Frankenstein (1931)

Year: 1931

IMDb Rating: N/A/10

Genres: Talk-Show

Directors: James Whale, N/A

Cast: Jake De Agrela, John Boles, Frederick Kerr, Dwight Frye, Boris Karloff, Mae Clarke, Zeke Morgan-Hind, Colin Clive, Edward Van Sloan

Zeke Morgan-Hind and Jake De Agrela discuss James Whale, the legend of monster movies, and his film 'Frankenstein' (1931) as part of his Director's Corner.

Frankenstein is a 1931 American pre-Code horror film directed by James Whale and produced by Carl Laemmle Jr.. It is adapted from the 1927 play Frankenstein: An Adventure in the Macabre by Peggy Webling, which in turn was based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. The Webling play was adapted by John L. Balderston, while the screenplay was written by Garrett Fort and Francis Edward Faragoh, with uncredited contributions from Robert Florey and John Russell. Frankenstein stars Colin Clive as Henry Frankenstein, an obsessed scientist who digs up corpses with his assistant to assemble a living being from body parts. The resulting creature, often known as Frankenstein's monster, is portrayed by Boris Karloff. The makeup for the monster was provided by Jack Pierce. Alongside Clive and Karloff, the film's cast also includes Mae Clarke, John Boles, Dwight Frye, and Edward Van Sloan. Produced and distributed by Universal Pictures, the film was a commercial success upon release, and was generally well received by both critics and audiences. It spawned a number of sequels and spin-offs, and has had a significant impact on popular culture: the imagery of a maniacal "mad" scientist with a hunchbacked assistant and the film's depiction of Frankenstein's monster have since become iconic. In 1991, the United States Library of Congress selected Frankenstein for preservation in the National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". As a published work from 1931, the film will enter the American public domain on January 1, 2027.

Frankenstein is a 1931 American pre-Code science fiction gothic horror film directed by James Whale, produced by Carl Laemmle Jr. , and adapted from the 1927 play Frankenstein: An Adventure in the Macabre by Peggy Webling, which in turn was based on Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. It follows Dr. Henry Frankenstein, an obsessed scientist, assembles a creature from body parts of the deceased and brings it to life using electricity. However, the creature, portrayed by Boris Karloff, escapes and wreaks havoc, leading to tragic consequences as Frankenstein confronts the monster he created.