Originally billed as a sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, The Climax changed its course partly due to the unavailability of Claude Rains’ availability to reprise the role of the phantom. Instead some reworking in the script department led to some significant changes and bringing in Boris Karloff for his first feature released in colour. Karloff would play the role of demented physician, Dr. Hohner, driven by jealousy and the need to dominate his fiance, a prima donna at an established Vienna Royal Theatre, and murders her in his obsession. Interestingly, Universal would resurplus some of the magnificent set that was used in their 1925 adaptation of Gaston LeRoux’s gothic novel and Susannah Foster who brought Christina Dubois to the silver screen in TPOTO (1943), would return albeit as a young operatic singer on the rise, Angela Klatt
Klatt bears a striking similarity to Hohner’s fiance, who has been missing some 10 years now, hence why Hohner has been able to avoid justice. With Klatt’s appearance though, it triggers the inner demon and conflict in Hohner’s mind and he seems hellbent on once more, keeping the diva for himself.
The film plays a familiar tune to previous Universal features and as such struggles to offer anything new in the horror scene. It is bolded by the presence of Karloff, Foster and Turhan Bey (The Mad Ghoul) as the romantic lead, Franz Munzer, but it’s Gale Sondergaard (The Cat and the Canary) as the dutiful Luise, poised to make Hohner pay for his past deeds that really shines through.
A solid enough entry to the Universal Horror movies, but not nearly worthy of its predecessors.
Some thirteen years after the release of Dracula back in 1931, Universal now had a decent backlog of Universal Monsters in their midst. After the relative success of Frankenstein vs The Wolf Man, which pitted two of their creatures head to head in its climax, it was a logical step to combine as many as possible into the one film.
In order for this trick to be pulled off successfully however, requires some clever plot devices to wrangle each intricate characteristic into a believable situation. Curt Siodmak was called upon to carry out this difficult task, which seems a logical choice as he had overseen a lot of the Universal horror movies during the time. His decision was to introduce a new character in Dr. Gustav Niemann, a mad scientist played by Boris Karloff in what would be his last role in the Universal horror franchise. Accompanying him from a prison break is hunchback (another trope), Daniel (J. Carrol Naish), who is willing to carry out Niemann’s demands with the promise of a new body.
Niemann though only has revenge in mind for the three people who wronged him and sent him to prison.
This story is really told in two parts; the first part being the revenge on Burgemeister Hussman, which Niemann does by initially killing Professor Lampini and taking on his identity as a travelling showman and his Chamber of Horrors. The show in question just so happens to contain the skeletal remains of Count Dracula with the stake still impaled. Legend has it that if the stake were to be removed, Dracula would once again walk the earth. Naturally this happens, but Niemann convinces the Count (John Carradine) to carry out his task of ridding him of his nemesis with the promise of protection. Once the Count offs Hussman though, the group land in a spot of bother and Niemann quickly reneges on his agreement and ditches Dracula’s coffin, forcing him to submit to the sunlight and ultimately be destroyed. Dracula’s demise seems all too easy and as such renders him slightly useless in the movie and far from menacing.
The latter half of the movie focuses on the resurrection of Frankenstein’s monster (Glenn Strange) and The Wolf Man (Lon Chaney Jr.) who were last seen washed away with the flood that submerged the ruins of Frankenstein’s castle. It turns out that they had been frozen in ice, and Niemann thaws them both, once again hoping to use them to his advantage.
The film is aided by the return of Chaney Jr and the troubled Larry Talbot who continuously serves as the heart of the franchise. Here, a love triangle is formed as he finds himself falling for a gypsy girl Ilonka (Elena Verdugo – who was a descendant of the Verdugo family that founded Los Angeles), rescued by Daniel and Niemann. The former has also fallen for Ilonka’s charms and is then driven by jealousy when his love is not reciprocated, and also by anger from Niemann’s failure not to live up to his promise.
The climax is nicely tied up with a collision of personalities all vying for different means, and when that clash comes it can only lead to the demise of all, be it silver bullet, thrown from the roof, or driven into the swamp quicksand from angry villagers wielding flaming torches.
