The science fiction horror film Frankenstein is directed by James Whale and stars Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, and Boris Karloff. The setting is an unidentified city and it takes place in modern day which is 1931 at the time of the film's release.
The film starts out with Dr. Frankenstein (Clive) and his hunchback assistant Fritz at a cemetery. The two of them dig up a recently deceased corpse for Dr. Frankenstein's experiment, which is to create a man in the image of himself. If Frankenstein does this then he will be able to feel like God himself. Frankenstein and his assistant realize that the brain and the head of the stolen body are badly damaged so they are forced to steal a brain from Frankenstein's old teacher. When Fritz goes to steal the brain he breaks the jar containing normal brain so he takes the one that says abnormal instead. Then Dr. Frankenstein uses a machine he built that utilized a mysterious ray he discovered so the monster (Karloff) became alive...
The screenplay for this film is one of the best of the horror genre. With a running time just short of seventy minutes I was doubtful the story would be strong enough for me to enjoy the film. I was pleasantly surprised though. Garrett Fort and Francis Edward Faragoh wrote the screenplay adapted from Mary Shelley's novel. Dr. Frankenstein and the monster were both very strong characters, I liked how savage and animal like the monster was and Frankenstein's obsession. All the supporting cast were pretty one dimensional though, but it did not stop the film from being great. The quote from Dr. Frankenstein "It's alive" will always be embedded in my brain now.
James Whale's direction was superb which really surprised me. I find for most older films that the direction is always rather simple, but this had many complex shots. The one that comes to my mind first is the father entering town holding his daughter. The camera dollies with him and the audience is able to see everyone in the city looking at him. It was just a beautiful shot. The whole entire scene where the monster comes alive is excellent as well. As the unborn corpse rises to the sky and stays at the top for a few seconds then slowly comes down just kept me on the edge of my seat. And then when the monster's hand twitches slightly, just wonderful. The final scene that I loved was when the monster is playing with the little girl. It was so simple, and that is what made the scene so effective because the monster was so simple.
Whale got a couple of great performances from his actors as well. Colin Clive gave a very effective performance as the obsessed Dr. Frankenstein. I could feel his passion and desire to create something so he too could feel like God. He absolutely shined in the scene where the monster came alive, if he did a poor job there the film may not be as legendarily well known as it is today. Mae Clarke did not do anything spectacular in her role as Dr. Frankenstein's fiancé. She basically just kept on telling Frankenstein to stop being crazy and come back home, she had a one layered character which is not her part. The thing with her performance though is I do not even remember her in the film that well because unlike Clive she did not put any passion into her performance. Now Boris Karloff made the film and character iconic. He played the role as the monster and played it perfectly, there was no way he or anyone else could have done it. The scene where he acts the best is the scene with the little girl, because he is trying to play with her, not be a monster and kill her. Just magnificent performance. The rest of the supporting cast did a fine job, but no one really stood out or added much to the film.
This film is a classic and will always be remembered as one of the greatest monster films ever. You won't scream or jump in your seat while watching this because even though it is horror it is more like an intriguing story about a killer monster which has to go in the genre of horror. It is just a fantastic film of obsession that leads to a new creature, that does not know right from wrong. The monster is just like a wild animal, it is just trying to protect itself. Overall I give this film a 9/10 and recommend it to anyone who likes classic films, science fiction, and monster movies.
The film starts out with Dr. Frankenstein (Clive) and his hunchback assistant Fritz at a cemetery. The two of them dig up a recently deceased corpse for Dr. Frankenstein's experiment, which is to create a man in the image of himself. If Frankenstein does this then he will be able to feel like God himself. Frankenstein and his assistant realize that the brain and the head of the stolen body are badly damaged so they are forced to steal a brain from Frankenstein's old teacher. When Fritz goes to steal the brain he breaks the jar containing normal brain so he takes the one that says abnormal instead. Then Dr. Frankenstein uses a machine he built that utilized a mysterious ray he discovered so the monster (Karloff) became alive...
The screenplay for this film is one of the best of the horror genre. With a running time just short of seventy minutes I was doubtful the story would be strong enough for me to enjoy the film. I was pleasantly surprised though. Garrett Fort and Francis Edward Faragoh wrote the screenplay adapted from Mary Shelley's novel. Dr. Frankenstein and the monster were both very strong characters, I liked how savage and animal like the monster was and Frankenstein's obsession. All the supporting cast were pretty one dimensional though, but it did not stop the film from being great. The quote from Dr. Frankenstein "It's alive" will always be embedded in my brain now.
James Whale's direction was superb which really surprised me. I find for most older films that the direction is always rather simple, but this had many complex shots. The one that comes to my mind first is the father entering town holding his daughter. The camera dollies with him and the audience is able to see everyone in the city looking at him. It was just a beautiful shot. The whole entire scene where the monster comes alive is excellent as well. As the unborn corpse rises to the sky and stays at the top for a few seconds then slowly comes down just kept me on the edge of my seat. And then when the monster's hand twitches slightly, just wonderful. The final scene that I loved was when the monster is playing with the little girl. It was so simple, and that is what made the scene so effective because the monster was so simple.
Whale got a couple of great performances from his actors as well. Colin Clive gave a very effective performance as the obsessed Dr. Frankenstein. I could feel his passion and desire to create something so he too could feel like God. He absolutely shined in the scene where the monster came alive, if he did a poor job there the film may not be as legendarily well known as it is today. Mae Clarke did not do anything spectacular in her role as Dr. Frankenstein's fiancé. She basically just kept on telling Frankenstein to stop being crazy and come back home, she had a one layered character which is not her part. The thing with her performance though is I do not even remember her in the film that well because unlike Clive she did not put any passion into her performance. Now Boris Karloff made the film and character iconic. He played the role as the monster and played it perfectly, there was no way he or anyone else could have done it. The scene where he acts the best is the scene with the little girl, because he is trying to play with her, not be a monster and kill her. Just magnificent performance. The rest of the supporting cast did a fine job, but no one really stood out or added much to the film.
This film is a classic and will always be remembered as one of the greatest monster films ever. You won't scream or jump in your seat while watching this because even though it is horror it is more like an intriguing story about a killer monster which has to go in the genre of horror. It is just a fantastic film of obsession that leads to a new creature, that does not know right from wrong. The monster is just like a wild animal, it is just trying to protect itself. Overall I give this film a 9/10 and recommend it to anyone who likes classic films, science fiction, and monster movies.