La Fiancée de Frankenstein

Their are few sequels that are superior to their predecessors, however, Bride of Frankenstein not only equals it's masterful original prototype Frankenstein (1931), but infinitely surpasses it in every way. Despite the first films reputation as a classic, it's honestly not quite as witty and is much too straightforward when being compared to much more satirical, Bride of Frankenstein. Not to mention, it lacks much of the sophistication in the effects and eccentricities that the immortal sequel possesses. Needless to say, both films are justly hailed as classics, but it's the immortal sequel where James Whale's combining of horror and wicked humour (and "hidden" inflammatory work) is expressed more clearly and more prominently.

After initially refusing to do a sequel to Frankenstein, director James Whale would eventually falter when Universal agreed to let him have complete artistic freedom. Production was much-publicised as early as 1933, however, Whale, who was following his towering success with Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, and The Old Dark House, wouldn't begin working on a sequel until late 1934, which was originally entitled The Return of Frankenstein. The film was adapted by William Hurlbut and John Balderston from an incident from the Mary Shelly novel Frankenstein, in which the monster demands a mate. However, in the novel, Dr. Frankenstein creates the Bride, but instead of bringing the monster to life, he decides to destroy it, greatly differing the film adaptation from the novel.

Most of the original cast remained, as the film reunited Colin Clive (as Dr. Frankenstein) with Boris Karloff (as the Monster), but Mae Clarke, a blonde, who was dropped from Universal was replaced by then seventeen year old Valerie Hobson, a brunette (as Elizabeth). Clark was acceptable in the role as Elizabeth in the first film, however, Hobson excels when in comes to chewing up scenery; therefore handles the role much better in the sequel. Both Marilyn Harris (Little Maria from Frankenstein) and Dwight Frye (Fritz from Frankenstein) would return as well, but as different characters - Harris appearing uncredited and Frye appearing in another memorable role as Karl. Also, new characters were brought to the forefront: Ernest Thesiger (as Dr. Pretorius) with Una O'Connor (as Minnie) and Elsa Lanchester having a dual role (as both Mary Shelley and The Bride).

Unfortunately, Clive had suffered from a broken leg during most of the filming - a result from a horseback riding accident - and most of his scenes were shot sitting or laying down. However, once again, Clive did an absolutely incredible job portraying Dr. Henry Frankenstein and proved to be a perfect choice yet again. Though, for much of the film, he takes a backseat to the fine and unique acting of Thesiger, who gives an unforgettable performance as the "mad scientist" named Dr. Septimus Pretorius, who much of the film revolves around. There is a sexual uncertainty to Pretorius' character and many suggestions of homosexuality. With the films masterful blend of horror and black comedy, it's Thesiger who shines best and in many ways the film is stolen by him when he's seen on screen; the equally charismatic O'Connor works best when playing directly opposite of Thesiger.

Bride of Frankenstein is also presented with the same terrific German expressionist camera-work by cinematographer John J. Mescall, although reportedly drunk through much of the production, uses brilliantly effective camera movements and angles that added eminently to the creation of the Bride scene. Mescall also composed a number of bizarre and inventive angles that intensified Thesiger's skeleton-like frame and vivid characteristics aiding his already superb performance. Although for Karloff, the four hour makeup job done by Jack P. Pierce, which was blue-green in colour, gave Mescall nothing but problems. The film is also accompanied by a fascinating score composed by Franz Waxman, which is nothing less than a masterpiece of excitement and melody. Though it wouldn't be Waxman's most mature work, it most certainly remains one of his most famous and probably his most influential.

Much of the film concerns itself mostly with the Monster (Karloff) trying to find a place in the world and his growth; much of his character is seen as a humanely being craving for the company and acceptance of others but is mostly rejected. He fails to seek friendship with the young shepherdess (Ann Darling); with the Monsters experience in the first film with Little Maria, he knows that he must save her from drowning. Of course, everyone finds him too frightening, however, in one of the many incredible scenes the film provides, the Monster is eventually provided with sympathy and encouragement when he encounters the old blind hermit (O.P. Heggie), who becomes the Monsters first true friend. Karloff's performance is truly remarkable, as it was in Frankenstein. Although, he opposed that the Monster speak, his character benefits greatly from this, as he finds room to expand on his already brilliant craft.

