George Taylor This, the last time Karloff would play the monster, is the best of the post Bride sequels. Featuring Bela Lugosi in his best role since Dracula, as the embittered Ygor, it has the best, most well thought out story and the best ending.

joe-pearce-1 I have little to say about this film other than it has been an integral part of my film-going life for at least 70 years, as it was always being revived in local neighborhood theaters from the late 1940s until it ended up on TV in 1957. If I've seen it once, I've seen it 50 times, probably more. So, what is there to say that hasn't already been said in over 100 other reviews here, and usually said quite well? Well, there is this: Although Bela Lugosi's reputation seems to have lived and died by Dracula from the time he first essayed the role on Broadway in the late 1920s, and he is surely the dominant Dracula of the black-and-white film era, I always found his two shots at it - in the original DRACULA and when the poor bloodsucker met Abbott and Costello - to be pretty hammy, especially the first one. Oh, he's absolutely wonderful, but would you stay 30 seconds in a room with Bela Lugosi's Dracula? It is weird, fantastic, and absolutely unbelievable from beginning to end. While no one has equaled Lugosi's over-the-top strangeness in the role, others have come along who acted it as well or better, and certainly more realistically - and I do mean Frank Langella, Jack Palance, and most particularly Louis Jourdan (but not Gary Oldman, who is even weirder than Lugosi). But I simply cannot imagine any other actor playing Ygor at the level that Lugosi exhibits in this evil character. In SON (and to only a slightly lesser extent in his reprise of the role in THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN), this becomes one of the two or three most perfectly judged acting performances in the entire horror genre. If Lugosi had made only two films, the two in which he plays Ygor, and suddenly died, we would all be lamenting the loss of one of the greatest of character actors, in much the same way we lament Laird Cregar's early passing and, in a very different context, James Dean's. Of course, we know that Lugosi wasn't one of the greatest of character actors, but even a solid journeyman (yes, I know he was more than that) can pull out a great performance, and Lugosi did so twice. (Think of Victor McLaglen in THE INFORMER or Lon Chaney Jr. in OF MICE AND MEN; maybe even think of a star performer taking a chance and coming along splendidly, as did Gregory Peck in MOBY DICK.) Anyway, I simply thought space should be devoted to Bela Lugosi for something other than just his Dracula. (PS: Back in 1950 I saw Lugosi in person at a midnight horror and magic show he was touring in that played many of the RKO circuit theaters in New York City. He was very effective rising out of his coffin on that stage, especially since the audience was 90% comprised of 9- to 13-year olds, most of whom were without benefit of accompanying adults! Can you even imagine such a thing now?)

LeonLouisRicci The Third Frankenstein Film from Universal is a Lot of Things. It has a Heavy, Weighty Appeal with a Handsome, Gothic, Expressionistic Mounting and a Number of Fine, Melodramatic Performances from the Period's Iconic Horror Actors.Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff, Bela Lugosi, and Lionel Atwill all Deliver Outstanding Characters that Come to Life and give the Picture a Rich Atmosphere of Living-Dread. The Surprise here may be Bela Lugosi in a Meaty Role of "Ygor". Lugosi is Ever Present with a Large Amount of Screen Time and becomes Central to the Plot as He Takes Control of the Movie and the Monster.Rathbone has Never been More Nervous and Out of His Skin. He becomes Borderline Insane as Things Spiral Out of Control and His Acting sets the Film on an Edge of Eccentricity. Electricity Cuts the Frame as Thunderstorms and Mad-Lab Gizmos Whizz and Whirr as the Movie takes place in a Surreal World with Everything Enormous and Foreboding.The Sets of Humongous Doors and Arches that Reach the Sky, Adorned with Gargoyles and Attachments that are Barely Accessible by mere Humans. The Art-Design Competes with the Baroque Characters in its Ability to Attract the Eye.Atwill is Remarkable as the "Inspector" with Memorable Lines and a Presence that is Unforgettable. Even Frankenstein's Wife and Child are in on the Action and the Pathos.Overall, it is a Winner of a Movie by any Standard and is only Overshadowed by the Two Previous Films that were so Good as to Render this one Third Best by Comparison, but Only by Comparison.This is a Rich and Rewarding Film with Highlights Galore, Full of Grotesqueries in a Gorgeous Production.

John T. Ryan WHEREAS SOME SAY that many believe hat this is the last of the Universal Pictures "A" picture Frankenstein movies, we beg to differ. In our view, the next installment, the GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN (1940) was sufficiently produced and framed along with a correspondingly generous budget to merit its being classified in the very first order.THAT THIS PRODUCTION followed Director James Whale's masterpiece of the BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935) definitely put an additional burden on the production team to succeed in "keeping up the Joneses" or rather, in this case, the Waleses. The project was given to top rated Rowland V. Lee; whose credits included THE TOWER OF London done that same year at Universal.WE'VE RERAD THAT plans had called for this picture to be done in Technicolour. We did see some color production stills in some publication some time ago. It would have been interesting, but good old Black & White has always served Horror Pictures quite well. (It's only those "modern" productions that have become addicted to colour; being that they tend to substitute blood & gore for true horror.) THE ORIGINAL MUSICAL score was done by Frank Skinner, who replaced classically trained Franz Waxman; whose immortal score remains as memorable to this day. (Mr. Skinner, who would appear to have been a "hack", had done the themes and incidental themes for most of the remainder of the studio's "B" picture run. And confidentially, it mostly sounded the same!) THE OVERALL EFFECT is good and as unique as either of the previous outings. This rating is highly deserved and the story holds up very well. Story, direction, sets and budget all contribute to this success.AND LET'S NOT forget the outstanding cast. Headed up by Boris Karloff, Basil Rathbone and Bela Lugosi; one would be hard pressed to find a better or more appropriate crew for such a project.