----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Creepy Classic Reviews Presents: Bride of Frankenstein (1931)

Review by: Tom "Creature Features" Pinsonneault

Directed By: James Whale

Produced By Carl Laemmle Jr.

Starring: Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson, Ernest Thesiger, Elsa Lancheste, Una O' Conner

.

Seeking to cash in on their smash hit "Frankenstein", Universal immediately began work on a follow-up movie. Producer Carl Laemmle Jr. once again approached James Whale to direct. Although an obvious choice due to his success on the first film (and yet another horror film for Universal; The Invisible Man), Whale initially balked at the project, stating that he felt the entire story had already been told. Laemmle persisted, however, and Whale eventually agreed, provided the studio let him film another project that was dear to his heart first; One More River. Upon completion of THAT film, Whale threw himself full force into pre-production on the Frankenstein sequel. Rejecting initial scripts from a variety of screen writers, Whale eventually settled on a final draft submitted by William Hurlbut and (un-credited) Edmund Pearson. Their story involved the monster demanding a mate from his creator.

.

Whale immediately re-signed Colin Clive and Boris Karloff to reprise their roles as creator and creation, respectively. Due to poor health, Mae Clarke was unable to return as Dr. Frankenstein's love interest, Elizabeth. Whale re-cast her character with young Valerie Hobson. Whale then went to work designing several masterful sets for the movie, most notably a "forest of the dead", consisting of hills, blackened trees, and dark forboding skies. Whale's early career was that of a stage developer and that expierience is plainly evident in the film's elaborate imagery. Kenneth Strickfaden returned from the first film as well, creating the spectacular lab equiptment, which went on to become stock footage for many future movie and television projects...Universal's top make-up artist, Jack Pierce, was called in to work with Whale on the look of the Bride, and the two reprtedly came up with the iconic Egyptian-like "Nefertiti" hairstyle we all know and love today. Filming began on January 2, 1935.

.

The film opens with a prologue (conceived by Whale and written byJohn Balderson) which shows Frankenstein author Mary Shelley (played here by the Bride herself, Elsa Lanchester), her husband Percy, and friend Lord Byron gathered in an old mansion on the proverbial "dark and stormy night"...the trio are discussing Mary's soon to be published novel, Frankenstein. Mary comments that her publishers had trouble understanding that her story was "a moral lesson", about a man being punished for daring to "emmulate God" (as if once again preparing the audience for the potentially inflamatory subject matter yet to come)...Lord Byron begins to reflect on the horrific aspects of the novel, and we see the story of Frankenstein played out before us in a series of flashbacks from the first film. Her husband comments that it was a shame her story ended so suddenly, and Mary coyly states that the final scene at the windmill "wasn't the end of it at all..."

At that point, the film picks up shortly after the events of the first movie, at the still smoldering wreckage of the old mill. As the crowd begins to disperse we see the parents of Maria, the little girl drowned by the monster in the first film, lingering behind. Maria's father wants to make sure his daughter's murderer is indeed dead. Wandering too close to the edge, he loses his balance and falls down into the water filled lower level. His question is quickly answered, as the still living Frankenstein monster decends upon him in a violent attack. Afterwards, the monster slowly climbs from the wreckage, dispatching Maria's mother in pretty much the same fasion. Dr. Frankenstein's housekeeper, Minnie, sees the monster and flees screaming back to the village.Unfortunately, none of the townsfolk believe her, dismissing her as insane. In the meantime, Dr. Frankenstein is brought back to his home where he is reunited with his fiance Elizabeth. Over the next few days as he is recovering from his confrontation with the monster, the two begin to re-plan their wedding. Frankenstein is hesitant at first, speculating that he may be cursed for daring to dabble into the secrets of life. Elizabeth grows fearful, and has a vision of a dark forboding figure entering their lives. Almost on cue, a loud knock sounds at the mansion's door. Enter Dr. Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger), Frankenstein's former instructor in philosophy. A scientist himself, Pretorius has heard of Frankenstein's expieriments and suggests the two become "partners"...taking Dr. Frankenstein back to his own dwelling, Pretorius shows that he too has been expierimenting with artificial life, having established a collection of miniature people he claims to have grown himself (sort of a 100 year prologue on cloning and stem cell research, one would imagine). Pretorius reveals that his ultimate goal is to create a mate for Frankenstein's monster, and establish a "man-made race on the face of the earth"...Pretorius basically forces a collaboration with Dr. Frankenstein here, under threat of stirring up the locals over the fact that Dr. Frankenstein is indirectly responsible for all the recent deaths and carnage. Pretorius then goes on to toast their new union with the most memorable quote from the movie: "To a new world of gods and monsters!"...

.

Meanwhile, the monster continues to wander the countryside. He happens upon a young shepherdess, startling her and nearly casing her to drown in a nearby pond. Her screams alert a pair of hunters who wound the monster with gunfire. The hunters raise a mob and pursue the monster throughout the landscape. They finally corner the monster and overwhelm him with sheer numbers. James Whale once again pushes the boundaries of the censors from that era as the monster is quickly propped up on planks by the angry crowd in a crucified position. There is lots of Christian imagery to be found throughout this film (more on that in a bit),  It's not clear however what Whale's intent was with their inclusion. Some film scholars suggest Whale was making a direct comparison of the monster to Christ with this scene, while others insist that Whale's well recored lack of religious convictions make this scene an obvious mockery of Christian teachings. I guess the viewers will have to decide for themselves.

