I
had seen both before, probably more than once, but this time it was
different. The big screen, restored print, and the icon of all icons
-- Frankenstein. And, as everyone surely knows, including me,
Frankenstein is the name of the doctor who makes the Creature, or the
Monster. Funny, though, although I know it, I still want to
associate that name with the Creature, who never had a name.
In
making both movies, there's some fun with the characters' names,
anyway. The good doctor, in these two Frank films, is Henry
Frankenstein, but in the book, he's Victor Frankenstein. Henry's
best man for his wedding in the first film is named Victor. Then,
there's Doc Frankenstein's assistant, played by Dwight Frye (Renfield
in the Bela Lugosi Dracula). Not Igor. Or Ygor. Nope. Fritz.
And, he's got a hump on his back. But, in the second movie, Dwight
Frye is the assistant once again to the Doc, but now he's Karl. He
limps, but the hump's gone. And, then, there's the matter of
Elizabeth (Mae Clarke) soon-to-be Frankenstein. Blond in the first
film, then a different actress (Valerie Hobson) plays her in The
Bride of Frankenstein as a brunette.
Okay,
enough picking of nits, although it's all for fun. These are truly
two great movies. Frankenstein is played dead-on serious, no humor,
not even a little. The second, The Bride of Frankenstein, although
serious, has a touch of humor to lighten things a bit.
What
I came away with, in both films, is that the Creature is the tragic
hero in both. Boris Karloff played him with great sincerity and
warmth, and I felt sympathy for him. He did not choose to be
created, particularly in that frightening form. But, there he was.
The
one big change from the book, and I must admit, it's been many years
since I read it, so there are probably many other differences, as
well, but the one big change is in the book the Creature is literate.
In the movie, Fate limits his understanding, so everything is a
struggle.
The
actors were phenomenal, especially Colin Clive as Henry Frankenstein,
and Boris Karloff as the Creature. Dwight Frye, as always, was
fantastic. And, Ernest Thesiger as Dcotor Pretorius, played a great
creepy comic madman. He out-crazied Henry, except for Henry's
signature lines of "It's alive!" (repeated several times,
each time more maniacally than the previous), and the classic mad
scientist "Crazy, am I? We'll see whether I'm crazy or not."
Finally,
can't forget the good doc's lab. Gotta say, on the big screen, with
all the sparks and electrical fire, and zapping, and everything
really big, that was truly hair-raising, especially in The Bride of
Frankenstein. He must've received a bigger equipment budget in the
second film, because it was way more scary and sparky and big. Guess
the extra juice was needed to give Elsa (Bride of Frankenstein)
Lanchester that little extra something for her 'do.
If
you've never seen these classics, find a theater where they're
playing, and head out. You'll be glad you did.
'til
next time... Adios.
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