The Ghost of Frankenstein is an American horror film released in 1942 and directed by Erle C. Kenton. It is the fourth film in Universal Pictures's Frankenstein series and follows the events of 1939's Son of Frankenstein. A sequel film, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man was produced in 1943. In this feature, the town elders of Frankenstein Village decide that they have had enough of the Frankenstein legacy and decide to burn down the castle. The hunchbacked curmudgeon Ygor flees into catacombs beneath the castle and discovers that the Frankenstein Monster has awakened. They escape from the villagers and flee to the village of Vasaria. Ygor finds Doctor Frankenstein's second son, Ludwig Frankenstein, and realizes that the doctor's surgical expertise might be able to fix both the monster and Ygor's condition simultaneously by placing Ygor's brain into the monster's body.
The tagline for this film is "You can't keep a good monster down!".
The film uses stock audio samples composed by H.J. Salter, which is present in many of Universal's Frankenstein films.
First film in the series where the monster was not played by Boris Karloff. In this movie, the monster is played by Lon Chaney, Jr., best known for his portrayal of tormented werewolf Larry Talbot in The Wolf Man.
Director Erle C. Kenton also directs House of Frankenstein in 1944 and House of Dracula in 1945.
Bela Lugosi reprises the role of Ygor for this film. Ygor appeared last in Son of Frankenstein. This is the final appearance of the character. Lugosi is best known for playing the infamous vampire Count Dracula in Universal's 1931 classic Dracula.
First professional acting work for William Smith, who plays a young boy in the film. Smith will go on to play dozens of minor roles in various horror, sci-fi and western film and television roles.