At any rate; captured and beaten, the monster is hauled back to the village and locked in a dungeon. Left alone, he easily escapes and is once again wandering the countryside. The monster stumbles upon a gypsy caravan and burns his hands in their campfire during the inevitable melee. Fleeing further into the night, the monster next encounters an elderly blind hermit (O.P. Heggie), atrtacted to his cottage by the old man's violin playing. Unable to see, but able to feel the monster's wound, the hermit takes him in, thanking God that he has finally been sent a companion. (Whale reportedly held up production for several days in order to wait for character-actor O.P Heggie to finish up another project and be free to film this scene. Whale knew that it would require an actor of high caliber to pull it off and not let it become too sappy). The next day, as the monster and the hermit are enjoying a meal, the hermit teaches the monster to speak, with such words as "Friend" and "Good". We see more of Whale's Christian imagery here, as the monster is essentially having his "last supper" with the Christian sacraments of wine and bread, and the hermit's wall-crucifix which is seen glowing during a fade-out in one particular scene.

.

Two hunters approach the cottage and recognize the monster. A fight ensues, and the monster accidentally burns the cottage down. The two hunters manage to escape with the hermit, and set yet another mob after the monster. Escaping to a nearby grave yard, the monster manages to elude his pursuers by hiding in an underground crypt. Hearing voices, the monster soon realizes he is not alone. Investigating, he sees Dr. Pretorius and two henchmen, apparently robbing the crypt for body parts. After his henchmen leave, Pretorius decides to stay awhile and enjoy the tomb's atmosphere with a bottle of wine and a cigar. (more of Whale's humor here, as Pretorious contemptuously blows smoke into the face of a stone figure of death, much like the way Dr. Frankenstein threw dirt into a statue of death's face in the first film). The monster steps out of the shadows, revealing himself to a highly amused and somewhat inebriated Dr. Pretorius. Over more wine, Pretorius tells the monster he is planning to make a mate for him.

.

The next evening, Pretorius pays a visit to Dr. Frankenstein. He notices that Frankenstein and Elizabeth, now married, are planning to leave town on an extended vacation.Pretorius reminds Frankenstein about their partnership, and Frankenstein promptly refuses. Pretorius then  lets the monster in to intimidate Frankenstein, but Frankenstein STILL refuses to assist them. Pretorius orders the monster to leave, but secretly signals him to kidnap Elizabeth.The monster and Pretorius' henchmen bind her and leave her in a nearby  cavern. With Elizabeth's life hanging in the balance, Frankenstein now has no choice but to do Pretorius' bidding. The group proceeds to Frankenstein's old tower laboratory. Pretorius explains that he hs managed to grow an artificial brain, but needs Frankenstein to animate it for him. Frankenstein states that he needs a fresh heart in order to complete the expieriment. Pretorius sends one of his henchmen out to murder a young townswoman and secure one  for them. Frankenstein is suspicious on how they managed to find one so soon, but is then distracted as the expieriment begins...(Whale decided to keep the bride bandaged from head to toe so as not to reveal her look until the very end of the film. As in the first movie with the Frankenstein monster, we see a question mark in the opening credits in regards to who exactly is playing her...)

Once again harnessing the power of a raging storm, Pretorius has his cronies send  two kites up from the tower roof. Lightning comes charging down the line and bathes the bride's body in pure energy. The monster, growing increasingly agitated and impatient, hurls pretorius' men from the tower roof and then stomps back down to the lab...as the bride's hand twitches with life, the two scientists relish their success, their antagonistic relationship momentarily forgotten...In a repeat of the first film's creation scene (with a slight gender switch) Frankenstein shouts: "SHE'S ALIVE!!!"...bursting into the lab, the monster stops dead in his tracks at the sight of his bride. Tentatively, he reaches out to her and quietly asks: "...friend?" Unfortunately, the Bride reacts with fear and revulsion .At that point, having managed to free herself, Elizabeth rushes into the lab to find Dr. Frankenstein... seeing true love before him, and totally distraught over the Bride's rejection, the monster begins to destroy the lab. As the monster nears the main power lever, Dr. Pertorius warns the monster that jousting it  might blow the entire lab to atoms...tearfully gazing at Dr.Frankenstein and Elizabeth, the monster tells them to go. Turning back to Pretorius and the Bride, the monster utters his final words: "we belong dead..." with that, he pulls the lever, and the entire lab explodes. Two lone survivors, Dr. Frankenstein and Elizabeth, watch the tower crumble from the safety of a nearby hillside....

.

The Bride Of Frankenstein, much like it's predecessor Frankenstein, was released to much critical acclaim and went on to be enormously successful for Universal. It has since been added to The National Film Registry for being  "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant"...it is considered by film scholars and historians to be one of the finest horror movies of all time. Personally, this film is to me, what Empire was to Star Wars fans. I absolutely love it. If you haven't seen it yet, do me a favor; take some time and watch Frankenstein and Bride Of Frankenstein back to back. You will see how they play together like one big movie. Enjoy, and keep it classic!

.

.

Share your comments on this post HERE.

.