On face value, Siodmak ticks all the boxes of what can be expected from each of the characters but ultimately, there is nothing new to offer at hand, and because of this the film falls short on satisfaction. It is still a solid production, entertains, but never does enough to lift itself above the standards of its predecessors.
It was great to see Karloff (he definitely owns this movie and deserves to wield the lead antagonist mantle) and Lon Chaney Jr share screen time together, but the chance to have the creatures provide any form of menace are squandered.
Not to be confused with the crazed shopping spree that occurs after Thanksgiving, but arguably just as dark. Universal would blend together two of their most successful genres from the era in horror and gangster thrillers to produce a solid movie which would once again combine the awesome pairing of Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff. The latter possibly delivers one of his finest performances for the production company as Dr. Ernest Sovac, a highly skilled surgeon who is compelled to save the life of his best friend college professor George Kinglsey (Stanley Ridges) with a brain transplant. Being a Universal horror feature, things naturally don’t go according to plan when a curious side effect occurs post operation.
The chosen brain just so happens to be from Red Cannon (also played by Ridges who should be commended for his portrayal of both characters) a gangster who is not only highly sought after by the police, but has hidden $500,000 dollars somewhere in the city.
The curious concomitant occurs when somehow Kingsley starts to show personality traits of Cannon in an almost Jekyll and Hyde type situation. Cannon clearly the dominant personality starts to take firm control of Kinsley’s body in pursuit of his hidden fortune.
The drama from the movie comes from Lugosi’s Marnay, another gangster who was part of Cannon’s crew and knows of the loot and will stop at anything to stake his claim, but also from Dr. Kovac, who at first is driven by saving his friend, but when he too learns of the fortune, gets the green mist and becomes consumed with using Kingsley as a puppet to lead him to the money.
It’s a pathway for doom and death for all involved and sparks an inevitable conclusion from a tale of greed, and power.
It’s a curious movie that is only really saved by Karloff’s performance from a script doctored by Curt Siodmak again, but comes across as a bit of a mish-mash of events leaving Lugosi grossly underutilised. With some clever changes to the plotline and perhaps a shift in casting, this movie could have presented more fairly, but as it stands, gets a little lost in its own moralistic views.
We’ve barely a decade of horror under their Universal belts, the powerhouse production company was struggling once more to pull in the numbers at the box office. So it’s with some sense of irony that the movies that started it all in Dracula and Frankenstein would be screened as a double feature and reignite the craze all over again. The stunt would be so successful that Universal Pictures would look to producing another instalment of their beloved monster franchise with Son of Frankenstein, in what would be the third of the series.
In Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein, Universal had created two classic features, thanks to the direction of James Whale, where some have argued that the latter outweighed its predecessor. Whatever your views on the matter, it would be a touch act to follow and into the directors shoes steps Rowland V. Lee (The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers) to try and accomplish this task.
The result is one that is worthy of the
Frankenstein name, despite it bordering on silliness and camp on occasion. (A
sign of the direction that Universal would fall into down the track.)
With grand plans to shoot the film in
colour using Technicolor only to be disbanded due to artistic and budgetary
reasons, Son of Frankenstein would be
presented to the audience in black and white and reunite the horror icons, Bela
Lugosi and Boris Karloff. In this instance, the latter donning the Monster mask
for the last time in a feature film. The two would once again prove to be a
winning formula with Lugosi playing the deformed Ygor and practically stealing
the show with his performance. In an interesting turn of events, it is Ygor who
is the dominant presence and has The Monster at his beckoning call, as he
commands the creature to kill those that have proved him ill in the past.
Leading the cast as the son of Frankenstein
is Basil Rathbone (The Adventures of
Robin Hood) who cuts a fine figure of a man trying to right his fathers’
wrongs and changing the perceived conception of his family name. It would have
been interesting had Peter Lorre had played the role as he had been cast, but
had to withdraw due to illness. It’s a shame because I’m a huge fan of Lorre
and would loved to see him cast against Lugosi and Karloff, but as I said,
Rathbone more than proves his worth.
