Son of Frankenstein Overview:

Son of Frankenstein (1939) was a Science Fiction - Horror Film directed by Rowland V. Lee and produced by Rowland V. Lee.

Son of Frankenstein BlogHub Articles:

Watching 1939: The Son of Frankenstein (1939)

on Oct 4, 2018 From Comet Over Hollywood

In 2011, I announced I was trying to see every film released in 1939. This new series chronicles films released in 1939 as I watch them.?As we start out this blog feature, this section may become more concrete as I search for a common thread that runs throughout each film of the year. Right now, tha... Read full article


Son of Frankenstein (1939) (1)

By Beatrice on Feb 7, 2014 From Flickers in Time

Son of Frankenstein Directed by Rowland V. Lee Written by Wyllis Cooper 1939/USA Universal Pictures First viewing; Netflix rental This does not measure up to the greatness of the first two Universal Frankenstein films but is entertaining and features what may be Bela Lugosi’s very best perfo... Read full article


Son of Frankenstein (1939) (2)

By Emily on Jan 19, 2014 From The Vintage Cameo

The creatures of the night claimed the New Beverly for their own yesterday, as monster fans packed the house for two Frankenstein films, and a chance to see?Karloff and Lugosi in person. It wasn’t the famous actors themselves who were appearing, of course, but rather, their offspring–Sar... Read full article


Son of Frankenstein and Tower of London

By Neve on Apr 1, 2013 From The Baz

I thought I’d talk briefly about two movies – SON OF FRANKENSTEIN and TOWER OF LONDON – the Baz made for Universal between November 1938 and October 1939. The quotations are courtesy of Cinegeek.

?In the scene where Bela slowly tells Basil ?He does things for me? and there I... Read full article


Classic Films in Focus: SON OF FRANKENSTEIN (1939)

By Jennifer Garlen on Oct 12, 2012 From Virtual Virago

After the success of Frankenstein (1931) and The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), it’s not really a surprise that Universal would continue the series with a third film, although Son of Frankenstein (1939) takes us forward in time to the next generation of the famously doomed family. Boris Karloff... Read full article


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Quotes from Son of Frankenstein

Peter von Frankenstein: Here we are.
Elsa von Frankenstein: Peter! Peter! Peter! Peter! Open the door!


Baron Wolf von Frankenstein: It appears that my father thought that he could extract from lightning some super-violet ray of life-giving properties.


Elsa von Frankenstein: What a dreadful storm and awful lightening.
Baron Wolf von Frankenstein: It's magnificent. Nothing in nature is terrifying when one understands it. Darling, my father drew that very lightening from heaven and forced it for his own will to bring life to a being he created with his own hands. Why should we fear anything?


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Facts about Son of Frankenstein

This film marks the final time Boris Karloff would play the "Monster" - at least in a feature film. In August of 1940 he appeared as the Monster in a celebrity baseball game, with Jack P. Pierce in attendance (Pierce was a coach for an amateur baseball team, and played semi-pro when he was younger). In the next Frankenstein film in which Karloff appeared, House of Frankenstein, he played Dr. Gustav Niemann. Originally the Samuel Goldwyn film The Secret Life of Walter Mitty was to have had a fantasy sequence in which Mitty (Danny Kaye) confronted the Monster, played again by Karloff (who played the villain in "Mitty.") Goldwyn sought and received authorization from Universal to use the image of the Monster, and Pierce re-created the make-up. Stills exist of the film's director, Karloff, Pierce, and Evelyn Karloff, but it has not been verified that scenes were actually filmed. In the Allied Artists film Frankenstein - 1970 Boris was an elderly Baron Frankenstein - but the twist ending was the revelation that the Baron had recreated the Monster's face
Bela Lugosi's performance in this film is considered by many to be his greatest.
Plans were discussed to shoot the film in Technicolor, but the decision was made to revert to black and white; both director Lee and co-star Josephine Hutchinson verified in later years that the film was designed for, and shot in monochrome. Urban myth has it that Karloff's make-up photographed bright green and was a primary reason for shooting in black and white. An urban myth has it that Dwight Frye was in the Technicolor test reel and was subsequently dropped from the cast. In the late 1980s a reel of Technicolor test footage was discovered in Universal's vaults, but was either stolen from the desk of the executive who was in possession of it (according to one story) or simply boxed back up by bureaucrats and shipped to a New Jersey film vault (according the film archivist who actually found the reel.)Karloff family home movies shot on the set of the film reveal the Monster's coloration to be grayish with subtle highlights and shadows of blue-green and brick red. The brief clips show Karloff in Monster make-up sticking his tongue out at the camera and pretending to strangle make-up artist Jack P. Pierce can be seen on the CD-ROM The Interactive History of Frankenstein and
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