Many consider 1935's "Bride of Frankenstein" to be one of those rare instances in which the sequel proved to be better than the original 1931 "Frankenstein," and it certainly took Boris Karloff's Monster as far as he could go as the star, now granted the power of speech and the knowledge of how he came to be: "I love dead, hate living." By far director James Whale's most brilliant decision was to cast the same actress as both Mary Shelley in the prologue and the Bride for the climax, selecting Else Lanchester, actual bride of actor Charles Laughton, and she was delighted: "I do have a rather unusual face!" We begin with a charming sequence depicting a roaring fire around which Mary regales her poet husband Shelley (Douglas Walton) and the erudite Lord Byron (Gavin Gordon), England's exulted 'greatest sinner,' with the further adventures of The Monster, who managed to escape the ravages of the fiery windmill by falling into the waters beneath (Jack Pierce's modified makeup design revealing the clamps around the top of his skull). Wet, tired, and just a bit peeved, The Monster takes his anger out on the parents of 'Little Maria' (she drowned at his hands in the original) before wandering off into the night, as the dying Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive back again) is returned home to his waiting bride Elizabeth (Valerie Hobson). It is quickly established that Henry makes a sudden recovery, that his elderly father has expired (making him the new Baron), and that the unexpected arrival of his former mentor Dr. Septimus Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger, replacing Claude Rains) proves that another scientist possesses knowledge of the creation of life, and wishes to collaborate on a new venture. This Monster may have the strength of ten men but he can still be hurt by a bullet, encounters with rampaging villagers leaving him weary and defeated, until the soft sounds of a violin pierce the night air, offering comfort to his lonely existence. A cabin deep in the woods is the home of a blind hermit (O.P. Heggie) who senses a troubled soul in torment and provides shelter and sustenance to his beleaguered new friend. Whale may have been a confirmed atheist but it's still a touching scene, the hermit thanking the Lord for sending him one similarly afflicted, a tear streaming down The Monster's face as the screen fades to black. In next to no time, Frankenstein's creation has learned a vocabulary of simple terms, things that bring him newfound joy: bread, drink, smoke, wood (he still understandably fears fire). Unfortunately, this idyllic interlude is short lived as two hunters (John Carradine and Frank Terry) decide to 'rescue' the old blind man from the inhuman Monster: "Frankenstein made him out of dead bodies!" Another damaging fire, another friend permanently lost, is it any wonder the poor creature loses all semblance of compassion, until meeting Dr. Pretorius in the crypt of a teenage girl, planting the suggestion that a mate will be the answer to eternal solitude. With Dwight Frye's Karl Glutz aboard as dutiful grave robber ("this is no life for murderers!") Whale proceeds to the most expansive creation scene of the 30s, Kenneth Strickfaden's electrical gadgets back in place, the old watchtower set from "Frankenstein" more imposing than before. Elsa's Bride is truly a beautiful sight to rhapsodize about, her own hair carefully coiffed with a white streak, each scar lovingly crafted by Jack Pierce into a wondrous whole, obviously enchanted by her creator as she follows him and reaches out to his entreaties. It's only when The Monster tries to befriend her that she reacts with abject horror, a multitude of screams followed by a knowing hiss once he determines that "we belong dead." The Monster's heartbreak is achingly real, another masterful performance of body language saying so much without (many) lines, though Boris himself still preferred his 1931 version over this one (he went from ? in 1931 to just 'Karloff' here, even with a fractured hip). As the Bride Elsa Lanchester became a legend in just the last five minutes of the film, very bird-like in her jerky sudden movements, her evil hiss suitably inspired by a protective mother swan. An unsolved mystery is why the Bride, supposedly the new, improved, deluxe model, doesn't survive the explosive finale like her intended does, in fact rendered speechless in the next entry "Son of Frankenstein." Watch for future Oscar winner Walter Brennan in the scene where all the neighbors gather in the home of Frau Neumann (he's the one holding a hatchet, with one line: "poor old Neumann!").
Review of Bride of Frankenstein
