Bride of Frankenstein (1935) Director: James Whale
“Warning! The Monster demands a Mate!”
★★★★★
A surrealist odyssey that pokes as much fun at the horror genre as it does the comedy genre while masterfully shocking the audience with dark and disturbing scenes, Bride of Frankenstein is a marvelous movie –a rare sequel that manages to rival the greatness of its classic predecessor. In this installment, the monster is uniquely portrayed as a far more humanized creature, highlighting the tragic state of modern science, though Bride of Frankenstein contains more comedy elements than true horror. With a running time of just over an hour, Bride of Frankenstein is a short film, but certainly an enduring one. It was a widely acclaimed film when it was released in 1935 and was also a financial success.
The plot is framed by an opening conversation between famous English writers, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Lord Byron, and Mary Shelley (readers of Mary Shelley’s original Frankenstein novel will understand this crucial context). The two men praise Mary for her marvelous book Frankenstein but she informs them that she still has more of the story to tell. From here, the film picks up right where the original left off –the town has gathered around the burning mill in celebration of the death of the monster (played again by Boris Karloff), however some townsfolk decide to return to the house in order to inform the Frankensteins of the death of Henry, as well. One man, whose daughter accidentally drowned in the first film, visits the burned out mill because he wants proof of the bones of the monster. He accidentally falls into a pit among the wreckage and is strangled to death by the monster who has somehow survived and escaped the fire. Meanwhile, the Frankensteins realize that Henry has also survived and claims he has discovered the secret to immortality. Dr. Pretorius, a former teacher and mentor of Henry Frankenstein, arrives unexpectedly. He has been conducting odd miniature experiments on human beings (with notable special effects of human beings trapped in little jars), and he proposes that they create a mate for the monster. He toasts to “a new world of gods and monsters!” Henry hesitantly accepts this proposal in avoidance of being accused of the murders committed by his creation. In the meantime, the monster is captured, but he escapes again into the woods where he encounters a blind hermit who teaches him words like “good” and “friend” and amuses him with music. A mob of townsfolk suddenly arrives and the monster flees again, accidentally burning down the hermit’s cottage. The monster then stumbles onto Dr. Pretorius in a graveyard, digging up remains for a bride, and he discovers Pretorius’s plan to create a mate for him. Next, Pretorius and the monster visit Henry to plead with him to create a mate for the monster, but when Henry refuses, the monster kidnaps Elizabeth (Henry’s new wife) as ransom. In response, Henry returns to his laboratory and creates the bride of Frankenstein (Elsa Lanchester, who also played the role of Mary Shelley at the outset). In homage to the original, Henry cries: “She’s alive! Alive!” However, she quickly rejects the monster and the monster tragically realizes that neither he nor his mate were not meant for this world. Henry and Elizabeth flee, while the monster destroys Frankenstein’s laboratory. It was a hasty, last minute decision to allow Henry and Elizabeth to escape the destruction of the laboratory, and in some of the footage the audience can see Henry crushed by collapsing walls.
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Credits:
- Directed by: James Whale
- Screenplay by: William Hurlbut
- Story by: William Hurlbut, John L. Balderston
- Based on: Frankenstein, the classic 1818 novel by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
- Produced by: Carl Laemmle Jr.
- Starring:
- Boris Karloff…..Frankenstein’s Monster / The Monster
- Colin Clive…..Baron Henry Frankenstein
- Valerie Hobson…..Elizabeth Frankenstein
- Elsa Lanchester…..The Monster’s Bride (credited as ?) and as Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
- Ernest Thesiger…..Doctor Pretorius
- E. E. Clive…..Burgomaster
- Oliver Peters Heggie…..Hermit
- Cinematography: John J. Mescall
- Edited by: Ted J. Kent
- Music by: Franz Waxman
- Production Company: Universal Pictures