Courtesy of Umbrella Entertainment comes not one, not two, but three classic Universal horror movies on one shiny disc. Retro Horror Triple Feature Vol.1 serves up The Bride of Frankenstein, Son of Frankenstein, and House of Frankenstein for old and new audiences to savour.
The Bride of Frankenstein is rightfully considered to be a stone-cold classic as evidenced in it’s high ranking in the STARBURST 100 Horror Films of All Time. Frankenstein director James Whale returned to direct Bride of Frankenstein after Universal guaranteed that he would have total creative control. The result is a gloriously campy, yet wonderfully crafted tale of horror that effortlessly surpasses its predecessor. Colin Clive returned as Henry Frankenstein as did Boris Karloff for The Monster. Joining them were Elsa Lanchester as The Bride, and Ernest Thesiger as the deliciously evil, scenery devouring Doctor Septimus Pretorius.
Impressed with Frankenstein’s creation Pretorius persuades Frankenstein to collaborate with him in creating a mate for it. When Frankenstein begins doubting the endeavour Pretorius has the Monster kidnaps his wife.
James Whale proved that horror was more than just jumps and screams. In the right hands, it could be witty and intelligent.
Next is Son of Frankenstein. The always watchable Basil Rathbone stars as Baron Wolf von Frankenstein who, with his wife and son, takes up residence in Castle Frankenstein. The locals are none to happy about this. Frankenstein discovers the vengeance crazed shepherd Ygor living amongst the ruins of his father’s laboratory (played to show-stealing perfection by Bela Lugosi), whose neck has been broken in an unsuccessful hanging, . He finds another surprise when he stumbles upon The Monster.
Rowland V. Lee took over the directorial duties for this third Frankenstein outing. It’s rumoured that Lee was appalled at Lugosi’s treatment by Universal so he re-wrote the script creating the character of Ygor specifically for Lugosi.
Son of Frankenstein has the look of a German Expressionist film. The castle interiors are practically devoid of furniture and the walls and ceilings go off at crazy angles. This only helps to highlight the Frankenstein family’s sense of isolation from the Frankenstein fearing villagers. Boris Karloff returned for the final time as The Monster. In Bride, The Monster could talk. Here he is reduced to grunts and growls, which does seem to be a step backwards for the character. Ultimately Son of Frankenstein is a worthy successor to Bride of Frankenstein. Mel Brooks loved the film so much that his Young Frankenstein is a loving pastiche.
Finally, we enter the House of Frankenstein. After escaping from an asylum, the diabolical Dr Niemann and his loyal hunchback assistant, Daniel, revive the sideshow attraction that has become the evil Count Dracula. Things go from bad to worse when Niemann discovers the frozen bodies of the Wolf Man and Frankenstein’s monster.
Boris Karloff this time shuns Jack Pierce’s Monster makeup and instead plays the vengeful Dr Niemann. Lon Chaney Jr. and Glen Strange both reprise their roles as the Wolfman and Frankenstein’s Monster respectively from the previous film Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman. John Carradine had the honours of playing the vampiric count. Although after the stunningly stupid way he is quickly disposed off one can’t help but think that Bela Lugosi had a lucky escape.
House of Frankenstein is, alas, one of Universal’s weaker offerings. The Monster has little to do until the final moments of the film in which it then stumbles about like a somnambulist grunting, and Larry Talbot (aka the Wolfman) mopes about lamenting how he wished he was still frozen in ice. However, Boris Karloff is excellent as the villain of the piece, and it’s a testament to his skills as an actor that he ultimately holds the film together.
The extras are spartan, to say the least. There are subtitles and trailers for each film. At least they’re called trailers if that’s what short clips from the film are called these days. Overall the transfers are stunning. Never have these films looked better, which makes this an essential purchase for The Bride of Frankenstein and Son of Frankenstein alone. The House of Frankenstein… we’ll just wait outside thanks.
