During Hollywood’s golden age, studios were known for certain movies. MGM was known for musicals, Warner Bros. was known for their hard hitting dramas. There was one studio that became known for horror films. That studio was Universal. It gave the movie going public, Dracula, Frankenstein’s monster, The Invisible Man and The Mummy in the thirties. All of these characters are famous and made the actors famous. The most famous is the monster created by the well meaning, but slightly demented Henry Frankenstein. The doctor with a twisted plan, is shown in the first two Frankenstein movies; Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein. The doctor’s son Wolf, appears in the third movie, Son of Frankenstein. The monster and the movies have survived, because of the message, of the films and people love good scary films.
Frankenstein (1931) Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Edward Van Sloan, Mae Clark, Dwight Frye, John Boles
There were other filmed versions of Mary Shelley’s famous novel. This attempt succeeded. There are a few factor’s in the film’s success. The two main ones are James Whale, the director and Boris Karloff as the monster. James Whale made the choice of directing Frankenstein. This decision gave him a legacy. His name will be forever associated with horror movies. Boris Karloff was a struggling actor. His name isn’t even featured in the beginning film credits. His masterful performance in this movie would change his acting status.
The movie begins with Dr. Frankenstein, (Colin Clive), and his assistant, Fritz,(Dwight Frye), in a cemetery, after a funeral. The doctor and Fritz are stealing a body, to use to make a perfect man. This opening scene is very eerie, and sets the tone for the movie. It is when Frankenstein examines the body, that he discovers something. The brain is damaged. He sends Fritz to get a new one. The doctor’s servant finds a new normal brain. He is startled and drops the brain. Fritz is determined to complete his mission. He grabs another brain. There is only one problem. This is an abnormal brain.
Frankenstein is not told of this error. The experiment is completed, and the monster develops homicidal tendencies. These emerge starting with Fritz. The monster kills him, when he tortures him with fire. the monster is sedated, and left in the care of Dr. Waldman,(Edward Van Sloan) This actor gives the introduction to the movie. Waldman is a friend of Frankenstein. The doctor has had a breakdown, and is resting at his home. Waldman plans to dissect the creature. Unfortunately, Waldman doesn’t give the monster enough anesthesia resulting in his being murdered. The creature escapes, and accidentally kills a little girl. This sets off a manhunt, with a climax taking place at a windmill.
This movie is very chilling, and accomplishes its goal as top notch horror. It is, like so many films, very different from the original source material. It is based on a British play,adapted to the screen by Garrett Fort and Francis Edward Faragoh. James Whale is responsible for some great scenes. There is the dialogue between Frankenstein and Waldman, about bringing life from the dead. Closeup shots are used. The entrance of the monster, and the end windmill scene. The monster coming into Frankenstein Castle, is intensified by the use of sound. C. Roy Hunter, the recording supervisor does a masterful job. Colin Clive takes it way over the top as Dr. Frankenstein. Who can forget Frankenstein exclaiming “its alive”, three times, when the monster moves its fingers. Boris Karloff, achieved fame, because Whale thought his face fit the part. The actor struggled through long makeup sessions and uncomfortable boots. Karloff, in this role, becomes like the master of silent horror, Lon Chaney. His character does not speak, but has a very menacing lumbering walk, and a look of a thing not alive.
Frankenstein carried the studio into fame. It was made on a small budget, and made a large amount of money for the studio. This film was revolutionary. It had the message that man should stay away from raising the dead. The movie borrowed from German expressionist film, but it looks genuinely Hollywood. It gives sympathy to the monster, who did not wish for life. It even gives a sense of pathos. It exceeds the popularity of the studio’s first horror movie, Dracula. Boris Karloff became forever linked with the monster, and was never surpassed in his performance. It also started what became an industry trend, known as the sequel.
