Frankenstein (1931) | |
| Director(s) | James Whale |
| Producer(s) | E.M. Asher (associate), Carl Laemmle Jr. |
| Top Genres | Horror, Science Fiction |
| Top Topics | Book-Based, Mad Scientists, Monster, Pre-Code Cinema |
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Frankenstein Overview:
Frankenstein (1931) was a Horror - Science Fiction Film directed by James Whale and produced by Carl Laemmle Jr. and E.M. Asher.
The film was based on the novel Frankenstein (aka The Modern Prometheus) written by Mary Shelley published in 1818.
SYNOPSIS
The monster that mocked the sanctity of God's creation and brought ruin to his mad-scientist master firmly established a fertile movie genre and saved a studio in the bargain. Though the definitive monster movie, it succeeds purely because of the glimmer of humanity that Karloff allows us to see through the stitching and bolts, and the pathos of a barely human consciousness trapped in a hideous body. The versions available since the late '80s have restored the famously brutal sequence of the monster's encounter with a little girl at a lake shore. The laserdisc offers trailers, photos, and study sequences.
(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).
.Frankenstein was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1991.
BlogHub Articles:
FRANKENSTEIN (2025)
By Dan Day, Jr. on Jan 18, 2026 From The Hitless Wonder Movie BlogI don't have Netflix, but this new adaptation of Mary Shelley's story was shown at the Browning Cinema on the campus of the University of Notre Dame this weekend. Writer-director Guillermo del Toro's take on the famous tale is extravagantly made, but it lacks a certain.....spark??Del Toro goes overb... Read full article
10 Classic Frankenstein Movies Worth Watching
By Jennifer Garlen on Oct 24, 2024 From Virtual ViragoThis fall I taught a lifetime learning class about the history and cinematic legacy of Frankenstein, so of course I've had the iconic tale of gods and monsters on my mind throughout the Halloween season. One of the reasons for the story's enduring success is its adaptability; like Shakespearean play... Read full article
From the Archives: Son of Frankenstein (1939)
By The Metzinger Sisters on Oct 5, 2024 From Silver Scenes - A Blog for Classic Film LoversBoris Karloff as the famous "Monster" from the Frankenstein films (in this photo, The Son of Frankenstein). The make-up for all of the early Frankenstein movies was done by Jack Pierce, whom you could read more about in our previous articles here. From the Archives is our latest series of posts wher... Read full article
Abbott and Costello Films: Naughty Nineties, Time of Their Lives, A&C Meet Frankenstein
By 4 Star Film Fan on Jan 6, 2023 From 4 Star FilmsThe next genre Abbott and Costello took on in The Naughty Nineties was the show boat-style musical. Henry Travers fits as a kindly old ship captain who promises family-friendly entertainment headlined by his daughter and a very familiar leading man (Bud Abbott).??Costello crops up in a local band po... Read full article
Rating The Universal Frankenstein Films
By Dan Day, Jr. on Oct 8, 2022 From The Hitless Wonder Movie BlogIn May of this year I wrote a couple blog posts ranking the Frankenstein & Dracula films produced by Hammer Films. Now I'm going to rank the Frankenstein & Dracula films produced by Universal, specifically the ones made during the studio's classic monster period (1931-1948). Looking back on ... Read full article
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Quotes from
Henry Frankenstein: Dangerous? Poor old Waldman. Have you never wanted to do anything that was dangerous? Where should we be if no one tried to find out what lies beyond? Have your never wanted to look beyond the clouds and the stars, or to know what causes the trees to bud? And what changes the darkness into light? But if you talk like that, people call you crazy. Well, if I could discover just one of these things, what eternity is, for example, I wouldn't care if they did think I was crazy.
Henry Frankenstein: Help! Help!
Villager #1: Listen, it's Frankenstein.
Villager #2: That way.
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Facts about
The set design of the windmill sequence was inspired by a building in Los Angeles that housed a local bakery, Van de Kamp, which displayed a large windmill as its corporate logo.
In one scene, the Monster (Boris Karloff) walks through a forest and comes upon a little girl, Maria, who is throwing flowers into a pond. The monster joins her in the activity but soon runs out of flowers. At a loss for something to throw into the water, he looks at Maria and moves toward her. In all American prints of the movie, the scene ends here. But as originally filmed, the action continues to show the monster grabbing Maria, hurling her into the lake, then departing in confusion when Maria fails to float as the flowers did. This bit was deleted because Karloff - objecting to the director's interpretation of the scene - felt that the monster should have gently put Maria into the lake. This scene is restored in the videocassette reissue.
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