All Movie Guide

Because Frankenstein created much of the cinematic language of horror films, it has often been imitated (and parodied). Consequently (and ironically), viewers coming to the film today may mistake the conventions that it created for clichés. The mad scientist and his neo-Gothic lab, comma-shaped assistant, and rigidly lurching monster were all creations of director James Whale, and all have become movie icons. However, watching Frankenstein is more than simply an exercise in nostalgia. Despite moments of melodrama, the film is wonderfully economical, telling a complex and engaging tale in little more than one hour. There are more moments of quiet power (most of them involving the strikingly effective Boris Karloff as the monster who simply wants to be loved) than you'll find in a fistful of big-budget horror films. Whale knew his medium and didn't clutter the action with a lot of chatter. Instead, he filled the screen with images that would become part of our cultural lexicon. He builds the story to its tragically inevitable climax, interchanging moments of subtle beauty and dreadful horror. Rather than simply adopt a conventional perspective (man should not play God), Whale emphasized the human drama (Frankenstein should not have abandoned his creation), turning a horror film into an existential tale of man's fear of abandonment. Dan Jardine

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

Son of Frankenstein is unusual because it maintains its quality despite being the third film in a series, and despite a change in directors. While Roland V. Lee was hardly in the league of predecessor James Whale, he was an above average director who could do good work with the proper material and resources. Here he has a strong story, fine inherited production motifs, and an excellent cast that includes Basil Rathbone, Bela Lugosi, Lionel Atwill, Josephine Hutchinson, and Boris Karloff, in his final movie performance as the Monster. The film established several motifs that would later be used in similar films -- for example, the initially uninterested son who gradually becomes obsessed with the work of his mad-scientist father. Mel Brooks fans will instantly recognize the story line of Young Frankenstein (1974), which borrowed several other bits of this film, including a delightful satire of Atwill's stiff-armed performance. Son of Frankenstein is a step down from the expressionistic heights of Whale's Frankenstein and The Bride of Frankenstein, but the step is not so great as to leave the film without its own substantial merits. Richard Gilliam

Universal's "Frankenstein" series descended from the "A" to the "B" category with The Ghost of Frankenstein, though production values were still well above average and the cast is first-rate. The story picks up where Son of Frankenstein (1939) left off, with both the Monster (Lon Chaney Jr.) and his crazed companion Igor the shepherd (Bela Lugosi) being chased out of the village of Frankenstein by the irate citizens (actually both Monster and Igor had been killed at the end of Son of Frankenstein, but that's neither here nor there). The gruesome twosome head to the tiny Balkan community where dwells the son (Sir Cedric Hardwycke) of the original Dr. F. At the urgings of both Igor and the disgraced Doctor Bohmer (Lionel Atwill), Frankenstein Jr. is coerced into repeating his father's experiment of placing a fresh brain in the head of the monster. Seeking vengeance against his enemies, Igor wants to have his own brain grafted into the Monster's skull, but the big lug himself has other ideas: having befriended cute little Cloestine (Janet Ann Gallow), the only person in the village who doesn't fear him, the Monster insists upon receiving Cloestine's brain. In the end, however, Dr. Frankenstein goes with Igor's graymatter-and the result is disaster for practically everyone in the cast. Highlights of this 68-minute scarefest include Lionel Atwill's outraged reaction when he is reminded of the "slight miscalculation" that ruined his medical career, and the uncredited appearances of several "Frankenstein" movie veterans, including Dwight Frye, Holmes Herbert and Lionel Belmore. Hal Erickson

In many ways the most endearing of Universal's B-grade "monster rallies" of the 1940s, House of Frankenstein manages within its 70-minute time span to make room for Frankenstein's monster (Glenn Strange), Dracula (John Carradine) the Wolf Man (Lon Chaney Jr.), and a couple of new recruits, mad scientist Boris Karloff and demented hunchback J. Carroll Naish. Escaping from prison, Karloff vows to continue his diabolical efforts to emulate Dr. Frankenstein's "eternal life" experiments; he also swears vengeance on the three men (Sig Ruman, Frank Reicher and Michael Mark) who were responsible for sending him to prison. With the help of fellow escapee Naish, Karloff murders a travelling-carnival impresario (George Zucco) and assumes his identity. He travels first to the village where Ruman is burgomaster. Since his carnival is a "chamber of horrors", Karloff utilizes one of those horrors -- Count Dracula -- to settle his account with Ruman. Dracula does so, but dies when the first rays of sunlight stream across his body. En route to the next village, Naish gives shelter to runaway gypsy girl Elena Verdugo, who joins the caravan (though she remains incredibly naive concerning Karloff's intentions!) Coming to the village when the Frankenstein monster and the Wolfman were presumably drowned at the end of Frankenstein Meets the Wolfman (1944), Karloff revives the latter, who when he's not baying at the moon is the comparatively good-looking Lawrence Talbot. Karloff secures Talbot's cooperation by promising to perform some brain surgery that will relieve him of his lycanthropy. Later on, Karloff kidnaps and kills his other enemies Mark and Reicher, intending to use their brains to cure Talbot and to reactivate the Frankenstein monster. Jealous of Verdugo's attentions towards Talbot, Naish rebels against Karloff, and is killed for his troubles. Talbot turns into the Wolfman, whereupon Verdugo kills him before expiring herself. And Karloff, rendered immobile by the requisite attack of angry villagers, is dragged by the lumbering Monster into a pit of quicksand. Thus House of Frankenstein has something in common with Hamlet: No one is left alive at fade-out time. It's to scenarist Robert Siodmak's credit that he was able to fashion a coherent screenplay out of the crazy-quilt of copyrighted horror characters handed to him by Universal Pictures. Hal Erickson

Product Details

• UPC: 025192446122
• Source: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1)
• Presentation: B&W
• Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Français, Español
• Time: 6:24:00
• Sales Rank: 1,963

This set contains DVDs which may be available separately:

• Frankenstein
• Bride Of Frankenstein
• Son of Frankenstein
• The Ghost of Frankenstein
• House of Frankenstein

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