Frankenstein (1931 film)
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| Frankenstein | |
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| Directed by | James Whale |
| Produced by | Carl Laemmle Jr. |
| Written by | Mary Shelley (novel) Peggy Webling (play) John L. Balderston Francis Edward Faragoh Garrett Fort |
| Starring | Colin Clive Boris Karloff Dwight Frye Edward Van Sloan |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | November 21, 1931 (USA) |
| Running time | 71 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $291,000 US (est.) |
| Followed by | Bride of Frankenstein (1935) |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Frankenstein is a 1931 horror film from Universal Pictures directed by James Whale and very loosely based on the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. The film stars Colin Clive, Dwight Frye, Edward van Sloan, and Boris Karloff. The film also features Mae Clarke and John Boles.
The film was adapted by John L. Balderston, Francis Edward Faragoh, Garrett Fort, Robert Florey (uncredited) and John Russell (uncredited) from the Shelley novel and the play by Peggy Webling. It was directed by James Whale.
Visually, the film was heavily influenced by the German expressionist films of the 1920s.
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[edit] Plot
The film tells the story of a scientist named Dr. Henry Frankenstein, whose work takes him into the dark side of life after death. When Frankenstein creates a man out of stolen body parts, he does not achieve his desired effect and creates a monster.
Dr. Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive), an ardent young scientist, and his assistant Fritz (Dwight Frye), a devoted hunch-back, piece together a human body, the parts of which have been secretly collected from various sources. Frankenstein's consuming desire is to create human life through various electrical devices which he has perfected.
Elizabeth (Mae Clarke), his fiancee, is worried to distraction over his peculiar actions. She cannot understand why he secludes himself in an abandoned watch tower, which he has equipped as a laboratory, and refuses to see anyone. She and his friend, Victor Moritz (John Boles), go to Dr. Waldman (Edward Van Sloan), his old medical professor, and ask Dr. Waldman's help in reclaiming the young scientist from his absorbing experiments. Elizabeth, intent on rescuing Frankenstein, arrives just as the eager young medico is making his final tests. They all watch Frankenstein and the hunchback as they raise the dead creature on an operating table, high into the room, toward an opening at the top of the laboratory. Then a terrific crash of thunder—the crackling of Frankenstein's electric machines—and the black hand of Frankenstein's monster turns white and begins to move.
The manufactured monster (Boris Karloff) is held in a dungeon in the watch tower, a strangely hideous, grotesque, inhuman form. Through Fritz' error, a criminal brain was secured for Frankenstein's experiments which result in the monster knowing only hate, horror and murder. It has the strength of ten men. Suddenly, there is an unearthly, terrifying shriek from the dungeon. Frankenstein and Dr. Waldman rush in to find the monster has strangled Fritz. The monster makes a lunge at the two, but they escape. As the monster breaks through the door, Dr. Waldman injects a powerful drug into the monster's back and he sinks to the floor.
With preparations for the wedding completed, Frankenstein is once again himself and serenely happy with Elizabeth. They are to marry as soon as Dr. Waldman arrives. Suddenly, Victor rushes in, saying that the Doctor has been found strangled in his operating room. Frankenstein suspects the monster. A chilling scream convinces him that the fiend is in the house. The monster has gained access to Elizabeth's room. When the searchers arrive, they find her unconscious on the floor. The monster has escaped. He is only intent upon destroying Frankenstein.
Leading an enraged band of peasants, Frankenstein searches the surrounding country for the monster. He becomes separated from the band and is discovered by the monster, who springs at his prey and carries him off to the old mill. The peasants hear his cries and follow. Finally reaching the mill, they find the monster has climbed to the very top, dragging Frankenstein with him. Suddenly, in a burst of rage, he hurls the young scientist to the ground. His fall, broken by the vanes of the windmill, saves him from instant death. Some of the villagers hurry him to his home while the others remain to burn the mill and destroy the entrapped monster.
