Bride of Frankenstein (film)

• Release Date: 1935
• Director(s): James Whale
• Writer(s): William Hurlburt
• Principal Actors and Roles: Boris Karloff (The Monster); Colin Clive (Henry Frankenstein); Valerie Hobson (Elizabeth Lavenza); Elsa Lanchester (Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley/The Monster's Bride); Ernest Thesiger (Doctor Pretorius)

Bride of Frankenstein was a horror film released in 1935 by Universal Pictures. The film was a sequel to the successful 1931 film, Frankenstein, which was based on the 1818 novel written by Mary Shelley. The original film Frankenstein centers on Dr. Henry Frankenstein and his experiments in re-animating dead bodies. He ultimately succeeds and creates a monster, which goes on to kill a little girl—inspiring the townspeople to wish for his destruction. The plot of Bride of Frankenstein was inspired by a subplot mentioned in the novel. The film picks up where Frankenstein left off and shows Dr. Frankenstein, who is pressured into creating a mate for the monster by his old mentor, Dr. Pretorius.

Plans for a sequel to Frankenstein began even before the original film was out of preview screenings. Producers even changed the ending to the film, allowing Dr. Frankenstein’s survival, so that a sequel could occur. James Whale, the director of Frankenstein, was hesitant to sign on to direct the sequel, but eventually agreed once he was guaranteed complete artistic freedom. Despite preparations for the sequel beginning in 1931, Whale’s insistence on getting the right script delayed the production of the film nearly four years. After going through numerous scripts and writers, Whale finally settled on a final version in late 1934, with the working title The Return of Frankenstein.

Boris Karloff reprised his role as the monster, although he was not in agreement with the creative decision to give his character the ability of speech. Colin Clive, who played Dr. Frankenstein, also signed on again, but broke his leg shortly before filming began and had to perform most of his scenes seated. In addition, on the first day of filming, Karloff broke his hip while wading in a well and required a stunt double for much of the film. Karloff lost twenty pounds during production from enduring the heavy costuming and makeup that the monster required.

Plot

Bride of Frankenstein begins with George Gordon and Lord Byron as they praise Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein, on a brilliant story. She tells them the story of Dr. Frankenstein and his monster did not end where the book ended, and the scene shifts to where the 1931 film left off.

Villagers are congregated around a windmill that is on fire, celebrating the apparent death of Dr. Frankenstein’s monster. However, the villagers’ joy is muted because they believe Dr. Frankenstein to be dead as well. Hans, whose daughter was killed by the monster in the first film, wants to see the monster’s bones and goes into a pit beneath the windmill. There, the monster is still alive and proceeds to strangle Hans and escape the pit, killing several others.

Meanwhile, Dr. Frankenstein’s body has been returned to his castle, where his fiancée Elizabeth awaits, and she soon realizes her beloved is in fact alive. She nurses him back to health, and soon Dr. Pretorius, Frankenstein’s former mentor, visits them, imploring Dr. Frankenstein to create a mate for the monster. Pretorius says that he will create the bride’s brain if Frankenstein does the rest.

Concurrently, the monster has a run-in with two hunters, who shoot, injure, and eventually capture him with the help of an angry mob. He is chained in a dungeon but soon escapes and encounters a gypsy family. There, he meets a blind old hermit who teaches the monster how to say a few words, including "friend." While hiding in a crypt from another group of angry villagers, the monster sees Pretorius breaking into a grave, and approaches the doctor and learns of his plans to create a mate.

Pretorius once again visits Frankenstein and Elizabeth, but Frankenstein refuses to participate. The monster joins Pretorius in attempts to persuade Frankenstein, and is instructed to kidnap Elizabeth so Frankenstein will agree. Although reluctant to begin creating, Frankenstein finds that he once again enjoys the work, and completes the body of the bride. A storm brews as the work is finished; the bride’s body is raised through the roof and brought to life by a strike of lightning. However, when the monster extends his hand to the bride, saying, "Friend?" she becomes frightened and rejects him. The monster, hurt that yet another person does not like him, tears through the laboratory. He tells Frankenstein and Elizabeth to leave, but tells Pretorius and the bride, "You stay. We belong dead." The monster then pulls a lever, which destroys the lab and tower.

Significance

As a result of the Hays Code (a set of moral guidelines any films released by major studios had to follow until 1968), much of Bride of Frankenstein had to be modified. Joseph Breen, a film censor who worked in the Hays office, took issue with the Christian symbolism in the film and dialogue, which seemingly compared Dr. Frankenstein and his work to that of God. In addition to pre- and post-production revisions, the film was subjected to much censorship by local, national, and international boards after its release. The film was challenged by censors in many countries including England and China, and was banned entirely in countries such as Sweden and Palestine.

Despite its censorship controversies, Bride of Frankenstein was both a commercial and critical success. While the film exceeded its projected $300,000 budget by nearly $100,000, Universal Pictures earned approximately $2 million at the box office ($27 million when adjusted for inflation). Critics praised the film, and agreed that Bride of Frankenstein was much better than the original Frankenstein. The rarity of a sequel being superior to an original was noted in a review by TIME magazine. Its praise was somewhat tempered, however, by the fact the film belonged to the horror genre, and many of its reviews qualified their acclaim for this reason.

Since its release in 1935, the film’s standing has only grown. Bride of Frankenstein is often noted as director James Whale’s magnum opus, and was included in Empire magazine’s 2008 list of the "500 Greatest Movies of All Time." In 1998, Bride of Frankenstein was added to the United States National Film Registry, which deemed it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Awards and nominations

Nominated

• Academy Award (1935) Best Sound Recording

Bibliography

"Bride of Frankenstein." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 29 Jun. 2015 <http://www.britannica.com/topic/Bride-of-Frankenstein>.

"Bride of Frankenstein (1935)." Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Turner Entertainment Networks, 2015. Web. 29 June 2015. <http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/69663/Bride-of-Frankenstein/>.

Mallory, Michael. Universal Studios Monsters: A Legacy of Horror. New York: Universe, 2009. Print.

She’s Alive! Creating the Bride of Frankenstein. Universal, 1999. Film.

Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus. 1818. New York: Norton, 1996. Print.

Weaver, Tom, Michael Brunas, and John Brunas. Universal Horrors: The Studio’s Classic Films, 1931–1946. Jefferson: McFarland, 2007. Print.