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).

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Frankenstein was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1991.

BlogHub Articles:

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 Films

The 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 Blog

In 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


FRANKENSTEIN (1984)

By Dan Day, Jr. on Jul 30, 2022 From The Hitless Wonder Movie Blog

The excellent English actor David Warner passed away recently. While reading various internet tributes about him, I discovered that he played the Frankenstein monster in a 1984 British TV adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel. I was not aware of this production, and I was even more stunned to find out ... Read full article


Ranking The Hammer Frankenstein Films Starring Peter Cushing

By Dan Day, Jr. on May 26, 2022 From The Hitless Wonder Movie Blog

On this day in 1913, Peter Cushing was born. I usually write a Cushing-themed post on this day, and for this year I decided to rank the six Hammer films in which the actor portrayed Baron Frankenstein. Playing Victor Frankenstein in Hammer's first color Gothic film, THE CURSE OF FRANKENSTEIN, change... Read full article


CMBA’s Laughter is the Best Medicine blogathon: Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

By Carol Martinheira on Oct 22, 2021 From The Old Hollywood Garden

CMBA’s Laughter is the Best Medicine blogathon: Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) On October 22, 2021 By CarolIn Uncategorized The wonderful silliness of the ?Abbott and Costello Meet?? series of films is an absolute joy to behold! And because this... Read full article


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Quotes from

Victor Moritz: You're crazy!
Henry Frankenstein: Crazy, am I? We'll see whether I'm crazy or not.


Henry Frankenstein: Look! It's moving. It's alive. It's alive... It's alive, it's moving, it's alive, it's alive, it's alive, it's alive, IT'S ALIVE!
Victor Moritz: Henry - In the name of God!
Henry Frankenstein: Oh, in the name of God! Now I know what it feels like to be God!


Henry Frankenstein: Help! Help!
Villager #1: Listen, it's Frankenstein.
Villager #2: That way.


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Facts about

During production there was some concern that seven-year-old Marilyn Harris, who played Maria, the little girl thrown into the lake by the creature, would be overly frightened by the sight of Boris Karloff in costume and make-up when it came time to shoot the scene. When the cast was assembled to travel to the location, Marilyn ran from her car directly up to Karloff, who was in full make-up and costume, took his hand and asked "May I drive with you?" Delighted, and in typical Karloff fashion, he responded, "Would you, darling?" She then rode to the location with "The Monster.".
A microphone was placed in the coffin used in the funeral scene to amplify the sound of the grave dirt hitting the lid.
Bela Lugosi was offered the role of the monster, but refused on the grounds that his character would not speak (though he eventually played the role in Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man). Lugosi also insisted on creating his own makeup for the Monster, but his design was rejected. According to film historian Richard J. Anobile, Lugosi was originally offered the role of Dr. Frankenstein by original director Robert Florey, but Carl Laemmle insisted that Lugosi play the monster. Test footage of Lugosi in Monster make-up was filmed by Florey on the set of Dracula. Soon after, Florey was replaced by James Whale as director, and Lugosi was replaced by Karloff.
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National Film Registry

Frankenstein

Released 1931
Inducted 1991
(Sound)




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Also directed by James Whale




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Also produced by Carl Laemmle Jr.




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