The Universal Years 1942
A great cast takes to the screen in this fourth entry in the Universal series, but it does not reach the level of its predecessors. One of the problems is Lon Chaney Jr. as the Monster (I may be alone in this estimation), but I don’t think anyone would ever shout, ‘It’s alive, it’s alive’ for his performance. Fortunately, Bela Lugosi’s Ygor is just as evil and unrestrained as he was in Son which goes a long way in bringing this movie to life. The inimitable Sir Cedric Hardwicke plays both Ludwig Frankenstein and the ghost of Henry Frankenstein with the practiced elegance of a fine character actor.
The cast is also graced by fan favorite Scream Queen, Evelyn Ankers as Ludwig’s daughter, Elsa Frankenstein. She brings the sex appeal along with a worried continence that tugs at her father even as he gases her along with Ygor in a successful attempt to restrain the monster.
Lionel Atwill as the evil scientist and Ralph Bellamy as the good one fill out the seasoned cast to complete another popular episode in the series. This film and the ones that follow may be more formulaic and rely on cast, characterization, and production more than innovative scripting, but they are still enormously entertaining and exhibit bright flashes of originality.