A worthy nod should also be assigned
towards Lionel Atwill (Mark of the
Vampire) as Inspector Krogh, a character whose past encounter saw his arm
torn off his limb as a child when he came into contact with The Monster. It’s a
stoic performance and Atwill shines in an already crowded cast of
personalities.
The
Diagnosis:
It’s a fitting end to this chapter in the
Universal Horror history. Son of Frankenstein manages to
harness all the right ingredients to make it a worthy companion to its predecessors,
whilst falling on the right side of drama and terror for its time.
Lugosi and Karloff are in their element and would ride out on a high. Around the corner a new king to the throne would lay in wait in Lon Chaney Jr… but that’s another tale.
THE BORIS KARLOFF / Bela Lugosi horror express kept on trucking along for Universal Pictures, but this was definitely Karloff’s showpiece and this lesser known film from the iconic duo probably deserves more recognition than it currently holds.
Karloff plays the eccentric scientist, Dr Janos Rukh, a man with a wild belief that he can use a telescope to reach out to the Andromeda Galaxy and use images of light to capture Earth’s past as seen from space.
Scoffed at by his colleagues, it is only when he is able to present his findings to Dr Benet (Lugosi) and Dr Stevens (Walter Kingsford) and is able to capture when a meteor had crashed into the Earth, that his skeptics sit up and take notice.
An expedition is planned where Rukh is charged with finding the fallen meteor.
When Rukh finds the meteor, he is unwittingly exposed to the radiation, Radium X, which effectively makes him glow in the dark with a fatal touch with skin to skin contact.
He is aided temporarily by Benet who discovers an antidote that can keep the radioactive poison at bay, but it’s not long before it starts to eat away at his mind and Rukh goes on a killer rampage fuelled with jealousy.
By this time, Rukh’s estranged wife has fallen in love with Ronald Drake, the nephew of Dr Stevens.
At first, Rukh reluctantly let’s her go, but this soon turns to hatred and moulds into his vicious plan to rid the world of those responsible (or so he believes) for his downfall.
Rukh succeeds in killing the Stevens’s and then ventures to off the remaining few.
As the film proceeds, it feels certain that the only person who can stop him is Benet, but even he is thwarted in a surprise move considering the casting of Lugosi attached to this character and perhaps more could have been done to play with this encounter.
Instead, it comes down to Rukh’s mother, (who is magnificently played by Violet Kemble Cooper)
to intervene and destroy the antidote, thus rendering Rukh to succumb to the radiation and go out in a blaze.
It’s a painful story, which treads a similar path to The Invisible Man, but in this instance there is more sympathy laid out to the central character, which is a testament to Karloff’s handling of such a role.
Special mention should go to Kemble Cooper, who almost steals the show with every scene that’s she’s in, deftly displaying a balance of eeriness with her psychic ability and blindness combined with the motherly love and protectiveness that she bestows upon Rukh.
Not a lot has been written about this movie and from what I have read, they err on the side of negativity, but I feel that there’s enough of a plot and structure to this movie that it warrants further scrutiny.
I found it a lot more engaging than Karloff and Lugosi’s previous outings and that The Invisible Ray could potentially be a forgotten classic as a result.
IN THEIR THIRD appearance together for Universal Pictures, Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi have the routine down pat.
Lugosi oozes maniacal glee as the Poe-obsessed surgeon with a torture chamber in his basement.
And Karloff, (who was billed with just his surname for this picture, which goes to show how symbolic his name had become in the industry) plays a fugitive on the run from the police.
The film begins with an actress, Jean Thatcher (Irene Ware) hanging on for dear life after a car accident.
Her father and her betrothed seek the help of a retired surgeon, Richard Vollin (Lugosi) to pull her through.
Vollin then develops an unhealthy infatuation towards Jean, who is indebted to him for saving her life.
Vollin attempts to sway her much to the reluctance of Jean’s father.
A crazed plan only comes to light for Vollin when a chance encounter with Edmond Bateman (Karloff) seeking refuge with a proposed operation to change his appearance.
