Frankenstein's bride

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Movie
German title Frankenstein's bride
Original title Bride of Frankenstein
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1935
length 78 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director James Whale
script William Hurlbut
production Carl Laemmle, Jr.
music Franz Waxman
camera John J. Mescall
cut Ted Kent
occupation
synchronization

Bride of Frankenstein (AKA Bride of Frankenstein ) is an American horror - drama from the year 1935 and the continuation of the horror film Frankenstein of 1931 , again under the direction of James Whale .

action

Mary Shelley , her husband Percy and Lord Byron sit together on a stormy night. Byron regrets that the Frankenstein story ended so abruptly back then. Mary then tells the sequel at the fireplace.

The creature created by Baron Frankenstein from body parts appears to have perished in a burning mill. But after the angry mob has dispersed and brought Baron Frankenstein, who was badly wounded after the fight with the monster, home, the monster digs out of the charred wooden rubble. The villagers soon had to mourn the dead and injured again. The first victims are the parents of the child Maria, who was killed in the previous film, who really wanted to convince themselves of the death of the monster and found their death in the process.

After the creature has been caught and chained, it manages to escape and retreats deep into the woods, where it meets a blind hermit who takes care of the creature. Under his peaceful care, the monster takes on more and more human features, learns to speak and can appreciate the enjoyment of cigars, wine and music. One day, when some hunters come by who have lost their way, they recognize the monster and shoot at it in their over-zeal. The situation escalates and the hermit's hut goes up in flames. The creature has to flee again and retreats into an abandoned tomb. There the monster meets the insane Dr. Praetorius, a former teacher of Frankenstein who is also obsessed with the idea of ​​creating life. Praetorius secures the creature's support by promising it to construct a mate for it. To do this, however, he needs the help of Baron Frankenstein, whom he unceremoniously forces to work through blackmail. As additional leverage, he had Frankenstein's wife Elisabeth kidnapped.

Together, Frankenstein and Praetorius actually succeed in creating a female creature. But she too shrinks in horror at the sight of the monster. Out of anger and desperation about their reaction, it blows itself up together with its bride and Praetorius and the entire laboratory. Only Baron Frankenstein and Elisabeth, whom the creature allowed to flee out of compassion, survive.

background

Bride of Frankenstein is true in many ways as one of the best classic Universal - horror films from the 1930s. Despite some inconsistencies in the script , the plot oozes wit and ingenuity. The buildings, especially Frankenstein's laboratory , are excellent and the actors - especially Boris Karloff and Ernest Thesiger  - are in top form. A trick technical masterpiece for the time is the demonstration of Praetorius' miniaturized humans ( homunculi ), which he holds captive in glasses. Franz Waxman's film music, which is shaped by a leitmotif, is also widely regarded as one of the first great horror film settings.

A particularly successful punchline: The author of the Frankenstein novel , Mary Shelley , who can be seen as the narrator in the opening sequence, is played by the same actress ( Elsa Lanchester ) as Frankenstein's bride . Byron and the Shelleys' meetings actually took place. Byron had left England in April 1816 after a few scandals about himself and rented Villa Diodati in Switzerland for a few months . Mary W. Shelley is said to have been inspired to write her novel in the gloomy atmosphere there.

Colin Clive died of tuberculosis in 1937 after a few more, mostly less significant appearances .

Although the plot of Frankenstein's bride follows on from the previous film Frankenstein , there are many changes, such as the setting and the appearance of the castle. Some roles appear again, but have been cast with different actors: Dr. Frankenstein's wife plays Valerie Hobson in place of Mae Clarke , Mayor EE Clive in place of Lionel Belmore, and the father of little girl Maria (who was killed in the first film) Reginald Barlow in place of Michael Mark . Baron Frankenstein, Henry's father, is not seen at all in this film, only mentioned. Baron Frankenstein's actor Frederick Kerr had died in the meantime and the role was not re-cast.

Reviews

  • “The continuation of Universal's first Frankenstein film is considered a masterpiece of black humor thanks to its actors, camera work, equipment, music and atmosphere.” - Lexicon of international film
  • "[...] Continuation [...], which can compete with the forerunner in terms of shower effects, romantic shocks, actor performance and entertaining allusions to the genre." (Rating: 3 stars = very good) "- Adolf Heinzlmeier and Berndt Schulz in Lexicon "Films on TV" (extended new edition). Rasch and Röhring, Hamburg 1990, ISBN 3-89136-392-3 , p. 245

Awards

synchronization

Frankenstein's bride never came into cinemas in Germany. The German premiere was on June 4, 1970 in the Hessischer Rundfunk in a synchronized arrangement made on behalf of ARD .

role actor Voice actor
The monster Boris Karloff Manfred Meurer
Dr. Henry Frankenstein Colin Clive Holger Hagen
Dr. Praetorius Ernest Thesiger Siegmar Schneider
Elizabeth Frankenstein Valerie Hobson Maria Koerber
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley / The Monster's Bride Elsa Lanchester Marianne Prenzel
mayor EE Clive Erich Fiedler
hermit OP Heggie Ernst Wilhelm Borchert
Lord Byron Gavin Gordon Lothar Blumhagen
Percy Bysshe Shelley Douglas Walton Manfred Bottlenose Dolphin
Karl Dwight Frye Wolfgang Draeger

Sequels

Frankenstein's bride was to be followed by other sequels, including another with Boris Karloff in the role of the artificially created creature. The end of Universal's Frankenstein series was the comedy Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein , for which stars like Lon Chaney Jr., Bela Lugosi and Glenn Strange parody their star roles as Wolf Man, Dracula and Frankenstein's monster.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Frankenstein's bride. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  2. ↑ Frankenstein's bride in Arne Kaul's synchronous database ( memento of the original from September 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , accessed December 2, 2007 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.synchrondatenbank.de