By now, the Frankenstein franchise is getting a little weak. Aside from the later film, ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN, there wasn't a whole lot of ground broken in this and the next two films. But, considering what fun they are to watch, who cares! This film marked the departure of Boris Karloff as the monster. In his place was the noticeably shorter and chunkier Lon Chaney, Jr. who does a decent job of grunting and killing people--but a far cry from the wonderful performance of Karloff in BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN.
Back from the last film is the evil Ygor, played with gusto by Bela Lugosi. It's odd to see him, as he CLEARLY was shot and apparently killed in the last film!! This time, the evil little troll is out to hatch a new evil plan--get the other son of Frankenstein (Ludwig) to put evil Ygor's brain into the much stronger monster so he can kick the collective but of mankind! Well, all appears to be going well until the conclusion when once again the world appeared to be saved--until the next film, FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN!
In addition to Ygor's unexplained recovery, this film featured Lionel Atwill as a doctor. Yet, in several other films in the series he played a policeman--one who had his arm ripped off by the monster! Yet here he is with a normal functioning non-prosthetic arm! So much for continuity in the Universal horror films!
Overall, the best thing about this film is Ygor. Lugosi played him with gusto and it was fun watching him chew up the screen. As for Lon Chaney, Jr., he was fine but nothing special. Nice atmosphere and a lot of fun.
Back from the last film is the evil Ygor, played with gusto by Bela Lugosi. It's odd to see him, as he CLEARLY was shot and apparently killed in the last film!! This time, the evil little troll is out to hatch a new evil plan--get the other son of Frankenstein (Ludwig) to put evil Ygor's brain into the much stronger monster so he can kick the collective but of mankind! Well, all appears to be going well until the conclusion when once again the world appeared to be saved--until the next film, FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLFMAN!
In addition to Ygor's unexplained recovery, this film featured Lionel Atwill as a doctor. Yet, in several other films in the series he played a policeman--one who had his arm ripped off by the monster! Yet here he is with a normal functioning non-prosthetic arm! So much for continuity in the Universal horror films!
Overall, the best thing about this film is Ygor. Lugosi played him with gusto and it was fun watching him chew up the screen. As for Lon Chaney, Jr., he was fine but nothing special. Nice atmosphere and a lot of fun.