Frankenstein (1931 film)

Copyright: Universal Studios

I had a lot of fun with Dracula Week, so let's do it again, this time with one of the other popular Universal monster films, Frankenstein.  I've got a great lineup ready for the week, starting with the classic, Boris Karloff version and leading into the recent Victor Frankenstein.  I've been a little bit behind schedule, but I promise that I've got plans to make up for those lost days.  For now, though, let's get into the action!

The film opens on a funeral, with two uninvited guests watching from behind a nearby stone wall: Henry Frankenstein and his assistant, Fritz (Not Igor... he doesn't come along until the third film, at least, with the spelling of Ygor).  Once the crowd has cleared and the grave digger departs, Fritz and Frankenstein move in and harvest the body from the grave.  Along the way back from the graveyard, the duo also stop to cut down a hanging corpse, while Frankenstein raves about his purpose in corpse collecting: to create a new human, built from the parts taken from the bodies and given life by his machines.

Meanwhile, Frankenstein's friend, Victor, meets with his fiancee, Elizabeth.  Both are concerned over not hearing from Henry in a long while, outside of letters saying not to visit.  After talking to his father, the Baron von Frankenstein, they seek out Henry's professor, Dr. Waldman, who tells them he hasn't seen Henry since he left school, but informs them of Henry's ambition.  Together, the three of them head for where Henry's set up his lab... on a dark and stormy night...

This film is a classic for a reason.  The sets are amazing, the makeup for the monster is rightfully considered some of the best in movie history (heck, almost every rendition of Frankenstein's monster uses some variation on it), the acting was great, everything comes together to make an excellent film.

The good doctor, Henry Frankenstein, was portrayed by Colin Clive.  He'd go on to reprise the role in Bride of Frankenstein, but he didn't do much else, genre-wise, and passed away at 37 from tuberculosis.  Boris Karloff portrays his creation, the Monster.  He'd parlay this role into a very successful acting career, going on to get two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his work in television and film.  He was also, later, the inspiration for Bobby "Boris" Pickett's Monster Mash song (and its various sequels).  The film also features Edward Van Sloane and Dwight Frye, both of whom appeared in Dracula, as Dr. Waldman and Fritz, respectively.

All in all, a good, fun movie, one I'm honored to give a 5 out of 5.  Tomorrow, we'll be jumping ahead to 1990, almost 60 years, for the next film, Frankenstein Unbound, from Roger Corman.  I'll see you there!  Until then, this is Red Hawk signing out!