Bateman’s words hang firmly in the mind of Vollin when he mentions how being ugly may have led to him doing ugly things.
In what Bateman hopes will be a transformation for good, Vollin seizes upon this and turns him into a disfigure monster followed by a promise that he will aide him in exacting revenge on the Thatchers.
The conclusion of the movie centres on a dinner party which soon descends into the basement of torture, where one by one the guests face the likes of the pit and the pendulum, and the shrinking room.
It is Bateman’s tortured soul that wins the day though, as he searches for a good heart within and turns the tables on the fanatical Vollin, forcing him into the shrinking room and in turn his demise, but not without inflicting a fatal bullet wound in the process.
Upon release the movie received poor box office receipts, which is a shame, as I found the narrative and performances to be one of the strongest outside of the ‘monster’ features.
Both Lugosi and Karloff are particularly strong in their respective rolls, but it was deemed the subject matter of torture and disfigurement (themes that would be welcomed today among cinema-goers) too strong for the audience.
The following year would see Universal Pictures change hands, and the proprietors were less interested in the stories of the macabre and The Raven’s poor performance was evidence enough for them to make this decision. It not for long.
I remember first time that I watched this film guided by the critical praise that had been heaped upon it and feeling somewhat bewildered by this.
I couldn’t get beyond Doctor Pretorius’ invention of the little people, which the FX were incredibly convincing for it’s time, but I just found that it threw me out of the picture because it defied logic and reasoning.
The science behind the novel and indeed it’s predecessor were ground in reality, but this felt like it had crossed a line and into the world of fantasy.
Some people out there might suggest that this is a good thing, but despite Bride of Frankenstein being described as James Whale’s masterpiece, I struggled.
Fast forward to today, when I sat down to review the movie once more, I still stinted at Pretorius’ revelation, but pushed this aside to discover a new-found appreciation for the film.
The opening in particular was a refreshing nod to the inspiration, and creator behind the novel, Mary Shelley.
It recounts of the now infamous discussions between Mary Shelley, her husband Percy Shelley, and Lord Byron.
In this instance she recounts how the original story was only the tip of the iceberg and ventured to tell the tale of more monsters lurking within.
It is here that the story picks up where Frankenstein left off, with the supposed demise of the monster within the burning windmill and Dr Frankenstein (Colin Clive resurrecting his role) being rescued from the rubble.
When lo and behold the monster resurfaces and swiftly dispatches a local and his wife along the way.
Our maniacal Doctor Frankenstein has softened, seeing the error of his ways and is hell bent to put an end to his studies, but is lured back into the laboratory by a fellow scientist, the afore-mentioned Pretorius.
Pretorius seeps into a place of darkness, as he journeys into a mad new “world of Gods and Monsters” in order to see through his experiments.
The strength of the movie though doesn’t come from our protagonists but instead by our antagonist, The Monster, who is once more played by Boris Karloff.
This is his movie and his chance to shine, and shine he does as the script allows him to show more of the human, loving, and misrepresented character.
One of the most powerful scenes comes about when The Monster is stumbling around in the woods and happens to come across a blind man.
This man befriends The Monster and is not swayed by judging him by his appearance.
The friendship is a strong one, as they share in the delights of music and smoking, but this world of companionship would soon come crashing down as some passing hunters discover The Monster and he is forced to flee once more.
The subject of companionship is a strong one in this movie, and drives the plot line forward.
Pretorious seeks the companionship of a fellow scientist as he seeks to carry out his experiments; Frankenstein ultimately is willing to end this in favour of the love he has for his wife; and of course The Monster seeks friendship and when he stumbles upon Pretorius, his offer is all too great and he is willing to follow the mad man.
The cruelty would come at full force though, when The Bride (played by Elsa Lanchester, who also doubled up as Mary Shelley in the film’s prologue scene) is ‘awakened’ but finds the sight of The Monster too horrible to comprehend.
All hell breaks loose and the walls come tumbling down, crushing all but Frankenstein and his wife, who manage to escape just in time.
