Frankenstein

Starring: Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Mae Clarke
Written by: John L. Balderston, Mary Shelley (novel)

Director: James Whale
Year: 1931

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With science replacing religion, man creates life from death. But this life becomes a monster.

This cautionary tale of science gone mad has endured as a film for 80 years now, and is still among the top favorite films of the genre.  Frankenstein, the name of the mad scientist by-the-way, the Monster had no name, is a man obsessed of restoring life to dead tissue. In his laboratory, he puts together body parts exhumed from various corpses, and harnessing the power of lightning, restores this modern day Prometheus to the land of the living. 

When Frankenstein realizes what a monster he created, he locks it in a cell within the keep. Frankenstein's assistant Fritz, enjoys tormenting the monster until it gets a hold of him and kills him. The monster wanders the countryside. Here, director James Whale takes a different turn than Mary Shelley's novel. He turns the monster into a sympathetic creature. Despite being poked and prodded bvy Fritz, despite having a "bad brain" placed inside its head, the Monster has an innocence about him. He plays alongside a river bank with a little girl throwing flowers into the lake. The monster delights at how the pretty flowers float on the water and when he runs out of flowers, he throws the girl in expecting the same results. She doesn't float. In fact she drowns, and the monster, afraid and confused runs away.

When the girls body is found and the Father cries out for justice, the villagers gather together and chase the monster down into an old windmill and set it on fire. The monster is dead, or is it? The film tasks us with identifying the true monster. Was it the lumbering creature forced to exist in a world it cannot understand? Was the monster Henry Frankenstein himself, and his obsession? Or was Henry a victim of the hubris that afflicts men of science? Again, great liberties were taken from Mary Shelley's version, but movie audiences consider this work a masterpiece. Never before was a creature equally frighting and sympathetic. A powerful conflict of emotions.

This film has launched a slew of official Universal Studios sequels, most notably The Bride of Frankenstein. But there was also Son of Frankenstein, The Ghost of Frankenstein, Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman, House of Frankenstein and House of Dracula. Many also consider Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstein to be in continuity.

SEE THE TRAILER: Frankenstein