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

56. Frankenstein (1931)

Running Time: 70 minutes

Directed By: James Whale

Written By: John L. Balderston, Francis Edward Faragoh, Garrett Fort, from play by Peggy Webling and novel by Mary Shelley

Main Cast: Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, Edward Van Sloan, John Boles, Dwight Frye

MONSTER MASH: PART TWO OF TWO

I hope anyone out there who is a reader of my blog had a very Merry Christmas. I sure did and while the traditions and fun of my family has passed, I return to the book and my journey through the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die". Just finished watching "Frankenstein" about an hour ago and liked it much more this time around, than the previous time I watched this film, about two years ago.

Henry Frankenstein (Clive) is an eager young scientist who breaks away from his mentor and teacher to pursue his own experiments, most importantly trying to bring what was once dead, back to life. Actually, in this particular case, Henry tries bringing something that has never lived to life. After Henry and his assistant Fritz go around collecting freshly buried corpses and hung criminals, they sew together various parts, from various cadavers and build a human being. All that they lack is a brain and when Fritz goes to the local university to fetch one, he accidentally returns to Henry's castle with an abnormal brain and thus the tale of Frankenstein is set into motion. As you can probably guess, Henry's experiment is a success, as he uses a lightning storm to bring his makeshift human being to life and the Monster is born (played with creepiness by Karloff).

Henry keeps the Monster locked up in a closet and when his fiance, his mentor and his best friend come looking for him, the eventually talk him into returning home. The professor, Dr. Waldman reassures Henry that he'll take care of the Monster. Henry leaves the castle with his fiance and friend and returns to his home so that he can marry. The professor however underestimates the Monster and ends up allowing it to escape. Now with the Monster on the lam, the possibilities for the climax of this picture are endless and everything you can imagine probably happens to Harry and his Monster as this picture reaches it's grand conclusion.

There are so many memorable shots and scenes in this film: the Monster connecting with a little girl and with good intentions, accidentally drowning her, the moment when we first see Karloff as the Monster, with his back to the camera he turns around to reveal his hideous figure, the gorgeous shot as the Monster and his creator square off atop a hill in the films final moments and the final moment of the film, with the Monster trapped inside a windmill, as it is set ablaze by an posse that has been formed to find him and, if need be, kill him. This movie proves to me that you always need to give a movie at least two chances, because if you watch a film for the first time and don't like it, well then, maybe you weren't in the mood for it or maybe you had other things on your mind. I remember watching "Frankenstein" back in January of 2008 and hating it, however, this time I thought it was very watchable and very good. Despite its age, it still holds up as a great horror flick and something that would be lots of fun to take in around Halloween time (along with Dracula - 1931).

RATING: 6.5/10 Not a perfect rating, but certainly better than I remembered it and still a very good film.

NEXT UP: City Lights...More Chaplin, for which I am excited. Review should be up tomorrow.

December 27, 2009 12:00am