[edit] Differences between the film and its source
In the original novel, the monster's creator is named Victor Frankenstein and his best friend's name is Henry Clerval. A woman named Justine Moritz works for the Frankenstein family, and is also a family friend. In the film, the monster's creator is named Henry Frankenstein, and his friend is Victor Moritz.
Whereas in Mary Shelley's novel, the creature's savage behavior is seen as the result of maltreatment and neglect, the 1931 film adaptation adds as further explanation the fact that Frankenstein's assistant Fritz, played by Dwight Frye, has provided a defective brain to be used in the experiment. This suggestion that the Monster's brutal behavior was inevitable arguably dilutes the novel's social criticism and depiction of developing consciousness.
[edit] Sequels and parodies
Frankenstein was followed by a string of sequels, beginning with Bride of Frankenstein (1935), which is considered by some to be the best film of the series — partly because the creature actually talks in this film. Elsa Lanchester plays Frankenstein's bride. A recreation of the filming of this movie is shown in the 1998 film Gods and Monsters.
The next sequel, 1939's Son of Frankenstein — made, like all those that followed, without Whale or Clive, and featuring Karloff's last performance as the Monster — is generally regarded as a lesser work. The Monster wears his trademark furry vest, and the sets and lighting have a decidedly expressionistic tone. Basil Rathbone plays Baron Wolf von Frankenstein, and Lionel Atwill as Inspector Krogh delivers his famous line: "One doesn't easily forget, Herr Baron, an arm torn out by the roots." The film also features Donnie Dunagan (who voiced Disney's Bambi) as the grandson of Frankenstein, Peter.
What followed was a long slide that ended in 1948 with the deliberately farcical Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. Mel Brooks's comedy Young Frankenstein parodied elements of the first three Universal Frankenstein movies.
[edit] Additional credits and trivia
In the opening credits, Karloff is unbilled, a question mark being used in place of his name. He is, however, listed in the closing credits, which otherwise duplicate the credits from the opening under the principle that "A Good Cast Is Worth Repeating".
Bela Lugosi was originally due to star as the monster, but after several disastrous make-up tests, the Dracula star left the project, lamenting the mute role as he did. Ironically, Lugosi would later go on to play the monster in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man.
As was the custom at the time, only the main cast and crew were listed in the credits. Additionally, however, a number of other actors who worked on the project were or became familiar to fans of the Universal horror films. These included Frederick Kerr as the old Baron Frankenstein, Henry's father; Lionel Belmore as Herr Vogel, the Burgomeister; Marilyn Harris as Little Maria, the girl the monster accidentally kills; and Michael Mark as Ludwig, Maria's father.
Jack Pierce was the makeup artist who designed the now-iconic "flat head" look for Karloff's monster.
Ken Strickfaden designed the electrical effects used in the "creation scene." So successful were they that such effects came to be considered an essential part of every subsequent Universal film involving Frankenstein. Accordingly, the equipment used to produce them has come to be referred to in fan circles as "Strickfadens." It appears that Strickfaden managed to secure the use of at least one Tesla Coil built by the then-aged Nikola Tesla himself.
Although Dr. Frankenstein's hunchbacked assistant is often referred to as "Igor" in descriptions of the films, this is incorrect. In both Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein, an assistant is played by Dwight Frye, but he is called "Fritz" in the former and "Karl" in the latter. It was not until Son of Frankenstein that a character called "Ygor" appeared (here, he was played by Bela Lugosi). This character — a deranged shepherd whose neck and back are twisted due to a botched hanging — befriends the monster and later helps Dr. Wolf Frankenstein, lending to the "hunchbacked assistant" called "Igor" commonly associated with Frankenstein in pop culture.
This film was banned in Kansas for its portrayal of cruelty.
The film has been selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- www.frankensteinfilms.com - Comprehensive information on the Universal Frankenstein series; compares films to original novel
- Frankenstein at the Internet Movie Database
- Frankenstein at the All Movie Guide