The memorable sequence of bringing the Monster's Bride (Lanchester) to life is unequaled - even the original scene in Frankenstein pales in comparison. The presentation of the birth of the Bride is stunningly as well, as Clive exclaims: "She's alive! ALIVE!" Lanchester who only stood 5'4" tall was placed on stilts that made her 7'0" tall, as well as, her unforgettable shock hairstyle which stood up and hinted that the electricity had shocked her to life was held by a wired horsehair cage. Also, her darting swan-like movements were inspired by the angry swans in London's Regent Park. Although, the Bride's appearance is extremely brief, it's most certainly worth it, especially when she finally encounters the Monsters.

The macabre, satirical Bride of Frankenstein is a key film to the horror genre (perhaps the best) and one of the genuinely great films of any genre. It's one of the most wonderfully crafted films in cinema history and is easily lauded as Whale's finest screen hour. This one has rightfully deserved it's ranking amongst the best of what Hollywood has to offer.

Bride of Frankenstein is definitely one of the more memorable sequels of all time. The first Frankenstein film was a truly memorable exploration of horror and was extremely advanced for its time; dealing with issues of modernity when the doctor starts talking of space travel and also pushing censorship to levels it hadn't been pushed to before; having characters exclaim they 'knew what God felt like' and also including images of dead bodies and murder. With Bride of Frankenstein, certain elements of surprise have been lost but the film delves deeper into its characters and explores different things to make it more of an 'entertaining' film.

The film doesn't hang around and cleverly introduces the story through the original author Mary Shelley (Elsa Lanchester) dictating what it is that happens next. For a film in 1935 to use such a technique and manage to include elements of heartbreak when we assume Dr. Frankenstein is dead, horror when The Monster re-emerges AND murder when someone mistakenly crosses him all in the first ten minutes or so, is extremely impressive and is only the result of fantastic direction through great, inventive ideas.

Then, the film uses the character of The Monster as a sort of MacGuffin. It is reduced to a wondering, babbling, hulking thing getting into mischief as it makes its way through the forests nearby but this isn't a bad thing. What we see is the first example of the characters in this, so far, series of two films develop. The Monster starts to develop emotions of pity when it sees someone in the forest in trouble and attempts to rescue them as well as intelligence because it manages to get itself out of trouble when danger threatens it – there is no excuse for this development of ideas and intelligence but it's interesting to see anyway.

What's more, this wondering and random character is a great excuse for it to cause havoc and/or get into adventures of its own and this it does to a basic level. Apart from stumbling across a picnic of some description when everyone assumes its safe since when last they heard, he'd been captured; The Monster gets involved with a seemingly lonely man who lives in a log cabin in the woods. The curse here to me is that I'd seen Kenneth Branagh's 1994 Frankenstein before this so I knew what was up and how things would develop.

As a result, it was predictable to me but to fresh eyes what follows between The Monster and this man is an education and a friendship that truly supports evidence that this film really is all about developing characters such as The Monster further away from the 'dead' tag and closer to the 'human' tag. Not only this but Dr. Frankenstein himself is leaning more and more towards a 'normal' life away from insane experiments; tempted back only by blackmail. About half way through, Frankenstein's creation manages to get himself into a bit of trouble and is caught but escapes so soon afterwards, the sequence passes off without too much suspense or interest which was disappointing; also, the character of Minnie is so obviously an attempt at comic relief that she becomes annoying quite quickly although I suppose they had to include this character to stop the film appearing too dark.

If Frankenstein from 1931 was an out and out horror shock–fest for the time, Bride of Frankenstein remains a character piece full of 'what would happen if.....' a mindless, homicidal lab creation was loose in rural Europe. Some of the later scenes still made me squirm a little when the 'mate' is being created and if you can look past the rushed ending; you'll see a sequel to a film miles ahead of its time, ahead of its time.

This review also refers to FRANKENSTEIN (1931).

The epitome of the Universal horror classics made by one the greatest practitioners of the genre, James Whale. He always wanted to be an A-list director and used to have mixed feelings about his horror work. Reluctant to make a sequel, he managed to assure himself of complete creative control over the project, putting together a unique blend of horror, suspense and tongue-in-cheek comedy that was quite unlike anything made before and has rarely been equaled ever since.