Bride of Frankenstein (1935) Boris Karloff Colin Clive Valerie Hobson Ernest Thesiger Elsa Lanchester Gavin Gordon Douglas Walton Una O’Connor E.E. Clive O.P. Heggie Dwight Frye
How do you top Frankenstein? You build an even better sequel. Boris Karloff and Colin Clive are back. There are others who help make this a great movie. Valerie Hobson is the new Elizabeth. She is now Mrs. Frankenstein. The original had the monster as the villain but nobody else. This film makes the monster more like a child, who can’t become an adult. The true villain is Doctor Pretorius. He is masterfully portrayed by Ernest Thesiger. Pretorious hatred of mankind far exceeds Frankenstein’s creation. A good bad guy always makes a movie better.
The movie opens with Mary Shelley continuing her story, after the pleading of Lord Byron,(Gavin Gordon). They are in a castle, along with Mary’s husband, Percy Shelley, (Douglas Walton). It is storming outside, making for a perfect atmosphere, to continue this eerie tale. The author is played by Elsa Lanchester. She was a very talented British actress, and also plays the bride.
The story continues with the villagers being told to go home, after the supposed demise of the monster. Everyone listens to the Burgomaster, except three people. They are the parents of the girl killed by the monster, in the first film, and Minnie; a servant in the Frankenstein house. Minnie is played by Una O’Connor. She screams very well in this movie. The parents learn that they should have listened to sound advice. The monster murders them. The creature leaves Minnie alone. She goes back screaming to warn the villagers. Her employer, now Baron Frankenstein, survived his fall. He is being nursed back to health, by Elizabeth. Happiness is not to be found, when someone is the creator of a monster. There is a knock at the door, and evil once again makes a visit.
This personification of evil is Doctor Pretorious. He knows Frankenstein from his university days. He appeals to the doctor’s scientific mind. Pretorious has created life in miniature. He keeps them in small glass containers. This intrigues Frankenstein, but he wishes to have a peaceful life. This is not to be.
The monster is roaming the countryside, trying to find peace. The set designers have done a good job, of creating a peaceful scene in the the woods. He rescues a girl, but her screams alert hunters who shoot him. This brings other villagers, who hunt him down, and overwhelm him through sheer force of numbers. They tie him to a pole, and take him to town. He is chained and locked in a jail. The dead creature cannot be held for long. He has the strength of many men, and breaks his chains. He causes havoc and again wanders into the woods. This time things turn out a little better.
The monster hears the soft strains of music. They are coming from a violin, being played by a hermit, (O.P. Heggie), who is blind. The monster wanders into the cottage, and the hermit becomes friends with him. Food and drink are offered. The monster is taught how to speak. His new friend offers him tobacco and alcohol. The old man thanks God for sending him a friend. Happiness is always fleeting in a horror movie. This is no exception. Hunters find the monster, angering him and he starts a fire, burning the cottage. The monster flees, and wanders into a cemetery. He meets Pretorius, who is eating food in a tomb.
Pretorius brings up Frankenstein. This is all the monster needs to set him down a dark path. The evil doctor convinced him that he needs a mate. Frankenstein is forced to create a wife, because the monster has kidnapped his bride. He does this in the same manner of his first creation, with lightning. The monster is observing the storm, and kills one of the assistants, Karl. This is another character, played by Dwight Frye. He makes it a habit of being killed by monsters. The actor played two other characters, one killed by the Frankenstein monster and one by Dracula. The artificial creation of life is successful. Pretorius presents The Bride of Frankenstein. Elsa Lanchester was immortalized in makeup by Jack Pierce, who created Karloff’s makeup. Sadly both creations don’t have the same feelings for one another. This angers the monster, but also ignites compassion in him.
