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Film: Bride of Frankenstein
Year: 1935
Director: James Whale
Writer: William Hurlbut and John L. Balderston
Starring: Boris Karloff, Elsa Lanchester and Colin Clive
Review:
Growing up I didn’t really see any of the Universal classics. I had a thing against black-and-white films back then. My parents owned some, but still the majority in color. My love for old cinema started in college when I took film classes and it changed my mind. I sought this film out as part of a box set with all of the Universal Frankenstein. I believe I’ve seen this at one at the Gateway Film Center for a retrospective they did. It also now was watched as a Voyage through the FiVes.
Synopsis: Mary Shelley (Elsa Lanchester) reveals the main character of her novel survived: Dr. Frankenstein (Colin Clive) who is goaded by an even crazier scientist to build his monster a mate.
This film begins with a prologue with Mary along with her husband Percy Bysshe Shelley (Douglas Walton) and Lord Byron (Gavin Gordon). It is storming outside and Lord Byron convinces her into telling a scary story. She reveals there is more to Frankenstein.
We are then back at the windmill that was set on fire and burned down. The body of Dr. Henry Frankenstein, the creator of the monster, is believed to be dead after being thrown from it. They take him back to the castle where his fiancé is waiting, Elizabeth (Valerie Hobson). The monster isn’t found and Minnie (Una O’Connor) wants them to keep searching. The Burgomaster (E.E. Clive) tells everyone to go home. The Monster (Boris Karloff) isn’t dead. With the fire destroying the building, it reveals an underground cavern. He appears, killing those in his way and flees into the countryside.
We then go to Castle Frankenstein. The body of Henry is placed on a table and Elizabeth comes to look at him. The sheet is removed and mourning begins. Minnie ends up back at the castle and she is the first one to realize that he’s not dead. Henry wakes up and is taken up to his bed.
The monster continues through the countryside where he wreaked havoc. He isn’t trying to but doesn’t know any better. He does get arrested, but the chains can’t hold him back. His path leads him to a cabin of a blind hermit, played by O.P. Heggie, who teaches him things. That comes to an end and he ends up meeting Dr. Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger), who enlists his aid in convincing Henry of what needs to be done. These two were colleagues and Dr. Pretorius created life of his own. He demands Henry continue his experiments. Their goal, create a woman as a companion to the monster.
That is where I’ll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. I’ll say here that I’ve now seen this a few times, twice at the Gateway Film Center. This is one that I appreciate more with each viewing. I think coming in at first, I had lofty expectations that it didn’t live up to. With those out of the way, I know I can appreciate what this film does more.
Something that works with this film is that they continued where the earlier one left off, with just minor changes. They didn’t return all of the same actors, but I will let that slide. The major ones like Karloff and Clive are back. I also enjoyed taking parts of the novel that were left out of the earlier film and using it here. Examples of this are when the monster learns how to talk, even though it is different in the novel. I think how it is presented here is believable. The idea of creating a mate is also something that is in the original novel as well, but it is the monster’s idea. There are elements here since he learns friendship with the hermit.
Now does have slight issues though. One that I didn’t like was the fact that the bride is not created until the very end of the film and then there is something that happens to end the film immediately. I would have liked them to do it a little earlier and used her more. This is actually very common for the Universal films. We get the buildup and then end abruptly.
What I’ll say though that helps here is the acting performances. What I like is the development of the monster and that allows Karloff to shine. He can convey so much with saying so little and learning to talk is similar to a child. Which makes sense as it has only been alive for a couple of days. His size also helps. Clive is also good as the mad doctor. I like that he is tottering on losing his sanity from the start, keeping in line with his character. Also, due to the guilt of everyone who is hurt. Hobson was solid in her role as well as being quite attractive for the era. She takes a backseat as a ‘damsel in distress’ though. I loved Thesiger as the villain. He fits the role so well and the arrogance he brings to it is great. I would have liked to have seen more of Lanchester. She’s good for the limited time that she has. I will say the rest of the cast rounded out the film for what was needed.
I’ll then finish out with filmmaking. The cinematography and framing were fine. It is fairly new into history so they were limited by the technology. It still looks crisp, which is good. The effects used are limited, but that is also the era. I like the look of the monster better here than in the original. The look of the bride though is great. It is in line with the novel there. Something that is always shocking is the body count. The monster’s rampage has him attacking people. That was interesting to see. Other than that, the soundtrack fit what was needed.
In conclusion, even though it feels like I’m coming down harder on this one, I rather enjoy it. I think that with the original and this one, we are telling the novel. That is something I appreciate. I do think this one is better as well since we develop the monster. It makes him even more tragic. Credit there to Karloff to bring so much to the creature. Clive, Hobson, Thesiger, Lanchester and the rest of the cast are solid to round this out. This is made well despite its limitations when it was made. The cinematography, framing and effects were all good. This is the best of the Universal/Frankenstein films series. I’d recommend watching this to horror and non-horror alike.
My Rating: 8 out of 10