The Ghost of Frankenstein

The Ghost of Frankenstein released in 1942, was the first of the series to not star Boris Karloff as the monster, as the monster was played by Lon Cheney Jr, Bela Lugosi however did reprise his role as Ygor. This is also the first of the movies to feature the monster as mostly blind which is why he walked with his hands outstretched before him, which has become a stereotype of the monster which is still used today when people think of the Monster. This was also the last of the Frankenstein franchise before the movies became monster mashes mixing Universal's monsters together in their movies (thus this being the last of the original Universal Frankenstein legacy collection to be reviewed here, as the rest were done earlier when I did the Dracula legacy collection). Ygor, somehow survives being shot in the last movie, and when the villagers blow up Frankenstein's castle they inadvertently release the monster from its sulfuric prison where it fell into at the end of the last movie. Ygor then leads the monster away and it is struck by lightening. The monster who has lost much of it's energy because of being stuck in sulfur and then being struck by lightening, is led by Ygor to the second son of Frankenstein, Ludwig Von Frankenstein. This is where the inconsistencies really kick in, as it is never mentioned that Frankenstein had another son, and also Wolf Von Frankenstein was explained to be raised by his mother in London, but somehow Ludwig is explained to always have lived in this nearby village...but now that the Universal Monsters had gone from A-list movies to B-movies, the writing and effort put into them being good and making sense seems to also have gone out the window, because from here on out the movies cease having much for continuity or using much logic. Which maybe a reason that Son Of Frankenstein, was not only the strongest in the series, but the last truly good movie in the series, as from here on out the movies become more of a money making gimmick to cash in on the popularity of the monsters, and more of being about fun and action rather than true honest story telling. I am NOT saying this is by any means a bad movie, a it is honestly still better than many of the b-horror movies that were released over the years. The plot also is the first to introduce the idea of brain swapping, which is a device that would be rehashed later in future movies, as Ygor and the monster swap brains, and there we get to hear the monster speak with the voice of Bela Lugosi (Ygor). This would also be inconsistent with the next movie that would be released as well. But maybe at this point we should stop concerning ourselves with consistency and if these movies make sense, as from here on out they are just a monster mash, and one must simply ask themselves, "was it fun", because the answer to that would definitely be yes. This movie definitely does not stand up to the first three amazing movies of the series, but is still a must see, and anyone who is a fan of monster movies, should watch this classic if they haven't or re-watch it if they have. Would I recommend this movie? Yes definitely, one of the early b-horror movies put out by Universal Pictures, and has some great parts with Lugosi and Cheney playing together. Definitely a fun movie, with a lot of great scenes and ideas, some of which would become long-time running monster movie cliches. So hunt down a copy of this great classic, get some friends, pop up some popcorn and just enjoy a great classic Universal monster movie!