The third and last time Karloff played Frankenstein's monster is in this film, which finds the son of the Doctor from the previous two films inheriting his father's estate and possessions.  The young doctor (Rathbone), along with his wife and child, go to the gothic German town to live in the large but empty Frankenstein estate.  The townsfolk are not happy and do not welcome the heir to the one who caused them so much strife.  And there's more to worry about once the doctor runs into Ygor, a mishapen creton who was hanged for his crimes, but yet lives.  Ygor, played by Lugosi, has found the creature and has him do "things" for him.  The creature, however, is not well, and the son of Frankenstein, in an attempt to further his father's scientific studies and to redeem his family's name, tries to revive the monster.  Of course, it doesn't all work out like he had thought.

It would be hard to beat the original Frankenstein or the Bride of, both of which are classic, classic films, but this movie does alright for itself.  The dark sets and thunderous rainstorms set the mood.  Karloff is again great as the monster, although for some reason, he now wears a fur coat, and has seemed to forget any English he learned in "Bride".  However, the monster is hardly in the movie, at least consciously.  The main characters are Rathbone as Dr. Wolf von Frankenstein, who does a decent job, except when he overacts, and Ygor, an almost unrecognizable Bela Lugosi in one of his best roles.  The doctor's young boy is annoying, with his Shirley Temple curls and high pitched voice.  Also, I didn't care for the town counsel, save for the inspector with an artificial arm (Lionel Atwill).  Seems that the monster had ripped his arm off from the roots when he was a youngster.  The plot isn't too complex, and holes between the previous films are evident, but it is a fun ride, and a good Frankenstein film.
 
 
 

Quality: 6.5  Visuals: 7  Intensity: 5 
OVERALL RATING: 6.2