A movie fit to the era as a "vibe" film with minimal concern over story, looking as much to be a low budget franchise starter not too far removed from a TV series as is befitting to the show that inspired it. It's fun, looks nifty and manages to find a nice balance in the humor between current trends and older references. It's slight, but welcome if one accepts the limitations going in.
The Munsters was produced by Universal 1440…
To cut to the chase, Son of Frankenstein is concerned with legacy, the influence of the father on his son(s) and, by extended allegory, the influence of WWI on the world of 1939. The film begins approximately 25 years after the end of the last installment, roughly the same length of time between WWI and 1939. The father, Heinrich, is dead and his son, Wolf, has come to claim his inheritance, the castle Frankenstein and Heinrich's papers describing his methods…
It's been much noted that the ending of the movie is an homage to City Lights, but it doesn't seem to be as much mentioned that the analogy then is one where the Tramp's assistance in helping the Blind Girl to see is used by Allen as an equivalent for Isaac "helping" Tracy to "see" culture as Isaac does. Which is to say Allen is suggesting passing on his allegedly discerning sense of taste in cultural products is roughly equal…
The "girl", as the synopsis lazily has it, Constanza Nordenflycht, carrying out the ritual was seduced at 15 by Diego Portales under promise of marriage and then abandoned by him while pregnant. She was partially shunned by her family, became pregnant again by Portales, once again under promise of marriage and once again abandoned, became deathly ill leading Portales to return for the marriage, only to renege when she recovered, returning to father one more child and abandoning his responsibilities…
