SON OF FRANKENSTEIN

Karloff and Lugosi

SON OF FRANKENSTEIN (1939). Director: Rowland V. Lee. Colorized.

Baron Wolf von Frankenstein (Basil Rathbone of Hillbillies in a Haunted House) arrives in the town where his father created his monster with his wife Elsa (Josephine Hutchinson) and little boy, Peter (Donnie Dunagan), in tow. No one in the village is pleased to see this new Frankenstein, but at least the Inspector (Lionel Atwill of Captain America). whose arm was torn off by the monster, is willing to provide protection for him. Wolf learns that not only is the monster still alive, but that the malevolent Ygor (Bela Lugosi of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein) has been using him to kill off those who sentenced him to die for graverobbing. (Instead he just wound up with a broken neck.) The monster has been inactive since being struck by lightning, but Wolf stupidly decides to revive him. Naturally havoc ensues ...

Rathbone and Hutchinson

Son of Frankenstein is a fun and absorbing picture with weird art deco sets and some terrific performances. Lugosi arguably gives the best performance of his career as the gleefully conniving and cackling Ygor. Rathbone, Hutchinson and Atwill are also excellent, and little Dunagan gets by on sheer adorableness. Karloff is basically mute in this but still quite effective. The film has genuine suspense and moves at a swift pace. If there's any problem with the movie it's that Wolf Frankenstein is essentially an asshole, endangering his wife and child, and never really gets his comeuppance for this. The film also has a very interesting score by Frank Skinner. 

Verdict: Wonderful old Universal horror flick. ***1/4. 

HILLBILLIES IN A HAUNTED HOUSE

Joi Lansing and Ferlin Husky

HILLBILLIES IN A HAUNTED HOUSE (1967). Director: Jean Yarbrough.

Singer Woody Wetherby (country star Ferlin Husky), his girl singer, Boots Malone (Joi Lansing), and his manager, Jeepers (Don Bowman), are traveling to Nashville for a concert when bad weather and automobile trouble forces them to seek shelter in a creepy old mansion. They don't realize that the new owner, Madame Wong (Linda Ho), is running an espionage outfit that employs Max (Lon Chaney Jr.), Gregor (Basil Rathbone) and Dr. Himmil (John Carradine of Female Jungle), not to mention a bad-tempered gorilla named Anatole (George Barrows). Will Jim Meadows (Richard Webb of The Invisible Monster), secret agent for MOTHER, be able to save Boots from the Iron Maiden and make the world safe for democracy? 

Slumming: Rathbone and Carradine

Hillbillies is actually the second of two films starring Husky as Wetherby, following Las Vegas Hillbillies, in which Boots Malone was played by Mamie Van Doren and Jayne Mansfield also had a part. The first one couldn't possibly have been worse than this awful concoction, which wastes the talents of virtually everyone, especially Carradine and poor Basil Rathbone. The last ten minutes are a concert with songs being performed by Molly Bee, Merle Haggard  and Marcella Wright ("Strangers"). Husky himself does a nice job with "One Bridge I Have Never Crossed." In his heyday and for many years Husky was a very, very popular entertainer. As for Joi Lansing, who always seemed to play the perennial dumb blonde, it's ironic that in this picture she plays it straight! Jean Yarbrough also directed Inside Job and a great many other movies. 

Verdict: Aside from some of the songs there's little point in sitting through this. *1/2.