A mate… for the Monster!

Perhaps the filmmakers felt that their original adaptation of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein” came up short. The film was inspired by the novel, but left out much of the plot in favor of a simpler storyline. One of the ingredients that never made it into the first film was the story of how Frankenstein created a mate for his monster. When the time was ripe for a sequel, director James Whale overcame his initial doubts and delivered what his fans consider his best work.

The film begins with a prologue set in 1816, when Shelley (Elsa Lanchester) chooses a thunderstorm as the appropriate moment to tell her friends the next chapter of the story of Frankenstein’s monster. It turns out that he (Boris Karloff) survived the villagers’ burning of the windmill and is now on the run. Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) is being nursed back to health by his wife Elizabeth (Valerie Hobson); both are deeply affected by recent events. One night, Henry’s former mentor, Septimus Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger), arrives at the Frankenstein household and shows Henry that he too has been busy creating life, miniature people that he keeps in glass jars. Unlike Henry, Pretorius has no qualms about his work and wants to create a mate for the Monster. In the meantime, the Monster is captured by the villagers but manages to escape once again. After a curious encounter with a blind hermit, the first person to show him kindness, the Monster meets Pretorius and learns of his plans. In order to get Henry to help him, Pretorius decides to use the Monster as a tool of persuasion…

This is in many ways a more ambitious film than the original. Franz Waxman’s dramatic score is now a classic, intensifying every horrific scene. The story is more complicated, as it adds loneliness to those other themes of hubris and madness, which are forcefully represented by Thesiger’s character who outdoes Clive’s original mad scientist. The Monster’s encounter with the blind hermit is touching; two lonely souls find company for a short while before the inevitable happens. But the tragedy is also accompanied by a healthy sense of humor in the shape of Pretorius’s amusing miniature people whose characteristics lead him to playfully designate them king, queen, bishop, etc. (and there’s always the outrageous histrionics of Una O’Connor as one of the bloodthirsty villagers). The Monster is evolving quickly; he’s now learning how to speak and is slowly getting in touch with his emotions. Karloff’s makeup seems to have been designed with the events of the first film in mind; this monster looks even wearier and more scarred. Having Lanchester play both Shelley and the mate is an ingenuous way of establishing a psychologically interesting bond between the writer and the pile of body parts designed to serve as the Monster’s lover; her electric hairdo is now part of cinema history. Once again, it is Karloff’s both intimidating and emotional performance that brings a lot of heart to the film; the final scenes in the laboratory when the Monster meets his bride, gets only a hiss as thanks for his efforts and realizes how this story must play out is highly memorable, ending in the immortal line “We belong dead”.

Scholars of different stripes have made interpretations; the Monster has been viewed as a Christ figure and Pretorius as a homosexual (since the director was gay). As with many other film theories it’s in the eyes of the beholder and not really all that essential. The one thing everyone can agree on is the fact that Bride of Frankenstein is one of the finest freak shows ever made.

Bride of Frankenstein 1935-U.S. 75 min. B/W. Produced by Carl Laemmle, Jr. Directed by James Whale. Screenplay: John L. Balderston, William Hurlbut. Music: Franz Waxman. Cast: Boris Karloff (The Monster), Colin Clive (Henry Frankenstein), Valerie Hobson (Elizabeth Frankenstein), Ernest Thesiger, Elsa Lanchester, Una O’Connor… Dwight Frye, John Carradine.

Trivia: Louise Brooks was allegedly considered for the part of the mate; Claude Rains as Pretorius. In the original, Frye played Frankenstein’s help who was killed by the Monster; here, he plays one of Pretorius’s hired grave diggers. Followed by Son of Frankenstein (1939).

Quote: “To a new world of gods and monsters!” (Thesiger proposing a toast)

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Published by Stefan Hedmark 2009-04-01 09:26

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