The movie that I will discuss in this installment is Frankenstein. This 1931 film was directed by James Whale and produced by Carl Laemelle, Jr. Universal Studios was following up its huge success with Dracula earlier in the year, so this film seemed like a natural choice to make.
While the title and characters come from the 1818 Mary Shelley novel, it is a loose adaptation of the text. Interestingly, the sequel, The Bride of Frankenstein, is a much more faithful treatment of the novel than this first film. This movie, one of the most important in horror film history, introduces Boris Karloff as the Creature. Karloff gives an impressive performance as the lost and lonely being who is unsure of who he is and his place in the world. This sounds like so many teenagers and young people, and while frightening, Karloff also gathered empathy from viewers in his nuanced performance.
Bela Lugosi had been offered the part of the creature but apparently turned it down because of its lack of speaking lines. Lugosi made a terrible career choice, because Karloff would supplant him after this film’s success as the top box office star and would continue to dominate Lugosi’s subsequent film career.
The movie is powerful and atmospheric and is highly influenced by the artistic movement German Expressionism that had a stylistic impact on cinema especially in the 1920s and 1930s. Whale used large Gothic structures in the set and deep slashing shadows in creating the atmosphere of the film.
Jack Pierce designed the Creature’s distinctive makeup, which was an ordeal to apply and remove from Boris Karloff each day before and after filming. It is a work of design masterpiece, but it is completely different from the Creature’s appearance in the novel.
For those familiar with the novel, it is significant that not only the Creature’s appearance but also his personality and level of intelligence are vastly different from that of the character from the book. In Mary Shelley’s work, the creature is one of the narrators and is both intelligent and self-educated. Both of those characteristics are missing from the inarticulate and not very bright film Creature. This kind of vastly different portrayal of characters and themes is something that is, unfortunately, typical of many horror films, or should I say, many film adaptations of books. That, however, should be the topic of another post.
The film was very successful financially for Universal Studios. It is also considered by many cinema historians and critics to be one of the most important films made. It spawned numerous sequels and parodies, not limited to movies. From Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein to the character of Herman Munster in The Munsters to Young Frankenstein, the story of Victor Frankenstein and his creation have been fertile ground for satire and spoofing.
If you have not seen Frankenstein, then you should. I recommend it highly.
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The film also created the line “It’s alive!” which was not in the novel.
In the book, Dr. Frankenstein’s first name was Victor and he had a friend named Henry; I’ve often wondered why they got swapped in the film.
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Movies have often switched names of characters and condensed the plots.
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Another great classic and favorite! 🙂
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Yes, it is.
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Have you seen the Kenneth Branagh version of Frankenstein? I’d be interested in hearing what you thought of it.
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Hi Liz, Yes, I have, and I thought it was half-excellent and half-terrible. Branagh would have done better to trust the text and not go off the deep end in the second part of the film. The acting, though, was brilliant.
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Thanks, Charles. I think you’re right. When I think of the movie, I think of the first half. I agree about the brilliant acting.
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Karloff was a very great actor. Interesting that he damaged his back playing this role, which plagued him for years onwards.
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If I remember correctly, he would have to wear a brace for his back as he aged.
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That’s right. Well worth seeking out his television series Inspector March, and his terrific performance in the movie of Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Body Stealers.
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I have not seen the TV series, but I have the movie, and he gives an excellent performance.
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You can’t seem to get the TV version. There;s a channel here called Talking Pictures that screened it last year. It’s terrific.
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I will try to find it.
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It;s certainly on Sky etc. One of the best TV channels going.
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This was and old favorite of mine, and very different from the book,but I still always felt for the creature
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I agree–he becomes a symbol of the “other” in our world.
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It would seem that the story of Frankenstein’s monster has been done to death – but, have you ever read Dean Koontz’s series ? Interesting take on it. I was hesitant to try it, but ended up reading the entire series.
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No, I haven’t, but with your recommendation, I will find it!
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Thriftbooks. com has them all I believe. Would save you a bunch.
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Thank you!
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I think it was this version I saw on TV when I was 12. I had actually read Frankenstein the year before, so it was interesting to compare to what I had only recently read.
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I am curious what you thought about it. I find, almost always, that film adaptations of books are inferior.
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Reblogged this on Ed;s Site..
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Thank you!
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I have not seen this movie, Charles, and have also not finished the book. I do plan to go back to it though.
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Hi Roberta, It is definitely worth it!
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