Hope you’ve all had a lovely holiday, whenever yours was. As a semi-break from our usual routine, today we will be discussing the film most people think of when they think Frankenstein. The 1931 “classic” starring Colin Clive and Boris Karloff.
I must preface this by stating that I have already seen this film, when I read Frankenstein in high school about 16 years ago (holy shit, I am old). I didn’t like it then and don’t anticipate enjoying it now.
Do we really need a scene to introduce the film? Trailers had existed for almost 2 decades at this point. Anyone who wanted to know what it’s about already does and everyone else wants you to shut up.
Oh, I’m sure I’ll be horrified just not in the way you’d like and I can’t escape.
Is the background to the title not wolfman? Those hands do not look human.
I feel bad for Boris Karloff. From what I understand, this was worse for his career than the Twilight saga was for Robert Pattinson’s. This was not the role he thought he was going to play, nor is it one that anyone should ever have had to and they didn’t even have the decency to include his name in the credits. God, I hate Hollywood.
Igor looks like the guy who played the oldest brother in Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead. What the fuck was that kid’s name?
Victor is far too clean-cut and calm.
That is a lot of dirt. How many people do you think it took to clean that soundstage at the end of the week?
Forget what I said, the crazy eyes were just waiting to get their hands on a corpse and pet the casket a bit.
“Here, do all my dirty work while I stand here in my blazer and ascot and hold this weak, useless lantern.”
You should probably find several brains as you don’t have one between the two of you.
I’m sure brains kept in cookie jars, in a mysterious liquid, remain in perfect working order for years.
That’s what you get for sending someone else to do your literally everything.
Shuffling the names is simply weird and confusing, there’s no good reason for it unless they were planning to pass this off as a completely different narrative and changed their minds at the last minute. Though I’d assume they weren’t expecting anyone who’d actually read the book to sit through this monstrosity.
“They’re just words” That’s how letters work, hun.
Of course, Vic..Henry? is putting his work ahead of his beloved. At least this version admits it.
I half expected this Victor and Elizabeth to actually get around to kissing but no, they had to sit that close to fit both of them in the same frame. Shooting anything wider than 1.37:1 would have been lunacy.
I tried to tell you that Clerval is in love with Elizabeth. Maybe the screenwriters got something right after all.
Blatantly American actors attempting something resembling German pronunciation, for no apparent reason, is insulting to an entire country. They could move the narrative to the 1920s but it had to remain in Germany, Austria or Switzerland only in English with no attempt at accents? Why? Was ist los mit euch?
Why Waldman and not Krempe? Jesus, this guy has a lot of skulls. Do you think maybe he’s secretly a serial killer? I’d kill for a sub-plot or an actual plot.
Galvanism was barely a thing in the late 1700s, it was completely useless by the 1920s.
Apparently, Igor’s name is Fritz. So much attention I’m paying.
Ah, our old friend, coincidence.
We have to make this movie at least 10 minutes longer, so let them go down the stairs and back up and knock and holler. No, I can’t let you in. But you have to, it’s raining. You’re crazy and he’s crazy and she’s crazy and I’m crazy. We’ll all fucking crazy. There, that solves it. Can they leave now?
This version of the doc is even nuttier than the novel’s if that’s possible.
“Hey, Waldman. You’re an idiot. You didn’t teach me that light and electricity were the same because they’re not, but I’m completely insane. So, I’m going to ignore that fact and claim some brilliant revelation.”
None of those parts were ever alive before you combined them into one? That’s not how art works, it’s definitely not how science works.
“And my assistant, who bears no mention at all.”
Yeah, you’re God because you know about electricity…
Why would anyone want to be smart when they’re rich?
What the hell is a burgomaster? Do they mean Bürgermeister? What is the mayor doing at their house and why does he care about this wedding?
Yes, the Birdman cometh and you pissed him off so he left.
B. Frank is going to be shocked when he finds out the other woman is a man.
The movie version of the doc might be even more a douche too. No one calls responsible science crazy, and most of those things have answers if you bother to go to school and learn them.
Did he not bother to read the jar before using it?
The only way he’s better is at least giving his child the chance to try to become something, though he’s made it even harder for that to happen.
If that brain supposedly retained its former evil, why didn’t it retain any of its former knowledge of language? I suppose he was probably a dumb criminal if he got caught.
Any intelligent being should be somewhat afraid of fire. Maybe he burned to death in a past life.
If you beat and torture him, of course he’s going to be violent. You would be as well.
Serves Fritz right.
We should kill people who are angry and frightened? That’s half the world at any given time. He could have easily killed Waldman and Dr. Frank, and chose not to. He obviously has some self-control and ability to learn. Teach him!
B. Frank is incredibly rude and impatient. It’s a huge place and there are no servants (not even an assistant). You could wait more than a few seconds before trying to beat the door down with your cane, you old coot.
You’d think the old man would recognize fire, he was probably around when it was first discovered.
Why’s he falling into a fit while Waldman and Victor are completely fine?
Both of them attempted murder, one just did a better job of it.
What a rich jerk. They got the most ridiculous assortment of details right.
On your son’s wedding day, it’s most definitely all about you.
Why are the townspeople do stereotypically German when none of the other guests were?
What are their accents? They aren’t even close to European.
Even this version of Karl wants to be nice. He’s trying so hard.
Well, that was obviously an accident. How was he supposed to know she wouldn’t float?
Elizabeth has doomed the whole wedding by being co-dependent…or maybe psychic.
Why is it her responsibility to save anyone? Henry hasn’t done anything to save anyone.
He’s a sneaky bastard. You have to give him that.
I feel like there’s a scene missing somewhere. He goes from accidental homicide to premeditated attempted murder in a matter of hours with nothing in between?
A kid drowns and it’s automatically murder? In what world is that the only conclusion?
Of course, they’re right, but there is no reason to think he was the one who did it. Also, leaving all your women and children defenseless with a madman running loose seems fucking asinine. And they all went in one direction away from town?
That’s the same (echoey) soundstage from the beginning. You can literally see the folds in the backdrop.
He’s only intentionally killed people who were asking for it. Stop asking!
Going somewhere alone has never gotten anyone killed, said no intelligent person ever.
Fire whatever member of your stereotype research team told you that windmills are from Germany/Austria/Switzerland. That’s definitely Holland, along with tulips and wooden shoes. Feel free to take notes for your next disaster.
They could have, at the very least, put a little sand in those pillows.
What are the odds that place was abandoned and not someone’s home or business?\
That might be the most horrific death imaginable. Trapped within the thing you most fear.
The dude at the beginning was right. I am horrified by the barbarity of man, murdering anyone they don’t understand.
The neverending wine. How many times do you think he’s refilled that just so he can tell the story again?
At least Karloff finally got credit at the end, though this film did nothing good for his career. He barely even got to do anything but stumble around and moan.
They got rid of Justine’s character and secretly had her family adopt Henry/Victor.
I don’t know that this version is even as horrific as the book. The plot is terrible but what else is new?
Even within this narrative, there are hints that a person no matter how flawed, if treated kindly and taught the ways of the world can do good within it. You can excuse his abnormal brain all you want, his first impulse was still to be kind and gentle. Had he been given any chance at all, he could have lived a happy life and not had to be senselessly murdered by people who didn’t understand him.
It’s not a great film but the key points are still there.
Frankenstein Book Club 