Son of Frankenstein is a 1939 American horror film that was directed by Rowland V. Lee and stars Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. The film is the third in Universal Pictures' Frankenstein series and is the follow-up to the 1935 film Bride of Frankenstein. Son of Frankenstein stars Rathbone as Baron Wolf von Frankenstein who, with his wife Elsa (Josephine Hutchinson) and son Peter (Donnie Dunagan), returns to his late father's estate. Near the castle lives Ygor (Bela Lugosi), a crazed blacksmith whose neck was broken in an unsuccessful hanging attempt. Among the castle's remains, Frankenstein discovers the remains of the monster (Boris Karloff) and decides to try to save his family name by resurrecting the creature to prove his father was correct. He finds, however, the monster only responds to Ygor's commands.
The film was originally announced in August 1938 after a successful theatrical reissue of Dracula and Frankenstein. Son of Frankenstein was initially announced under the title After Frankenstein. The screenplay written by Willis Cooper was initially rejected and early script drafts included only the characters that would be used in the final film. The original budget was set at $250,000 but Lee increased it to $300,000 and had a 27-day shooting schedule. Difficulties in production arose when Lee was unsatisfied with the script. Production was delayed until November 9 due to inclement weather and other problems, and filming was completed on January 5, 1939, with a final cost of $420,000. The film was released on January 13, 1939, and received positive reviews from The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Variety and the Monthly Film Bulletin. A sequel, The Ghost of Frankenstein, was released in 1942.
Plot
Baron Wolf von Frankenstein, son of Henry Frankenstein, relocates his wife Elsa and their young son Peter to the family castle. Wolf wants to redeem his father's reputation but finds this will be more difficult than he thought after he encounters hostility from the villagers, who resent him for the destruction his father's monster wreaked years ago. Wolf's only other friend is the local police Inspector Krogh, who wears an artificial arm because Frankenstein's creature ripped out his real arm when he was a child. While investigating his father's castle, Wolf meets Ygor, an embittered blacksmith who survived being hanged for grave-robbing and has a deformed neck as a result. Wolf finds the monster's comatose body in the crypt where his grandfather and father were buried; his father's sarcophagus bears the phrase "Heinrich von Frankenstein" with "Maker of Monsters" added in chalk. He decides to revive the monster to prove his father was correct and to restore honour to his family. Wolf uses a torch to scratch out the word "Monsters" on the casket and writes "Men" beneath it.
Wolf revives the monster but it only responds to Ygor's commands and commits a series of murders, the victims of which were jurors at Ygor's trial. Meanwhile, Peter talks of a nice giant who has visited him in his room, a story only Wolf and Inspector Krogh take seriously. Krogh suspects that Wolf has created a murderous monster similar to his father's due to marks on the victims' bodies, but Wolf denies it. Meanwhile, Benson, the Frankensteins' butler, who is also a friend and assistant to Wolf, suggests to Wolf that he tell Krogh about the Monster, which Ygor overhears. Wolf refuses but agrees that his wife and child must leave the castle. Wolf goes to question Ygor about Benson's disappearance; Ygor claims that Benson was so frightened by the Monster that he ran away. Wolf tells Elsa that he wants her and Peter to go to Brussels, and he'll follow later.
After what is at first believed to be an accidental death - a man apparently crushed by his wagon - another murder occurs, and Inspector Krogh realises that these latest deaths are the same as those of the previous six. The next day he tells Wolf that he cannot allow any of the family to leave the castle for their own safety, as the villagers are convinced he had something to do with the murders and might attack the castle. Peter shows Krogh a present the giant gave him, which the inspector realises is Benson's watch. Wolf tries to force Ygor to leave, but the Monster comes to his defence. Ygor boasts that he sent the Monster to kill all the men from the jury that sentenced him to hang - now they are all dead.