The film is beautifully shot with some of the framework simply stunning, and along the way has heralded some of the most iconic images to fall in the Universal Monsters universe.
Karloff hits the heart with perfect pain and angst, and his harrowing demise (albeit a rushed conclusion) is the only fitting way for his life to find closure…
Forced into a world that wouldn’t accept him and then just as swiftly dispatched from it, with a cold and abrupt end.
It is worthy successor to the original movie and probably one of the finer sequels to ever have been made.
PART OF ME so wanted to connect with this movie due to its strong placement in film history, pairing horror icons Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff together for the first time.
They would do so again a further 8 times throughout their career.
Both Lugosi and Karloff would find fame through their roles in Dracula and Frankenstein respectively and each had a further outing of their own, with moderate success, so it was inevitable that these two powerhouses of their day would cross paths before too long.
It pains me to say that I really struggled with with watching this movie.
Loosely based on the short novel of the same name by Edgar Allen Poe, The Black Cat had all the hallmarks of a classic horror story.
Our central protagonists Peter and Joan find themselves as unwitting pawns in a game between psychiatrist Hjalmar Poelzig (Lugosi) and architect Dr. Vitus Werdegast (Karloff), both whom flirt with their own sanity throughout the proceedings, although Poelzig is marginally on the ‘right’ side of the tipping point.
He does at one point though try to plead for Peter and Joan’s freedom having been ensnared in Werdergasts abode, by playing a game of chess.
Werdergast certainly takes home the crazy awards though with his collection of dead women that he keeps in glass cases.
The history between these frenemies runs deep, turning all the more bitter when Poelzig is imprisoned during the war, during which time Werdergast settles down with Poelzig’s wife, who is now dead and has become a feature in one of the exhibits.
It’s something of a convoluted mess, with the drama wrenched up to the max that it feels strained and forced.
Both Karloff and Lugosi pull off all the stops as they race to the ultimate showdown between the two for the film’s climax, but by this point I’d gone past caring and simply wanted the movie to find it’s end note.
In fact, were it not for the performances from both its leads, The Black Cat wouldn’t have received the kind of recognition that fell its way upon its release.
This coupled with the music score keeps the audience barely onside and despite this being Universal’s biggest box office hit of the year, The Black Cat ends up looking more like a drowned cat than screeching for the high notes of hysteria and horror that it was clearly aiming for.
Just as Bela Lugosi followed up on his role of Dracula with Murders in the Rue Morgue, Boris Karloff would have his turn in front of the camera after scaring audiences as The Monster in Frankenstein.
Once more he would team up with James Whale, who would be on hand for directorial duties, and his craft is well toned in this cross between light-hearted drama and haunted house horror.
It certainly takes its time to get the wheels moving as it sets up the multiple of characters that descend upon the strange house and its odd occupants to shelter from a passing storm.
There’s the argumentative couple who we first meet and the dialogue feels stilted and all due respect, as thought they are lifting the lines off the page instead of embodying it.
It’s only when Melvyn Douglas arises from the back of the car with his upbeat banter that you start to think, ‘thank fuck for that’, even if it does come across as a little overbearing.
When they arrive at the house, they are greeted by the mute butler ably played by Karloff, who it turns out, does not make a happy drunk.
Boy, we’ve all met one of them, haven’t we?
Alongside Karloff, we also meet a couple of the Femm family, the neurotic Horace and his sister, Rebecca, who is not only partially deaf, but a bit of a grumpy cow.
There is something deliberately off beat about this movie and because of this, the audience play into the hands of the director, who leads through our uneasiness, which can’t seem to shift, despite the presence of the charismatic performance of Charles Laughton in his first Hollywood film, and a romantic interest thrown in for good measure.
Gladys even remarks on how there is something odd about the house and is reluctant to go back inside.
Of course she does, and in doing so, the audience is greeted by more oddities and peculiarities.
Karloff’s Morgan has hit the bottle by this point and has gone on the rampage.
The arguing couple are no longer doing so and appear to show genuine care for each other.