There are many things that make this movie great. A key is that the screen writers, went back to the book. John Balderson,is credited as a writer. He has Mary Shelley introduce the story. The book did have Frankenstein forced to create a mate for the monster. He also gave the monster human qualities and the longing for acceptance. This movie doesn’t cast the blame on the monster. It is placed on mankind. The one thing this film has is an original score. This was lacking in the first movie. This is what gives the movie its feel. The sets stand out, particularly the castle. The making of movies had advanced since the original film. James Whale is at the top of his profession. He left the studio soon after, and never did anything like this. A person may say they saw a great horror film, that was very stylish. They must be reminded that Bride of Frankenstein, created the great horror film with style.
Son of Frankenstein (1939) Boris Karloff Basil Rathbone Bela Lugosi Lionel Atwill Josephine Hutchinson Donnie Dunagan Edgar Norton
This is the last of the trilogy, and the weakest of the three. There are some good performances in it. Bela Lugosi is very good as Ygor,crazy with revenge. Lionel Atwill is also good as Inspector Krogh. The story, although lacking in depth, does make up for it with the dialogue. The screenplay was written by Wyllis Cooper. The odds were stacked against him, considering the massive success of the previous films. He was a successful writer for radio, before moving to Hollywood. The chief failing of the movie is the treatment of the monster. He doesn’t speak,he is mainly a lumbering giant. The story is centered around Frankenstein, Inspector Krogh and Ygor. It is also the last time that Karloff plays the monster. The actor went on to a successful career after his decision. Karloff is most famous as the misunderstood monster. It was many years later, that he became equally famous as the narrator and voice of The Grinch, in How the Grinch Stole Christmas.
There is another Frankenstein who has arrived in town. Baron Wolf von Frankenstein. He is the son of the late Henry Frankenstein. He has also brought his wife, Elsa, (Josephine Hutchinson) and his son, Peter, (Donnie Dunagan). It is raining and the people of the town give a cold reception to the new Baron. It is explained that his name is not popular. The reasons are obvious to anyone who has viewed the previous films. Baron Frankenstein hopes to win the good graces of the people. This is not possible, when Wolf meets Ygor. He is a former employee of the baron’s father. Ygor stole bodies for him. He was condemned to death by hanging, but survived. He plans revenge against those who convicted him. This is where the baron’s heritage comes into play. Ygor has a secret friend, the monster. He was paralyzed by a lightning strike. Wolf agrees to reanimate him, hoping to restore his late father’s reputation. Ygor has other plans. He turns him into a killing machine to enact his vengeance. Wolf objects and Ygor has the monster kidnap the baron’s son. The monster goes on a rampage, even ripping out the inspector’s wooden arm. The monster had ripped off the arm when the inspector was a child. This destroyed his hope of becoming an army officer. It falls to Wolf Frankenstein, to save his son and stop the monster’s rampage.
Son of Frankenstein was the beginning of a descent for these movies. The monster, starting with this one, was at the command of any criminal or madman. There were five more films made. Mary Shelley’s creation, doesn’t tell a moral tale in any of these sequels. He simply becomes work for any actor willing to endure long makeup sessions, and able to walk in a slow pondering manner. Basil Rathbone appears to give a serial villain take on his character. His performance at times, makes Colin Clive’s appear restrained. It is unintentionally amusing when Frankenstein and the inspector play darts. The inspector uses his wooden arm to hold his darts. Wolf laughs mockingly at the accusations of him knowing about the monster. The movie, despite its flaws, is still worth viewing.
Trilogies are often difficult to watch. The Frankenstein Trilogy is not. Boris Karloff proves that he is a successor to Lon Chaney. He, like his friend, brought a character to life on the screen, that lives on for lovers of horror. Colin Clive managed to show a disturbed Frankenstein, who is guilt ridden. Clive was a fine British actor who died too soon. His death was the reason Basil Rathbone appeared in the last film. Rathbone himself did not like horror movies. His fame came by playing the creation of Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes. These three movies can be seen at Halloween. They are by their nature, scary films. They can because of their production values, be seen anytime of the year. A person may claim to be a fan of horror movies. That person is not until they have watched all of these movies. If you haven’t seen these films, please buy a DVD collection, and watch them.