Son of Frankenstein

(Rowland V. Lee, US 1939, 99 min., 16mm)

Year Without a Summer. Karloff’s final stint as the Monster is somewhat overshadowed by Bela Lugosi’s scene-stealing role as the crazed shepherd Igor. The German Expressionistic sets and Basil Rathbone’s histrionic performance as a descendent of Dr. Frankenstein push the previous films’ atmospherics to new heights. Son of Frankenstein’s success ushered in Universal’s second horror wave, which continued, unabated and unapologetic, until well after WWII. Special introduction by author and Frankenstein expert, Lester D. Friedman, professor of Media and Society at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Note later start time.