IMDb RATING
7.8/10
48K
YOUR RATING
Mary Shelley reveals the main characters of her novel survived: Dr. Frankenstein, goaded by an even madder scientist, builds his monster a mate.Mary Shelley reveals the main characters of her novel survived: Dr. Frankenstein, goaded by an even madder scientist, builds his monster a mate.Mary Shelley reveals the main characters of her novel survived: Dr. Frankenstein, goaded by an even madder scientist, builds his monster a mate.
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
48K
YOUR RATING
- Director
- Writers
- Mary Shelley(suggested by: the original story written in 1816 by)
- William Hurlbut(adapted by)
- John L. Balderston(adapted by)
- Stars
Top credits
- Director
- Writers
- Mary Shelley(suggested by: the original story written in 1816 by)
- William Hurlbut(adapted by)
- John L. Balderston(adapted by)
- Stars
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 4 wins & 3 nominations total
Videos2
Boris Karloff
- The Monsteras The Monster
- (as Karloff)
Anne Darling
- Shepherdessas Shepherdess
- (as Ann Darling)
Robert Adair
- Hunter in Woodsas Hunter in Woods
- (uncredited)
Norman Ainsley
- Archbishopas Archbishop
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- Mary Shelley(suggested by: the original story written in 1816 by)
- William Hurlbut(adapted by) (screenplay)
- John L. Balderston(adapted by)
- All cast & crew
- See more cast details at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaMarilyn Harris, who played Maria, the girl The Monster accidentally kills in the original Frankenstein (1931), appears uncredited as another young girl. She is the leader of the group of young schoolgirls who encounter the Monster as he runs away from the blind man's burning house. Director James Whale deliberately gave her a one-word line ("Look!"), so she would be paid more by the studio as an actor with a speaking role, instead of as an extra.
- GoofsIn the prologue explaining what happened in the first Frankenstein (1931), a man is shown in close-up being strangled by the monster; however, the monster's sleeves are torn and his arms already burned by the windmill fire. Clearly this close-up was newly filmed and inserted as if from the 1931 movie.
- Quotes
Doctor Pretorius: To a new world of gods and monsters!
- Crazy creditsIn the opening and closing credits, "The Monster's Mate" is listed as being played by " ? " . Elsa Lanchester is only billed as playing Mary Shelley.
- Alternate versionsThe Director's cut was 87 minutes long, but Producer Carl Laemmle Jr. imposed a number of cuts, to tame down the Director's "excesses". The Prologue was cut (making difficult to understand the present dialogue), the body count was reduced from 21 to 10, two love scenes between the couple and a toy representing the Monster with a child have been deleted. This ammount of 12-minute footage has subsequently been lost, making it impossible to reconstruct the initial idea by 'James Whale'.
- ConnectionsEdited into House of Dracula (1945)
- SoundtracksFrühlingslied (Spring Song) Op.62 #6
(1842) (uncredited)
Written by Felix Mendelssohn
Danced by Marie DeForrest
Top review
One of the Great Classics of the Genre
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 iconographic female 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 cruelly 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.
The current Universal DVD release is exceptional, and the film is supported with an interesting documentary and a still more interesting audio commentary track. Critics and fans continue to battle of 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 see, must own.
Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer
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 iconographic female 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 cruelly 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.
The current Universal DVD release is exceptional, and the film is supported with an interesting documentary and a still more interesting audio commentary track. Critics and fans continue to battle of 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 see, must own.
Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer
helpful•479
- gftbiloxi
- Apr 8, 2005
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- Frankenstein Lives Again!
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $397,024 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $10,493
- Runtime1 hour 15 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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By what name was The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) officially released in India in English?
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