, Ygor is overtaken and falls, and after a bit of stumbling around, The Monster goes down last. Ludwig turns on the exhaust fan and clears the gas away. Ludwig calls Dr. Bohmer. The two men carry Elsa to safety. Bohmer is shocked to see Dr. Kettering is dead and Ygor and The Monster are asleep on the floor.
Elsa wakes in her bed as Ludwig and Martha watch over her. She is a little freaked out, but Ludwig says we need to just work through this. Ludwig talks to Elsa about the family legacy. Ludwig vows to find a way to protect his family.
Ludwig has The Monster, which escaped from chains earlier, attached to the operating table with leather straps. Of course, The Monster breaks free and almost gets him. Bohmer comes in just as Ludwig gives him a sed-a-give. Ludwig wants to destroy The Monster by taking it apart one piece at a time. Do you know what else would work? Take off his arms and legs.
Bohmer is now concerned about the ethics of killing a living thing.
Ludwig hits the family journals as he prepares to operate. The ghost of Henry Frankenstein, played by Hardwicke, comes and tells that the only problem with The Monster is that it was made with a criminal brain. Abby something. The ghost suggests using another brain, say that of Dr. Kettering. Ludwig calls for Bohmer and begins charging the electrodes. Ygor hears the machines and knows Ludwig is working on The Monster.
Ygor and Bohmer arrive at about the same time. Ludwig announces that he will be giving The Monster Kettering’s brain. Ygor does not want his friend to be destroyed. Ygor makes a case that his broken, bullet-ridden body is no good and his brain should go in The Monster. Ludwig says he would never put such a sly brain in a giant body. They go to work charging the body to make it strong enough for surgery. It was a very nice showing of electrical gadgetry.
Elsa is having a breakdown as her father works on the project. Ludwig is sure The Monster will no longer be a problem. Bohmer comes in, and they decide to operate that night. Under one of the machines, there is a stairway to a secret dungeon with another hidden room inside. In the smaller room, Ygor is trying to get The Monster on board with the brain replacement.
The Monster heads towards Ludwig with his arms raised as if to kill Ludwig. Instead, he pats the doctor on the shoulder.
Later, Ygor uses his powers of persuasion, flattery, and bribery to convince Bohmer to use Ygor’s brain for The Monster. Ygor says he will live forever, and he and Bohmer will be great leaders.
In the evening, before the surgery, Erik and the police arrive looking for The Monster and Ygor. Erik wants to search the house. Ludwig says Erik will not be welcome in the future. Erik then asks to speak to Kettering. Ludwig says he left earlier in the morning. They know he is lying and begin the search. The police find the secret stairway, and all go down to the dungeon. Supercop finds the entrance to the secret room. They go inside, but no one is inside.
The Monster walks to town and kidnaps Cloestine. She smiles and just goes along with The Monster in a beautiful example of natural selection. Ygor plays his horn to recall The Monster. The Monster takes her ball along but accidentally starts a fire that destroys the girl’s house.
Bohmer is upset that Ygor and The Monster went out. The Monster wants Cloestine’s brain, and he almost kills Ygor as they argue.
Elsa is leaving to find Erik when The Monster walks in with Cloestine. He makes signs that he wants the small girl’s brain. The Monster turns Cloestine over to Ludwig. Ludwig passes the child to Elsa, and they escape The Monster.
Bohmer prepares to remove the brain of Ygor, but Ludwig thinks he is removing Kettering’s brain. Ludwig goes to work removing the criminal brain from The Monster. Ygor accepts that he may die in the transfer. Near midnight, Bohmer arrives with Ygor’s brain. The two men go to work putting in the brain.
In the morning, The Monster is still asleep. Ludwig thanks Bohmer for his assistance and skill. He tells Bohmer that this may bring him the recognition that he deserves. Bohmer must feel like a jackass knowing he is about to get busted for the switch he made.
Two weeks after the surgery, Cloestine’s father tells a mob of torch-wielding villagers that his daughter may not have died in the fire. He says she was stolen by The Monster. The villagers decide only Dr. Frankenstein would harbor a monster. Erik does some fancy horse riding as he goes to cut off the mob.
Erik stops the mob just outside of Ludwig’s house. They discredit Erik because he is in love with Elsa. They give Erik a little time to talk with Ludwig. Martha lets him, and he tells Elsa he must see her father. Erik says that if Ludwig wants the protection of his office, he must be frank with him. Yeah, Frankenstein. Erik breaks down the lie about Kettering leaving town.
Ludwig and Erik go to the room where Bohmer is sitting with the now awake Monster. Ludwig confesses that The Monster killer Kettering, but he has made it right by putting the doctor’s brain in The Monster. Bohmer is looking like the cat that ate the carney.
The villagers shift back into mob mode and head into the house.
Ludwig begins questioning The Monster, whom he believes is Kettering. The Monster answers in the voice of Ygor. The Monster announces that he is Ygor. Ygor is ranting about his power and life. Ludwig goes after Bohmer, but Ygor stops him. He says he will not kill Ludwig because his father gave him life, and Ludwig gave him a brain.
The mob begins breaking into the house. Ygor calls for Bohmer to deploy the sleeping gas throughout the house. Erik escapes the room, locking everyone else inside. The Monster breaks through the first door and is working on the second as Erik warns the villagers not to enter the gas. They run right into the gas and start choking.
Elsa returns Cloestine to her father as the gas enters the foyer. Erik and Elsa go back down to rescue Ludwig, who is trapped with Ygor and Bohmer in a sealed room. Elsa passes out, and Erik takes her back up.
Suddenly, Ygor, in The Monster’s body, calls for Bohmer. Ygor is blind. Ludwig explains that Ygor’s blood type differs from The Monster’s and Kettering’s, and he will be permanently blind. In a rage, The Monster throws Bohmer into some electrical equipment. Bohmer death is shocking.
Ygor/ The Monster crashes around and creates a massive fire. He slowly burns until a couple of burning beams fall on him. Ludwig would appear to be dead. But that Monster is tough. Elsa and Erik walk away into the morning sunrise.
Conclusion – The Ghost of Frankenstein (1942)
When anyone is asked to imitate The Monster, they extend both arms straight out from the shoulder and wobble forward. Have you ever wondered why? Well, a scene was shot for today’s movie showing the smoldering Monster walking across a field. Of course, The Monster survived the fire. The next time The Monster appeared was the following year in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943). The audience was unaware that the arms and the stumbling were due to the blindness caused in the prior movie. Thus, when we imitate The Monster, we often copy his blind walking.
World-Famous Short Summary – Buddy trip ends badly
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As a technical note, references and citations are listed for each show on the site at classicmovierev.com.
Beware the moors.
[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034786/
[2] The Ghost of Frankenstein – Rotten Tomatoes
[3] THE SCREEN; That Monster’s Back – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
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