The October Project 2 :Day 23

 

 

 

 

"To a new world of gods and monsters!"

 

Frankenstein  (1931)

 

The Bride of Frankenstein  (1935)
Both Directed by James Whale

Just like the last time I created one of these lists, I have decided to include very few titles from the earliest decades of cinema. As great as these films can be, they are often only of interest to hardcore movie nerds. Most of today's moviegoers find them quaint and silly, not scary in the least. It's better to just avoid the argument.
However, this time I did want to pay tribute to the original "Universal Monsters"
horror cycle of the 30's and 40's and, for me, James Whale's Frankenstein films represent the pinnacle of this, the first great period of American horror cinema.

As most are aware, Frankenstein is an early triumph of Hollywood Gothic. The photography and design are very much in the vein of German expressionism and the whole film holds up much better than the previous year's Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi. A lot of things went right with the film but the primary reason for it's success is the casting of Boris Karloff.
What a beautiful and soulful performance he managed to give with no dialogue! In combination with Jack Pierce's make-up design (still one of the best and most evocative in the history of movies) Karloff created an unforgettable character, frightening, brutish but never less than sympathetic.

Even better is the sequel, the wonderful, goofy, beautiful, campy, poetic The Bride of Frankenstein.
Whale only agreed to do the film if he had total artistic freedom and what he came up with is one of the great Hollywood fantasies. Dr Frankenstein is seduced back into the monster-making game by Dr. Septimus Pretorious, (portrayed by the brilliantly over-the-top Ernest Thesiger) who wants to build Karloff's monster a mate and, hopefully, kick-start a new master-race of undead "gods and monsters".
Crazy then and crazy now, this is a completely delightful film, at once, bizarre, moving and oddly subversive.
A masterpiece.
Both are less than 90 minutes long and together would make one of the great Halloween double-features.