Frankenstein: The Legacy Collection (1931)

"The Air is Filled with Monsters"

By Boudica  Jun 24, 2006

Pros: Frankenstein and "Bride of" and "Son of"

Cons: "Ghost of". "House of" isn't all that bad, but thats just me

Universal Studio's great black and white "horror" films from the 1930s and 40s were put together in special themed collections called "The Legacy Collection". These collections were themed movies, about 4 to 6 films in each c...ollection, that were focused around the one "big hit" and it's "Sons of" features. The Frankenstein Collection is probably the best of the collections, containing more films that were of better quality overall than the other collections. Frankenstein was a big hit, and they actually had better scripts and actors in the "Sons of" films than the others. We start with the classic Boris Karloff Frankenstein. This film examines our right to be "god" when it comes to "life and death". Karloff plays the monster, and while we see him growling around the set check out his facial expressionsI It is well shot, love the angry mob scenes, and is a classic horror film. The next biggie is the classic follow up Bride of Frankenstein. Still staring Boris Karlof, this is one of the few "Sons of" in these collections that was almost as popular as the original. Gotta love the hair, and her "eeps" in the film. It is a monster love story. Quite bizarre and unique, it is a must have also. The title of this review comes from a quote by Mary Shelley in this movie, played by Elsa Lanchester, who is also the Bride. Boris Karloff reprises his successful monster role yet again with the original "Son of" in Son of Frankenstein. I actually like this film. This is a remarkable in that it is almost as good as the original, in some cases probably even better in that it does have more of a plot, if that is possible. We also have Bella Lugosi playing Ygor in this one. Very dramatic is Josephine Hutchinson as Elsa von Frankenstein. And don't miss Lionel Atwill as Inspector Krogh. Good acting, great follow up story and another "must have". The silly entry here is Ghost of Frankenstein and while it may have seemed humorous back in the 40s, I found it just silly. Lon Chaney Jr is the monster, playing against Sir Cedric Hardwicke. Oh, and Ygor... painfully reprised by Bela Lugosi. This becomes the bad joke that gets all the airtime by classic comic acts on TV... the hunchback dragging his foot around, being chased by the mad doctor for his brain. In the end we have rampaging monsters and a predictable "death by monsters". The final entry is House of Frankenstein. We find Karloff here as a mad scientist escaping from prison, bringing Dracula, played by John Carradine, back to life, unfreezing the monster and throwing in Lon Chaney Jr as the Wolf Man, to produce an all inclusive monsterfest that allows everyone to go on a rampage till we see the monster drown Karloff in the end. This started a chain of "all monster" movies that are included in some of the other collections. Great for monster lovers, not much in the plot department. Quality wise, these films are nicely cleaned up, the sound is very good and overall the appearance of these films is remarkable. There are also extras, like the making of the film, theatrical trailers, stills, and film history. This is a two disk set with a double sided DVD. As I said, this is the better of the collections, with more of the great films that started the horror film industry back then. This one is a good one to own, and I do recommend it. Read more Less