92. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

Running Time: 75 minutes
Directed By: James Whale
Written By: William Hurlbut, John L. Balderston
Main Cast: Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson, Ernest Thesiger, Elsa Lanchester

THE 100th POST

Well we've finally done it. We've reached 100 posts here on the "1001 Movies I (Apparently) Must See Before I Die" blog, but that's not to say we've seen our 100th film. We still have about seventeen to go before we hit that milestone. Anyway, on to the business at hand, and today we're talking about James Whale's sequel to "Frankenstein", this time titled "Bride of Frankenstein". A film that I liked about as much as the original, with a few key things sticking out that may have made this one a little bit better.

The film picks up right where the last one left off, and is told to us as a story from Mary Shelley, the original scribe of Frankenstien. We start out at the burning mill, and the father of the dead little girl from the original film, wants to see the Monster's dead body for himself. When he goes poking around the remains of the mill, he falls underneath it and there are great Monster is revealed to us. The Monster crawls out of the rubble, leaving the old man to drown underneath and begins his second rampage through the town. Meanwhile, Henry Frankenstein, thought dead in the fire, is taken back to his residence and presented to his fiance, and as she lay crying over his dead body, he awakes and we realize he wasn't dead at all.

Later that night, Henry is barged in on by Dr. Pretorius, Henry's former mentor, who has now gone a bit mad it seems and wants Henry's help in building another monster, this time a female. Henry reluctantly agrees and then we go back to follow the Monster. We see him getting into several situations, in which he saves a shepherdess from drowning, but then later is captured by a mob and chained to a pole. When left alone, the Monster breaks free from his shackles and is once again on the loose and finds refuge with a blind man, who teaches him a few choice words: "friend", "alone", "drink", "smoke", "bread". This is by far the best scene of the entire film, but it's all cut short when the old man's cabin is barged in on by a group of "monster-hunters" and the Monster is again on the run.

There were definitely some scenes here that made me like this one just a hair more than the original. I loved the entire sequence with the blind man and the Monster getting humanized right in front of our eyes. The scene in which the Monster recognizes his reflection in the lake, is another favorite of mine, for really no explainable reason, other than the fact that I just like it. The entire climax is another good one too, but I think I prefer the scene of the burning mill, that served for a climax to the original film. Bottom line is: They're both about on equal ground as far as I'm concerned and while I'm not totally gaga over either of them, they're both good for what they are, and that is a creepy tale of old, that provide you with some fun while watching them. Eventhough he doesn't speak, Karloff is great in both of them and in "Bride" Ernest Thesiger plays a great creep, in the mad scientist Dr. Pretorius.

RATING: 5.5/10 Not a blow away movie, but not a terrible one either. They both provide some fun and would both make great films for Halloween night.

NEXT UP: Top Hat...Astaire and Rogers...I've been waiting for this pair to come along. Cannot wait to see these two on the screen. Review to come later.

February 4, 2010 4:54pm