|
 Bride
of Frankenstein (1935)
R1 / NTSC DVD
Universal Studios / 2004
Directed by: James Whale
Written by: Based on the novel by Mary Shelley. Adapted by
William Hurlbut, John L. Balderston,
Cast: Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Ernest Thesiger, Elsa
Lanchester, Dwight Frye
Review by Vaughn Drake
A direct sequel to the 1931 Frankenstein: after a brief
introduction from Mary and Percy Shelley, and Lord Byron
talking about the story Mary has just written, it opens with
the windmill still burning from the last movie and the
townsfolk believing the monster dead. We quickly see the
monster survived by falling into a pool of stagnant water
and upon his discovery, he starts killing again. The monster
only wants to fit in, to get along with everyone, but since
he can’t, he runs off into the woods.
Bride fills in some of the holes from the novel such as the
creature learning to speak, and desiring a mate. Most of the
cast returned (although some playing new roles), with the
exception of good Doctor / Baron Frankenstein’s wife
Elizabeth. When the reanimated bride of Frankenstein is
finally revealed near the end, she’s played by the same
actress that played Mary Shelley in the opening scene,
although she’s never given billing in the credits as playing
both roles.
James Whale once again instills a sense of style into his
creature feature and gives us plenty of dramatic lighting
and scenes to enjoy. Boris Karloff reprised his role as the
monster, but since he was required to speak this time, he
needed to keep in his partial bridgework. The removal of the
bridgework in the first movie gave the monster its
otherworldly sunken cheeks look, so by consequence, this
time round the monster doesn’t look nearly as frightening.
While watching this, the first thing that popped into my
head was “this is why everyone calls the monster
Frankenstein.” After all, unless the movie is about a bit
character (Baron Frankenstein’s wife), the film is clearly
naming the monster Frankenstein. |