It has been noted, but the original 1931 FRANKENSTEIN should be seen first, as this one picks up the storyline where FRANKENSTEIN left off. Considering the combined running time of about 140 min, both films can easily be watched back to back.

The story sets off with a clever prologue between Mary Shelly (a short but great performance by Elsa Lanchester who also plays The Bride) and Lord Byron, who asks her to continue the tale of Dr. Frankenstein. Still recovering in his castle after the escape of the Monster, he is visited by the even more insane Dr. Pretorius (Ernest Thesinger). He is also experimenting with creating life (the miniature humans) and tries to persuade Frankenstein to join forces in order to create a female companion for the Monster (Boris Karloff), that is still at large wreaking havoc in the surrounding countryside.

Although both films are justly hailed as classics, in my opinion BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN holds up much better to modern audiences than the original. Basically two things stand out: a great music score is added, which make everything seem much more alive and fast moving than in the original film. Secondly, the black humor and it's sense of self-parody, spoofing the genre and even underpinning Whale's earlier films greatly adds to the fun, compared to the much more basic and primitive FRANKENSTEIN. Admittedly, this is partly due to a larger budget, but combined with the fabulous production values, splendid sets, stunning photography and absolutely striking special effects, that still look pretty amazing, even by today's standards. I was stunned by the scene in which Dr. Pretorius shows off his miniature people, that he keeps in the glass jars. Even modern-day special effects specialists couldn't figure out how they did it. I don't know anything that comes even close until computer-generated effects took over.

The eccentric Ernest Thesinger plays the role of his life and almost walks away with the film with his wonderful portrayal of the menacing Dr. Pretorius, who delivers one classic line after another. But the rest of the cast is just as good with particularly outstanding roles for - off course - Boris Karloff as the Monster, Elsa Lanchester in a dual role as The Bride (billed as "?") and Mary Shelley, and Una O'Connor as Minnie, Frankenstein's servant. I think it's one the very few films that can be enjoyed at almost any level, equally fun for (older) children and lovers of classic horror. This film proves that horror can be funny and intelligent and can be combined with splendid cinematic virtues. Not just Whale's best, this is one of the all-time great films.

Camera Obscura --- 10/10

Forget the likes of "The Godfather II" and "The Empire Strikes Back" - "Bride of Frankenstein" is THE greatest example of a sequel completely surpassing the original in terms of sheer brilliance. Coming four years after the original 'Frankenstein' in 1931, director James Whale was originally reluctant to make a sequel but changed his mind after being allowed to make the film more on his own terms. No other director has ever managed to blend horror, comedy and pathos as successfully Whale. The film features some of the most memorable scenes in cinema history, notably the monster's encounter with a lonely hermit and the introduction of 'The Bride'. The film has it all: superb casting, tremendous sets and make up, memorable dialogue ("To a new world of Gods and monsters") and a brilliant score by Franz Waxman. Boris Karloff must surely be one of the greatest actors to ever appear on film. He manages to improve on his initial characterisation of the Monster, due mainly to the addition of dialogue ("Friends, good!"), and, unlike in the first movie, actually makes us feel total empathy for the Monster. Colin Clive returns as the reluctant Doctor F, Una O'Connor makes a wonderful addition as the twittering and hysterical Minnie, but it is Ernest Thesiger who steals the film with his hilarious performance ("Have a cigar. They are my only weakness") as the sinister Dr. Pretorious. Although Elsa Lanchester appears as the Bride for only about 2 minutes at the film's finale, it will be the role for which she is forever associated. The film is regarded as the high point of the Universal horror series and stands as a testament to the genius of James Whale.

Everything went right; from the opening,where Lanchester plays Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley with a gleam in her eye, and overly sweet sarcasm, to the beginning of the sequel, where Karloff is thought dead, to Lanchesters Nefertiti hair near the end , her priceless reactions.

Karloff is excellent as a monster wanting a mate. Una O'Connor is a scream as Minnie, the old biddy who is screeching to see the Monster killed, then shrieks when she spots the Monster. She is told to shut up at least five times in the film. Ernest Thesiger as Dr. Pretorius is a great mix of horror and humor; he robs graves, and also swigs gin out of laboratory beakers, has supper on top of a coffin, gets the Monster to have cigars with him.

Franz Waxmans' playful score, the cinematography and set design that are both reminiscent of "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" (1919), Everything works. The perfect mix of horror and humor.