Frankenstein - Will's Review

Before James Whale cut loose in the previously reviewed Bride of Frankenstein, he adapted (parts of) Shelly's famous novel in this 1931 masterpiece.

Not scary to a modern audience, it's hard to understand the effect this had on audiences over 7 decades ago. What today is a classic movie which seems more horror-inspired than actual horror, once had audiences fleeing theatres in terror.

Karloff is as ever superb in the role which made him a star, but he never shines brighter than in the scene in which the creature makes friends with a little girl, before joyfully tossing her in the river, having no understanding of life and death. It's hard to imagine the film without such an important moment, but that's how it was originally presented; the censors removed the pivotal scene on the films original release and it was presumed lost until the mid 80's.

Rounding out the cast, Colin Clive's Doctor Herbert Frankenstein is clearly the role he was born to play, and Dwight Fry's Fritz may not be the good doctor's most famous assistant (that honour would go to Bela Lugosi as Ygor) but he is certainly the best.

The stage-style acting common amongst early Talkies (and a pet peeve of Lisa's) is evident here; but to my mind it adds a melodramatic slant to the movie which suites it to a tee.

The importance of this movie on the horror genre cannot be overstated, and it's one of my favourites to boot!