The Bride of Frankenstein [1935] [VHS]

Forget 'Godfather 2'. Forget 'The Empire Strikes Back'. This is THE greatest example of a sequal surpassing the original. Coming 4 years after the original 'Frankenstein' in 1931, James Whale was originally reluctant to take on the project, but he soon changed his mind after the studio allowed him more creative freedom. No other director has ever managed to blend horror, comedy and pathos as successfully as Whale. The film features some of the most memorable scenes in film history; notably the monster's encounter with a lonely hermit ("friends - good!") and the introduction of 'The Bride'. The film has it all: superb casting, tremendous sets and make up, memorable dialogue ("To a new world of Gods and monsters") and a brilliantly effective score by Franz Waxman. Boris Karloff was surely one of the greatest actors to ever appear on film. He manages to improve on his characterisation of the monster in the first film, due mainly to the addition of dialogue ("I love dead, hate living!"), and, unlike in the first film, makes the audience feel total empathy for the monster (i.e. the monster is now the victim). Colin Clive reprises his most famous role (in what would be a tragically short career) as the reluctant Dr Frankenstein, Una O'Connor maks a wonderful addition to the cast, as the twittering, hysterical Minnie, but it is Ernest Thesiger whio steals the film with his hillarious performance ("Have a cigar. They are my only weakness") as the sinister Dr. Pretorious (the scene with him and the monster meeting for the first time is a gem). Although Elsa Lanchester appears as the bride for only about 2 minutes at the film's finale, it will be the role for which she is forever associated. Some great exras are included on this DVD including the documentary 'She's Alive!' and an audio commentary with film historian Scott MacQueen. The film is regarded as the high point of the Universal horror series and stands as a testament to the genius of James Whale.

Interestingly, Whale did not want to make a sequel to his incredibly successful 1931 FRANKENSTEIN, and bowed to studio pressure only when he received assurance of absolute control. The result is perhaps his most personal film--a strange collage of gothic horror, black humor, religious motifs, and sexual innuendo--and one of the great classics of the genre.

The plot elaborates an idea contained in the Mary Shelly novel: Frankenstein is pressured to create a mate for the monster. In Shelly's novel, the doctor eventually balks; in the film, however, he sees the experiment through due to a mix of his own obsession and the manipulations of a new character, Dr. Pretorious, and the two create the only truly iconographical monster in the film pantheon of the 1930s horror film: "The Bride," brilliantly played by Elsa Lanchester.

The cast is excellent throughout, with Colin Clive and Boris Karloff repeating their roles and Frankenstein and the monster, and Valerie Hobson an able replacement for Mae Clarke in the role of Elizabeth; Ernest Thesiger and Una O'Connor also give incredibly memorable performances as the truly strange Pretorius and the constantly hysterical maid Minnie. The art design is remarkable, and the Waxman score is justly famous. But the genius of the film lies not so much in these new and bizarre characters, in the familiar ones, or in the production values: it is in the way in which Whales delicately balances his elements and then subverts them.

FRANKENSTEIN owes much of its power to its directness--it has a raw energy that is difficult to resist, still more difficult to describe. But THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN owes its power to its complexity. Nothing here is quite what it appears to be, and throughout the film we constantly receive mixed messages about the characters and implications of their situations. While Thesiger's Dr. Pretorius is justly celebrated as a covert gay icon of the darkest possible variety, and while many people quickly grasp Whale's often subversive use of Christian imagery, the film has many, many layers that do not reveal themselves upon a single viewing.

The single most startling sequence, at least to my mind, is the famous scene in which the Monster stumbles into the lonely cottage of the blind hermit, a role beautifully played by O.P. Heggie. On the surface, the sequence would seem to be about how cruely we judge people by appearances, and how true kindness can lift the fallen. It was not until I had seen the film several times that it dawned upon me that Whale has essentially endowed the a scene with a host of covertly homosexual overtones--and then tied them to a series of Christian elements for good measure. It is startling, to say the least.

Like most Universal horror DVDs, the package here is superior, and the film is supported with an interesting documentary and a still more interesting audio commentary track. Critics and fans continue to battle over whether FRANKENSTEIN or THE BRIDE is the better film--but I say they are so completely different that the question simply doesn't arise. Whatever the case, if you are a fan of 1930s horror and James Whale in particular, this is a must own DVD.

This follow-up to the original Frankenstein (1931) manages to eclipse its predecessor in every department; it's a grander, more large-scale production, with a visibly bigger budget, a far wittier script, and better performances across the board. The magnificent set design and pitch-perfect music also contribute to making this one of the most critically acclaimed horror movies ever produced in Hollywood.
Though Boris Karloff was reported to favour his performance in the original movie, in this sequel he refines and deepens the character of the Monster, beautifully portraying the stunted humanity of a creature who wanders through the story just looking for a friend. Colin Clive is even more memorably hysterical than he was in the first movie, whilst the beautiful Valerie Hobson (later the star of Ealing's masterful Kind Hearts and Coronets) totally eclipses Mae Clarke's performance as Elizabeth in the earlier film. Elsa Lanchester does a good job in the dual roles of Mary Shelley and the Monster's bride, Ernest Thesiger's Dr. Pretorious is a scream, and OP Heggie, as the lonely, blind hermit, is touchingly vulnerable; his scene with Karloff is the undisputed highlight of the film for me.
Of course, the film does fall down in a couple of areas; I've never really understood the point of the framing device that has Mary `telling the story' to Percy and Byron, as the events of both this film and the earlier one bear so little relationship to the plot of the original book. And Una O' Connor's ghastly performance in the comic relief role of Minnie the maid has certainly not aged well; O' Connor's brand of broad comedy worked well in the opening scenes of Whale's The Invisible Man (1933), but in this movie she's simply a distraction, endlessly re-appearing to mug at the camera every time the film hits a dramatic high. For example, after the Monster has been on a murderous rampage and been captured by the villagers in one of the film's best set-pieces, we have to endure O' Connor's gurning and ranting as she pointlessly instructs the police to `make sure he doesn't get loose again; he's dangerous!' in a screeching voice that could shatter glass; it's a shame that O' Connor doesn't get strangled to death along with Karloff's many other victims.
Also included here is a good documentary, `She's Alive', previously featured on Universal's 1999 VHS release of the movie.