In this state of enlightenment, they meet the patriarch of the Femm household, a bed-ridden Sir Roderick, who despite being billed as John Dudgeon was actually played by Elspeth Dudgeon, because apparently Whale couldn’t find a man who looked old enough to play the 102 year old.
The problem is that it clearly looks like a woman with a few tufts of hair to form the guise of a beard.
Is that supposed to make her look more “manly”?
The result is that it took me further out of the movie than I already was.
What does pull you back in though, is the introduction of another brother, who has been locked in a room upstairs, and for good reason, for he’s clearly insane and is played with clear mania and glee by Brember Wills.
Said brother, Saul is also a pyromaniac and when his appears on the screen, the level of menace and sinister is heightened because of it, a testament to Wills’ performance.
There are some ingredients in here to make the movie a worthwhile viewing and yet, some say that William Castle’s version that came about in 1963 is arguably a better adaptation.
What is strange though is that in a Top 100 horror movie list as conducted by Time Out magazine and selected by authors, directors, actors and critics of the genre, The Old Dark House reached No. 71, a fact that I find hard to believe when there have been so many glorious movies in the horror realm that trump this film.
But it’s our diversity in taste that keeps us united and divided in our love of horror.
It keeps us debating and talking, to challenge each other and find common ground.
And some cases, change our opinions or go back to review those films again.
The moment the character of Doctor Waldman delivers the opening monologue as a word of warning about what the audience is about to see, a classic novel becomes an iconic film.
Said character is played by Edward Von Sloan who returns after his performance of Van Helsing in Dracula.
Also returning to the Gothic Horror scene for Universal, Dwight Frye who played the maniacal Renfield. Here Frye turns a trick as the hunchback (and aide to Dr Frankenstein) Fritz.
But the film owes testament to Colin Clive’s performance of Frankenstein, and Boris Karloff’s awesome transformation as the Monster, a performance that required hours in the make up chair to deliver the signature look for the creature.
Karloff’s name would be forever cemented in film history despite only being credited as “?” in the titles.
And let’s not forget the directorial duties of James Whale, who’s vision in this movie not only established his rightful place as a master of his craft, but would forever identify him with this time and place in film history.
The story of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley has become so identified with Gothic Literature that it arguably holds the title of being the finest example of that genre.
It was one of the earliest stories used for film back in 1910 with the Edison Manufacturing Company’s short feature and has seen numerous adaptations ever since.
By 1931, Universal Studios had found a successful run in the Gothic genre, particularly after Dracula and were looking to repeat that winning formula.
With the release of Frankenstein, they found that success and a golden era in horror was born.
I hold my hand up and have to declare that I do have a soft spot for these movies that I do identified with the time, but for me they feel ageless as I am easily transported into the setting and delve into the world that has been created, which is a testament to the storytellers and the performances of the cast.
Colin Clive deliberately hams up the role of Dr. Frankenstein, which hangs marginally on the right side of believable as a man driven to the brink of insanity.
Even to this day the scene in which he brings the Monster to life and cries, “It’s alive, It’s alive! Now I know what it’s like to be God!”, has been used or replicated time and time again, most notably in 1985’s Weird Science.
Most of the tragedy in this tale comes from the Monster, who is forced to live in the darkness, fearful of light and fire, and strives to find his place in the world.
With that in mind, praise can not be held highly enough for Karloff, who is still able to deliver heartfelt tenderness under the layers of make up and between the grunts and gruffs.
None more so in the harrowing scene (that has played a significant part in many a thesis written around the movie) when the monster encounters the village girl and is led to believe that all beautiful things should float.
Even to its epic conclusion, when Frankenstein is forced to confront his creation in the now iconic windmill setting as it’s engulfed in flames, taking the Monster with it.
It’s a must watch for true lovers of the the Horror genre as it not only bore witness to one of cinemas greatest horror creations but also gave birth to the Horror film genre as we know it today.
Yes there were horror films before this movie, but In Frankenstein, Universal had created a legend that impacted audiences to a greater level and would pave the way for more stories of blood and gore that would delight the senses and chill the bone.
