Main Cast: Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson, Elsa Lanchester, Ernst Thesiger, Dwight Frye
Release Year: 1935
Country: US
Run Time: 75 minutes
Plot
This greatest of all Frankenstein movies begins during a raging thunderstorm. Warm and cozy inside their palatial villa, Lord Byron (Gavin Gordon), Percy Shelley (Douglas Walton), and Shelley's wife Mary (Elsa Lanchester) engage in morbidly sparkling conversation. The wicked Byron mockingly chastises Mary for frightening the literary world with her recent novel Frankenstein, but Mary insists that her horror tale preached a valuable moral, that man was not meant to dabble in the works of God. Moreover, Mary adds that her story did not end with the death of Frankenstein's monster, whereupon she tells the enthralled Byron and Shelley what happened next. Surviving the windmill fire that brought the original 1931 Frankenstein to a close, the Monster (Boris Karloff) quickly revives and goes on another rampage of death and destruction. Meanwhile, his ailing creator Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) discovers that his former mentor, the demented Doctor Praetorius (Ernst Thesiger), plans to create another life-sized monster -- this time a woman! After a wild and wooly "creation" sequence, the bandages are unwrapped, and the Bride of the Monster (Elsa Lanchester again) emerges. Alas, the Monster's tender efforts to connect with his new Mate are rewarded only by her revulsion and hoarse screams. "She hate me," he growls, "Just like others!" Wonderfully acted and directed, The Bride of Frankenstein is further enhanced by the vivid Franz Waxman musical score; even the film's occasional lapses in logic and continuity (it was trimmed from 90 to 75 minutes after the first preview) are oddly endearing. Director James Whale was memorably embodied by Ian McKellen in the Oscar-winning 1998 biopic Gods and Monsters. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
The wildest and most audacious of James Whale's 1930s horror movies, The Bride of Frankenstein is in nearly all ways superior to Whale's original Frankenstein four years earlier. While the first picture was made on a limited budget, Bride was given all the trappings of a big studio's most prestigious production, and, if the results lack the original's lean, claustrophobic mood, Whale's sly wit and gleeful enthusiasm more than make up for it. Brimming with subtle self-parody, Bride of Frankenstein offered Whale the opportunity to mock the clichés of horror films, along with amusing sideswipes at Hollywood romances, historical dramas, and even Christianity. As was his habit, Whale packed the film with amusing eccentrics, including Ernest Thesiger as Dr. Pretorious, a gin-guzzling mad scientist who's even madder than Dr. Frankenstein (Colin Clive), Una O'Connor as Minnie the shrieking servant, and demented hunchback Dwight Frye. Blending effortlessly with Whale's offbeat humor, the cast gave the proceedings an unmistakably British humor and sensibility, even if the film was shot on a Hollywood backlot. Despite Whale's farcical humor, Boris Karloff still delivers a powerful performance as the Monster; the tortured creature is, if anything, even more humane and sympathetic than in the first film, and, while Karloff strongly objected to having the Monster speak, his gruff but heartfelt delivery of his simple dialogue makes his sad fate all the more effective. A young Elsa Lanchester is quite memorable as both the Monster's bizarre mate and Mary Shelley, who spins this tale as a lark for Percy Shelley and Lord Byron. Bride of Frankenstein is ultimately more spooky than scary, but its witty dialogue, top-notch cast, and superb sense of mood make it high entertainment no matter what genre you drop it into. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
