BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935)
"She's alive!"
Wow. I have never seen a movie quite like this. It's hard to believe I'd never seen it before. ("What do they teach them in those schools?")
I don't even want to say all that much about it. BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN is the crown jewel of the classic monster movie canon, and the first horror movie sequel. It is one of those rare sequels, like THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980) and THE GODFATHER: PART II (1974), which is arguably better than the original, because it does not imitate but expands and deepens the world of the first film. It may be the only sequel to have a remake.[1] It is certainly James Whale's masterpiece--he seems to be in control of every frame, every smashing piece of design, every ray of light cast.
Most of the old horror movies, however populated with fiends, contain one clean young couple who are offered up as audience surrogates. Not here. It's mad scientists to the left, monsters to the right and you're stuck in the middle with a hunchback or two. (Wait, isn't that Dr. Frankenstein's hunchback Fritz who was killed by the Monster in the first movie? No, that's Dwight Frye[2] playing Karl, servant of Dr. Pretorius--and it's more of a slight stoop.) The mass-murdering Monster is the nicest, most fully developed character, and it's hard to see him taken advantage of. Boris Karloff is just brilliant in this role.
Wikipedia has a surprisingly erudite discussion of "homosexual interpretations" of the film. At first I thought, naaaaw. Maybe buried deep as subtext--after all, so much of Whale's psyche is on screen. But I've come around. BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN is one big, gay film. And it's festooned with Christ imagery. It's hard to believe a film that had to battle so hard with censors could come out being so subversive.
One important aspect other reviewers seem to neglect is the extreme hotness of the Bride. Elsa Lanchester, playing the dual role of Mary Shelley and the Bride, was a classically trained dancer and proponent of free love who brought a piercing stare, buxomy curves, and a great deal of imagination to her brief but scene-stealing roles. When the Bride is introduced, she is bound tightly head to toe like a mummy in bandages--and that's the job I would have wanted to have on this picture. Please.
Universal Classic Horror Blog Series Rating:
4 - For everyone
3 - For horror fans only
2 - For classic horror fans only
1 - For Pete's sake
0 - Paging MST3K
[1] THE BRIDE (1985), starring Sting and Jennifer Beals. NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN (1983) doesn't count.
[2] Besides Fritz and Karl, Dwight Frye also memorably portrayed the bug-eating Renfield in DRACULA (1931) and turns up with bit parts in THE INVISIBLE MAN (1933) and, IMDB says, nearly all of the Frankenstein sequels. Typecast, Frye is quoted as saying "If God is good, I will be able to play comedy, in which I was featured on Broadway for eight seasons and in which no producer of motion pictures will give me a chance! And please God, may it be before I go screwy playing idiots, half-wits and lunatics on the talking screen!"
Wow. I have never seen a movie quite like this. It's hard to believe I'd never seen it before. ("What do they teach them in those schools?")
I don't even want to say all that much about it. BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN is the crown jewel of the classic monster movie canon, and the first horror movie sequel. It is one of those rare sequels, like THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK (1980) and THE GODFATHER: PART II (1974), which is arguably better than the original, because it does not imitate but expands and deepens the world of the first film. It may be the only sequel to have a remake.[1] It is certainly James Whale's masterpiece--he seems to be in control of every frame, every smashing piece of design, every ray of light cast.
Most of the old horror movies, however populated with fiends, contain one clean young couple who are offered up as audience surrogates. Not here. It's mad scientists to the left, monsters to the right and you're stuck in the middle with a hunchback or two. (Wait, isn't that Dr. Frankenstein's hunchback Fritz who was killed by the Monster in the first movie? No, that's Dwight Frye[2] playing Karl, servant of Dr. Pretorius--and it's more of a slight stoop.) The mass-murdering Monster is the nicest, most fully developed character, and it's hard to see him taken advantage of. Boris Karloff is just brilliant in this role.
Wikipedia has a surprisingly erudite discussion of "homosexual interpretations" of the film. At first I thought, naaaaw. Maybe buried deep as subtext--after all, so much of Whale's psyche is on screen. But I've come around. BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN is one big, gay film. And it's festooned with Christ imagery. It's hard to believe a film that had to battle so hard with censors could come out being so subversive.
One important aspect other reviewers seem to neglect is the extreme hotness of the Bride. Elsa Lanchester, playing the dual role of Mary Shelley and the Bride, was a classically trained dancer and proponent of free love who brought a piercing stare, buxomy curves, and a great deal of imagination to her brief but scene-stealing roles. When the Bride is introduced, she is bound tightly head to toe like a mummy in bandages--and that's the job I would have wanted to have on this picture. Please.
Universal Classic Horror Blog Series Rating:
4 - For everyone
3 - For horror fans only
2 - For classic horror fans only
1 - For Pete's sake
0 - Paging MST3K
[1] THE BRIDE (1985), starring Sting and Jennifer Beals. NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN (1983) doesn't count.
[2] Besides Fritz and Karl, Dwight Frye also memorably portrayed the bug-eating Renfield in DRACULA (1931) and turns up with bit parts in THE INVISIBLE MAN (1933) and, IMDB says, nearly all of the Frankenstein sequels. Typecast, Frye is quoted as saying "If God is good, I will be able to play comedy, in which I was featured on Broadway for eight seasons and in which no producer of motion pictures will give me a chance! And please God, may it be before I go screwy playing idiots, half-wits and lunatics on the talking screen!"