Frankenstein (1931)

The film opens with a man warning the viewers about the horrifying nature of the film that they are about to see.  The 1931 film, Frankenstein, was released to critical praise and box-office success.  One of the defining films of the horror genre, it was based (loosely) on the classic novel by Mary Shelley and released following the success of another adaptation of a horror classic: Dracula.  The film runs a mere seventy minutes and stars Boris Karloff as the monster and Colin Clive as Dr. Frankenstein.

Dr. Henry Frankenstein and his hunchbacked assistant Fritz (not Igor) rob a grave; in need of a good human brain, Frankenstein proceeds to send Fritz to steal one from the local university.  Frankenstein is working on an experiment to see if he can bring life to dead tissue: he is frighteningly optimistic.  He has been working for months in an abandoned watchtower far removed from his bride-to-be, family, and friends.  His fiancée Elizabeth is worried and enlists the help of his old mentor, Dr. Waldman, to help talk sense into him.  They arrive while Frankenstein is undergoing the final preparations for his experiment.  The experiment continues on as planned, with the exception of having three horrified onlookers; to the horror of his guests: he is successful.  The monster, made with an abnormal brain, is prone to violent outbursts.  Frankenstein is appalled by what he has created and makes futile plans with Waldman to destroy it; his subsequent return home is marred by reports of the monster killing Waldman and a little girl.  Frankenstein decides to hunt the monster himself, leading to the iconic showdown in an abandoned mill.

Frankenstein is, above all else, a product of its atmosphere; the black-in-white cinematography in tandem with the richly detailed sets provide the ideal Gothic atmosphere for an old-school horror movie.  The creation-scene has an assortment of ridiculous gadgets, from a Tesla coil to a bed that can be elevated to the sky, that somehow manage to make sense to the story.  The makeup on the actual monster is both frightening and practical; Karloff is able to convey a surprising amount of emotion through the heavy layers.  The overall design of the monster, though different from Shelley's vague description, is deservedly famous for such elements as the bolts in the neck and the flat head.  The film's actors do exactly what they need to do for the film to work: they ham it up.  Colin Clive, as the titular Frankenstein (the film is named after the doctor, not the monster), is both unhinged and obsessed, a perfect combination for the role.  Karloff, in his most famous role, is both convincing and frightening as the monster.

In terms of plot, Frankenstein is greatly lacking in both the complexity and the depth present in the novel.  The characterization of the monster is the change that has the greatest effect on the story.  In the film he is little more than a brute prone to both violence and guttural vocalizations, while in the novel he is highly intelligent and philosophical, driven to violence by cruel rejection.  The famous scene involving the little girl is perfectly representative of this change in characterization.  In the film he stumbles upon a little girl who treats him with kindness, after a few moments of playing he throws her into the lake, killing her.  In the novel, he rescues the little girl from drowning in the lake, only to be shot in the arm by her father.  This difference makes the film more cinematic (though I have hopes for a more faithful adaptation sometime in the future) and less thought-provoking.

What makes one human?  That question is posed by the film; it does not give an answer, but it does hint at something: the creature is a monstrosity, but Dr. Frankenstein is the true monster.  1931's Frankenstein is a thoroughly entertaining horror film that has held up extremely well, even though it lacks the emotional heft of its literary source-material.

7/10

Note: This review was previously posted on another blog I wrote.