Frankenstein (1931)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

James Whale

Writers:

Mary Shelley (novel)
Peggy Webling (play)

Release Date:

21 November 1931 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

A Monster Science Created - But Could Not Destroy!

Plot:

Horror classic in which an obsessed scientist assembles a living being from parts of exhumed corpses.

Plot Keywords:

Monster | Frankenstein | Frankenstein's Monster | Fire | Baron

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Colin Clive	...	Dr. Henry Frankenstein
Mae Clarke	...	Elizabeth
John Boles	...	Victor Moritz
Boris Karloff	...	The Monster (as ?)
Edward Van Sloan	...	Dr. Waldman
Frederick Kerr	...	Baron Frankenstein
Dwight Frye	...	Fritz
Lionel Belmore	...	Herr Vogel
Marilyn Harris	...	Little Maria

Runtime:

71 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

UK:A (original rating) (cut) | UK:PG (video rating) (1986) (cinema version) (cut) | Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | UK:PG (video rating) (2002) | Finland:K-15 (2004) | Iceland:16 | Spain:13 | South Korea:12 | Canada:(Banned) (Quebec) (original rating) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Norway:16 (video rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Germany:16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Backlot, Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

A 20-minute test reel, starring Bela Lugosi as the monster and directed by Robert Florey, was filmed on the Dracula (1931) sets. This footage has not been seen since 1931 and is now considered lost. Only a poster, featuring the vague likeness of Bela Lugosi as a 30 feet colossus, remains.

Goofs:

Continuity: Early in the film, Dr Waldman presents two brains in glass jars each bearing two neatly typed labels, one in Latin, the other in English. The good brain reads "CEREBRUM" and "NORMAL BRAIN" while the other reads "DYSFUNCTO CEREBRI" and "ABNORMAL BRAIN." When Fritz breaks into the medical school, the typed NORMAL and ABNORMAL labels have been replaced by larger, hand-printed ones.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Dr. Henry Frankenstein: Down! Down, you fool!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

The ultimate Universal monster classic

When I watched James Whale's "Frankenstein" last night I tried to look it through the unaware eyes of an innocent 1931 audience. Unfortunately I failed. No matter how I try, this film still has absolutely nothing horrifying in it. Nevertheless when I watched the great DVD documentary I finally understood why moviegoers of the early 30's found "Frankenstein" frightening. No one had actually ever seen anything like it before in the motion picture. What we think is funny scared the crap out of people who saw it when it was originally released. It's just so bloody hard to realize it nowadays when we've pretty much seen it all when it comes to movie violence and horror. Knowing how corny and funny this film looks that ridiculous pre-credits warning is absolutely hilarious.

Once again, the fact that the film does not make us shiver doesn't make it a bad movie. It allows the modern audience to enjoy the film in another way. Colin Clive is terrific as Dr. Henry Frankenstein. When he shouts hysterically "It's alive! It's alive!" we are witnessing one of the greatest moments of horror film history ever. Boris Karloff is phenomenal as the creature. Although he may not be scary he's performance is stylish and touching and his make-up is soooooo cool. Supporting roles are good too, Edward Van Sloan and especially Dwight Frye (Van Helsing and Renfield from the 1931 adaptation of "Dracula") are brilliant. "Frankenstein" has to be the ultimate monster classic of the Universal studios. When we think about the concept of "classic movie monster", the image of Boris Karloff's creature of Frankenstein is the image 95% of us has first. It is the most recognized and beloved monster of them all.