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Overrated

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

Somehow the monster and Ygor survive the events of the last film and go in search of the second son of Dr. Frankenstein, who is also, of course, a medical surgeon. The doctor tries to clean the name of his family through a brain transplant that will make the monster more docile, but... will it work?This is the fourth film of the Frankenstein saga, sequel to "The Son of Frankenstein". Actor Boris Karloff did not accept to reprise the role of Monster and Lon Chaney Jr does not convey the same effect and this is very notorious, unfortunately.The truth is that from this point on all the magic of the previous films has already been lost, as we have already seen everything in the previous ones and in this is just repetition of several elements in a (new) story that brings nothing new or original. The scenarios are good, the actors too, it has its ambiance and good soundtrack and sound design, but the magic and impact stayed in the three previous titles, if not only in the first two. The movie is not bad either, but it seems 'a bit too much already', so I cannot score it more than 4/10.

The locals of Frankenstein village decide to blow up Frankenstein castle, which is inhabited by devious, bullet-proof (and lynch-proof) criminal Ygor (Bela Lugosi); in doing so, they free the monster (Lon Chaney Jr.) from the sulphur pit. Together Ygor and the creature pay a visit to the second son of Frankenstein, Ludwig (Cedric Hardwicke), an eminent brain surgeon, to try to convince him to replace the monster's damaged brain with a good one.At first, Ludwig is convinced that the best mode of action is to dissect the monster, destroying it for good, but after a visitation from the ghost of his father, he decides to go ahead with the brain transplant operation, unaware that Ygor plans to have HIS brain transplanted into the creature, with a little help from Ludwig's bitter assistant Doctor Theodore Bohmer (Lionel Atwill).By now, the Frankenstein series was starting to get pretty silly, with plot contrivances and ridiculous developments aplenty. The idea that both Ygor and the monster could have survived their fates at the end of Son of Frankenstein is seriously stretching plausibility, even for a horror film. Also, this one suffers for not having Karloff in the role of the monster: Chaney is stocky enough, but is unable to bring the necessary pathos to the character. Director Erle C. Kenton handles matters competently enough, although his film is lacking in memorable imagery (there's precious little of the expressionist scenery and stark lighting that made the original such a visual treat).All of Universal's Frankenstein films have a certain charm about them (even the chaotic House of Frankenstein), but Ghost is definitely one of the weaker entries in the series.4.5 out of 10, rounded up to 5 for the lovely Evelyn Ankers as Ludwig's daughter Elsa.

The running gag is that the castle looks different in every version after "The Bride of Frankenstein"! More turrets on this one! Kind of predictable and slow moving. The destroyed miniatures look so fake. The monster has a worse haircut and a hairline that is more familiar here, and looks that way thru "A&C Meet Frankenstein". (The make-up process has obviously been "streamlined".) Too familiar. The monster falls in love with a little girl (again) but does not hurt her. Ygor has his brain put in the monster and indeed it talks and thinks like Ygor. A major disappointment. Dr. Ludwig Frankenstein willingly dies with the monster? It makes no sense at all. Many chances at "horror" are wasted: Ygor just dies under anesthesia? The transplant is not graphic and is barely shown at all! The "Ghost" of Dr. Wolf Frankenstein is unconvincing, and nobody other than Ludwig even sees it. Overall, The whole movie is just not evil, creepy, scary or hideous enough. Lon Chaney Jr. has the monster's swagger down pat but no character emotion to speak off. So many unanswered questions plague the later films: Does The Monster remain blind? (No). How come he speaks only on rare occasions? Luckily, the next two entries are actually far more entertaining,if not even more preposterous!

Here we go again. In the grand tradition of Frankenstein (1931), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), and Son of Frankenstein (1939) comes the fourth in Universal's series. This time around, the crazy doctor of the title is Ludwig (Sir Cedric Hardwicke), the brother of Basil Rathbone's character in Son of and the (other) son of Colin Clive's original Dr. Frankenstein in the original and Bride of movies.A generation or so has passed since the villagers last destroyed the Monster in a sulphur pit. But, of course, he's only mostly dead, and his old pal Ygor (Bela Lugosi) holds vigil outside the old Frankenstein castle, hoping the creature will revive himself. At the same time, angry villagers are mobilizing; they decide that there's a Frankenstein curse that's prohibiting their crops from growing and businesses outside of town (named after Frankenstein, for some reason) are refusing to deal with them. The curse must be broken, so off the villagers go to burn down the castle. The explosion indeed wakes up the preserved Monster, and he's reunited with his old pal Ygor.There's another Frankenstein a village or so away, as the crow flies - Ludwig. Ludwig, who runs an insane asylum out of his house, also works for the police; when the Monster is captured and put on trial, the good doctor is called in to deal with the situation. But Ygor, he's a cunning sort, and he persuades Ludwig to get the Monster remanded to Ludwig's own castle so that Dr. Frankenstein can work on giving the Monster a nice, new brain. (There appears to be some brain damage for the big guy; he can't speak, as he could - haltingly - in previous films, and simple logic isn't his forte.) Ygor, he of the broken neck from being ineptly hanged, wants his own brain to be placed in the creature's cranium.The setting is as eerie and stark as in other Universal monster movies. Hidden rooms, long staircases, vaulted ceilings - it's a realtor's dream. Ludwig also has a grown daughter Elsa (Evelyn Ankers, another Universal staple), who's probably named after Elsa Lanchester, who starred in Bride of Frankenstein. Elsa's boyfriend is Erik Ernst (Ralph Bellamy), who's stuck between the mob rule of the town and his fondness of the Frankensteins. Lionel Atwill plays one of Dr. Frankenstein's doctor associates. Lon Chaney, Jr., by the way, grunts his way around a macabre set as the Monster itself.For a movie that's the fourth in a series, Ghost of Frankenstein (so named, perhaps, because the ghost of the original Doctor appears) is competently acted, directed, and shot. No, more than that, it's expertly done. There's some overacting (Ankers), to be sure, but overall it's a very well realized hidden gem among Universal's many horror movies of the early 20th century.