Son of Frankenstein Page #2

place the beds at head-to-head."

Come on, gentlemen, see!

More bags for Frankenstein.

- Good evening, Inspector.

- Good evening.

- The Baron is in, I know.

- Yes, but...

A policeman.

- Herr Baron Frankenstein?

- Yes.

I am Inspector Krogh

of the district police.

I am glad to see you, Inspector.

Benson, take the Inspector's cape.

Yes, sir.

- Won't you come in?

- Thank you.

- Come over and dry out by the fire.

- Thank you.

I've been studying

some old papers of my father's.

- Care for a brandy?

- Thank you, no.

I have come here, Herr Baron,

to assure you of protection.

- Protection? From whom?

- From a virulent and fatal poison.

Am I to be poisoned, then?

You are poisoned already by your name.

To the best of my knowledge, it has served

my family faithfully for over 700 years.

You recommend that I change it to,

say, Smith?

I'm afraid that wouldn't help.

You might change your name, but you can't

erase the brand. That's indelible.

As long as you continue to live

in this place, you're in danger.

You're speaking in riddles, Herr Inspector.

Danger from whom?

The Burgomaster

and his inhospitable villagers?

I think I can guarantee to control

their animosity, but not their fears.

What are they afraid of, ghosts?

Perhaps.

I'm afraid I don't believe

in them. Do you?

When they commit murder, yes.

- You're referring to the monster.

- Perhaps.

My dear Inspector,

he was destroyed years ago.

Perhaps.

Can we stick to facts, Inspector?

That my father instilled life

into a dead man is perfectly true.

But I'm also convinced

that stories of this creature...

have been so greatly exaggerated

in the telling and the retelling...

that the simple folk of this neighbourhood

now believe him to have been...

the most fiendish monster

that ever walked this earth.

Do you honestly know of one criminal act

that this poor creature committed?

Did you ever even see him?

The most vivid recollection of my life.

I was but a child at the time,

about the age of your own son.

The monster had escaped

and was ravaging the countryside...

killing, maiming, terrorising.

One night, he burst into our house.

My father took a gun and fired at him...

but the savage brute

sent him crashing to a corner.

Then he grabbed me by the arm.

One doesn't easily forget, Herr Baron,

an arm torn out by the roots.

No, I...

My lifelong ambition

was to have been a soldier.

But for this...

I, who command seven gendarmes

in a little mountain village...

might have been a general.

I wish I could do something to...

- Won't you change your mind for brandy?

- Thank you, Baron.

I apologise if I've aroused

your sympathy...

but I have found

that by explaining my affliction...

it ceases to be quite such a curiosity.

You said there have been other murders

committed since the destruction of the...

- Of my father's work.

- Yes.

- How do you account for it?

- Well, I can't.

Neither can the special agents imported

for the purpose from Scotland Yard...

and the Suret Francaise.

There have been six, all unsolved...

and all men of some prominence

in the village.

In each case, the autopsy disclosed that

death was caused by a violent concussion.

There were no marks on the bodies...

except a slight discoloration or bruise

at the base of the brain.

But the hearts of all the victims

were ruptured.

In fact, they had burst.

Hence the local superstition

of the murdering ghost.

Need I add that it is always

alluded to as Frankenstein?

Now it's rumoured that you,

like your father, are a scientist.

The villagers have seen

the strange instruments that preceded you.

That's why I've come to warn you.

Inspector Krogh,

I should indeed seem ungrateful...

if I were not to thank you

for your interest in my welfare.

But I can assure you

I am not engaged in any black magic...

nor in the creation of monsters,

however the villagers may think.

Nevertheless, Herr Baron,

I stand ready when you need help.

I shall not need it.

When you need help, you have

but to ring the alarm bell in the tower...

and I shall hear it wherever I may be

and hasten to your assistance.

- Good night, Herr Baron.

- Good night and thank you, Inspector.

Darling, this is Inspector Krogh

of the police.

- How do you do?

- Madam.

He called to assure us

that he's at our service.

It's very good of you, Inspector.

Perhaps you'll honour us

one night soon at dinner.

Madam, I...

I shall be honoured, madam.

Wasn't he odd?

Yes. He said if the villagers

bothered us, he'd take a hand.

We seem to be rather

undesirable characters.

They'll change their attitude

when they get to know us a little better.

What a dreadful storm.

What awful lightning!

It's magnificent.

Nothing in nature is terrifying

when one understands it.

Think of it, darling.

My father drew that very lightning

from heaven and forced it to his own will...

to bring life to a being

that he created with his own hands.

Why should we fear anything?

Thank you, Benson.

Well, hello!

Good morning, son.

- Did you have a nice sleep?

- Yes.

- What are you going to do now?

- I'm going out hunting.

- What are you going to get?

- Elephants and tigers.

That's fine. You better come along

down here. There's some stairs over there.

You see, it isn't so bad

in daylight, is it?

No, but I just hope we don't have

any more nights like last night.

It's nights like that

that make beautiful mornings like this.

I'm going to look over the estate...

and I'm going to take

my gun with me, too.

You never can tell what you'll see,

can you, Peter?

You might see some rhinoceros

or alligators.

What's that, Daddy?

That? That's a boar.

Like Aunt Fanny?

No, Peter, not like Aunt Fanny.

A wild boar.

I hope I don't have teeth like that.

- Why, darling?

- They'd be too hard to clean.

Now you run along with Amelia.

Don't go far.

- Goodbye, Peter.

- Goodbye.

What's that weird-looking structure

across the ravine?

That's my father's laboratory.

They blew the roof off

when the monster was destroyed.

I can't wait to see inside it.

Sulphur.

Hey, you, come down here!

Come on, hurry up.

Come on, get up.

Why did you try to kill me?

- I thought you came here to kill me.

- That's a fine story.

It's all right for you people to hate me,

but attempted murder is another thing.

Who are you?

My name is Ygor.

Let me go, Frankenstein.

- I'm turning you over to Inspector Krogh.

- No!

- Not give me to Krogh.

- Why?

Krogh not want dead man. Ygor is dead.

What are you talking about?

You see that?

They hanged me once, Frankenstein.

They broke my neck.

They said I was dead.

Then they cut me down.

Hanged you?

- Why did they hang you?

- Because I stole bodies...

- they said.

- Yes. Well, what are you doing here?

They threw me in here long ago.

They wouldn't bury me

in holy place like churchyard...

because I stole bodies, they said.

So Ygor is dead.

You Dr. Frankenstein, like your father?

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes