Ygor and His Monster

Ygor plays the flute to the Monster

There is a line where Hardwicke’s Frankenstein mentions that while his father’s Monster (Chaney, this go-around, undermining everything Karloff built for it through his fixed scowl and brutish behavior) remains alive no one is safe. I think that is a running theme no matter how off the continuity of these monster sequels are: as long as Frankenstein’s Monster remains alive, whether advertently or inadvertently involved, people die and villages live in fear. Ygor builds a relationship with the Monster, although sometimes strained and difficult (the Monster doesn’t always listen, sometimes operating against Ygor’s wishes), wanting to exploit his great strength to his own advantage (ultimately seeing the chance to have his brain in that towering body, utilizing Dr. Bohmer’s jealousy and envy of what Frankenstein has in the scheme of succeeding. Ankers and Bellamy, with Chaney and Lugosi, all return from The Wolf Man for Ghost of Frankenstein (director Waggoner is the producer for Ghost), with Atwill thankfully cast not as a law enforcement officer but as the Bohmer surgeon still not fully recovered from a “slight miscalculation” that nearly ruined his career. Despite leaving the village that left the “curse of Frankenstein” forever haunting it, Ygor and the Monster travel to Hardwicke’s Ludwig (scientist of the “diseased mind”) and in no time at all are responsible for the same sort of troubles they left behind previously. The glaring difference in Karloff and Chaney as the Monster is staggering, really. Karloff gives the Monster such personality (especially in Bride) while Chaney is all stiff (arms stuck out, walking stilted) and frown. Still I consider Ghost, for the most part, to be slightly better than the House sequels, if not because Atwill and Lugosi are just so good. Atwill’s displeasure with Hardwicke, even as Frankenstein complements Bohmer’s talents, and the thoughts of once again being superior to the one that used to be his pupil, stirred up by Lugosi’s cunning Ygor for sure gave the actor something decent to work with. Lugosi, keeping Ygor clever and manipulative (even as he loses control of the Monster when it wants the brain of a little girl), remains the show-stealing villain, everything he does works. Too bad when Lugosi is in the Monster’s body this wasn’t fully embraced in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man.

Out of  * * * * *

Ghost of Frankenstein : * * *