Bride of Frankenstein (B or 3/4 stars)
Horror director James Whale reluctantly returned in 1935 to direct this sequel, 'Bride of Frankenstein' to his 1931 smash hit Frankenstein. I'm glad he did, because it became an instant classic and, I think it is quite a bit better than the 1931 offering. The plot picks up soon after the events of the original film. We know that maniacal Dr. Frankenstein (Colin Clive) had discovered the secret-to-life itself & assembled a creature out of dead body parts stolen from newly created graves. Using machines of his own crazed design, he brought his creature (Boris Karloff) to life. Said creature - thanks to the public treating him as a monster - wreaked havoc on Dr. Frankenstein's life until, as we know ... an angry mob burned him alive in that windmill. What a climax!
This sequel reveals that the creature actually survived the fiery climax of that last film & escaped into the nearby mountains to recover from his intensive injuries. A guilt-ridden, chastened Dr. Frankenstein {I am ... "cursed for delving into the mysteries of life"}, meanwhile, receives a visit from his former mentor, Dr. Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger) who has discovered his OWN means of re-animating dead tissue. Mad scientist Pretorius threatens to destroy Frankenstein & his family, unless the he teams up with Pretorius to create the titular female (Elsa Lanchester). All the while, the lonely male creature remains on the run; looking for human companionship; fearing for his "life"; hunted from those horrible human beings who wish to kill him, without even trying to understand that his intentions are not evil, despite his lack of self-control or being able to convey proper human communication. Drama ensues.
By now the story of 'Bride of Frankenstein' has become part of popular lore; a film so influential & popular that many people know the story, some of the dialogue, the iconic images ... even without having seen it. What many people do not pick up on, however, are the blatant homoerotic flourishes that director James Whale subliminally {or not so} added to this movie. Whale, a pretty flamboyant homosexual {check out Ian McKellen's superb portrayal of him in 1998's Gods & Monsters} who never hid his sexuality, made 'Bride ...' with the intent on showing how 2 men were trying to make a baby (!).
More than that, the male creature eventually finds comfort living with a blind hermit in a kind of 'domestic partnership' {think of Mel Brooks' wonderful satire of this from 1974's Young Frankenstein -- comic genius}. Furthermore, Whale had Ernest Thesiger play Dr. Pretorius, as quite the campy, flamboyant guy, to boot. Even in 1935, audiences picked up on Pretorius' unmanliness & sensed that he was one of 'those' people -- that he was 'other'.
Brimming with stylish direction, good pacing {75 min. in length, thank ya very much}, eccentric black & white photography, an eerie atmosphere, marvelous make-up & effects work, and containing elements of black comedy ... Universal Monster pictures of that era didn't get much better than 'Bride of Frankenstein'. Boris Karloff makes the monster a pitiable, empathetic creature. And Elsa Lancheser - while being the titular character, is not in the film all that much - is superb. The stormy laboratory scene in which she comes to life is thrilling and, her electrified hair, bug eyes, mechanical jerks & ear-piercing scream are iconic. This would be James Whale's last horror flick {Hollywood said "enough", grrr}, but he went out with a bang of wit, gothic hysteria & a macabre sense of graveyard humor. I didn't love the inevitably tragic ending. But 'BoF' is creepy, funny, subversive & quite entertaining.
This sequel reveals that the creature actually survived the fiery climax of that last film & escaped into the nearby mountains to recover from his intensive injuries. A guilt-ridden, chastened Dr. Frankenstein {I am ... "cursed for delving into the mysteries of life"}, meanwhile, receives a visit from his former mentor, Dr. Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger) who has discovered his OWN means of re-animating dead tissue. Mad scientist Pretorius threatens to destroy Frankenstein & his family, unless the he teams up with Pretorius to create the titular female (Elsa Lanchester). All the while, the lonely male creature remains on the run; looking for human companionship; fearing for his "life"; hunted from those horrible human beings who wish to kill him, without even trying to understand that his intentions are not evil, despite his lack of self-control or being able to convey proper human communication. Drama ensues.
By now the story of 'Bride of Frankenstein' has become part of popular lore; a film so influential & popular that many people know the story, some of the dialogue, the iconic images ... even without having seen it. What many people do not pick up on, however, are the blatant homoerotic flourishes that director James Whale subliminally {or not so} added to this movie. Whale, a pretty flamboyant homosexual {check out Ian McKellen's superb portrayal of him in 1998's Gods & Monsters} who never hid his sexuality, made 'Bride ...' with the intent on showing how 2 men were trying to make a baby (!).
More than that, the male creature eventually finds comfort living with a blind hermit in a kind of 'domestic partnership' {think of Mel Brooks' wonderful satire of this from 1974's Young Frankenstein -- comic genius}. Furthermore, Whale had Ernest Thesiger play Dr. Pretorius, as quite the campy, flamboyant guy, to boot. Even in 1935, audiences picked up on Pretorius' unmanliness & sensed that he was one of 'those' people -- that he was 'other'.
Brimming with stylish direction, good pacing {75 min. in length, thank ya very much}, eccentric black & white photography, an eerie atmosphere, marvelous make-up & effects work, and containing elements of black comedy ... Universal Monster pictures of that era didn't get much better than 'Bride of Frankenstein'. Boris Karloff makes the monster a pitiable, empathetic creature. And Elsa Lancheser - while being the titular character, is not in the film all that much - is superb. The stormy laboratory scene in which she comes to life is thrilling and, her electrified hair, bug eyes, mechanical jerks & ear-piercing scream are iconic. This would be James Whale's last horror flick {Hollywood said "enough", grrr}, but he went out with a bang of wit, gothic hysteria & a macabre sense of graveyard humor. I didn't love the inevitably tragic ending. But 'BoF' is creepy, funny, subversive & quite entertaining.