INDIANAPOLIS — Film historian Eric Grayson will screen Ghost of Frankenstein, a 1942 film starring Lon Chaney, Jr., Bela Lugosi, and Cedric Hardwicke, on Sat., Oct. 13, at 8 p.m. at the Garfield Park Arts Center. This is the fourth film in the annual Frankenstein series at Garfield.
Universal Studios had a problem with this one, according to Grayson. The original Dr. Frankenstein (Colin Clive) died, the replacement Dr. Frankenstein (Basil Rathbone) was making Sherlock Holmes pictures, and the monster (Boris Karloff) didn’t want to put up with a four-hour makeup job every day.
They solved the problem by recasting the monster (Lon Chaney, Jr.), adding a second son (Hardwicke), and leaving Bela Lugosi the only holdover from the previous movie. It’s the last of the films in which the monster is a major character in his own movie and Chaney does a good job filling the boots. The plot involves the doctor wanting to swap the monster’s brain for another man’s to “cure” his homicidal tendencies. Grayson adds, “Let’s just say it doesn’t work out well.”
Admission is $5. Concessions are $1. As always, the program (to include a short) will be introduced by Grayson and a Q&A will follow. For more information, visit www.gpacarts.org or call 317-327-7135.
