Bride of Frankenstein (1935, James Whale)
When I saw Frankenstein about a year ago, I wasn’t very impressed. I found it dull and uninspiring. This, its sequel, was better.
So it turns out that Frankenstein (Colin Clive) and his monster (Boris Karloff) didn’t die after all. Mary Shelley (Elsa Lanchester) reveals what really happened next, in a sort of framing of this story. We flash back to scenes from the first movie. Indeed, Dr. Frankenstein survived, but was badly injured. The monster, whom everyone thought was dead, was in fact… not. He climbs out of the wreckage at the mill and starts lumbering around the countryside.
Meanwhile, the good Doctor wants nothing more than to settle down with his wife (Valerie Hobson). However, his old professor, the mad Dr. Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger) appears unexpectedly one night and convinces Henry to continue his work of creating new life. He wants to create a mate (and a friend) for the monster.
This movie is an improvement on the first. Whale seems to have learned how to handle the camera better, and it’s really gothic and dark in the way it’s shot. It also seems to have more of a story than the first one did.
It’s also a pretty funny movie. The monster has learned to speak (crudely), and there are some wonderful scenes where he discovers the joy of bread, wine, and cigars. There are some really farcical scenes.
All the performances here are good, especially Lanchester in her dual roles. Karloff perfects his monster, who is now a wholly tragic figure who only wants to be accepted.
The titular bride isn’t given much screentime, which was surprising. And since Frankenstein is technically the name of the Doctor and not the monster, does the title actually refer to the Doctor’s wife, Elizabeth? It’s a little misleading.
I think both these movies should ideally be watched back-to-back. I enjoyed it a lot, and was impressed by how much better than the first movie it was.
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