Summary:
Frankenstein builds a man from body parts that he stole from corpses in an attempt to become equal to God. He successfully brings his creation to life, and experiments to see what it can do. Eventually, after the monster kills Frankenstein's helper, he realizes has created a monster, and tries to lock it away for good. The monster gets loose, wreaking havoc in town and accidentally killing a young girl. Frankenstein and the townspeople chase him to an old windmill and burn him alive.
Best Lines:
- Victor Moritz: "You're crazy!"
Henry Frankenstein: "Crazy, am I? We'll see whether I'm crazy or not."
- Henry Frankenstein: "Look! It's moving. It's alive. It's alive... It's alive, it's moving, it's alive, it's alive, it's alive, it's alive, IT'S ALIVE!"
Victor Moritz: Henry - "In the name of God!"
Henry Frankenstein: "Oh, in the name of God! Now I know what it feels like to be God!"
- Little Maria: [to The Monster] "Who are you? I'm Maria. Will you play with me?"
Thematic Connections:
The theme of
Frankenstein
was loneliness. Although Frankenstein himself believes that the monster in the story, is the one he created, loneliness is the real monster of this story. From the moment that Frankenstein's monster awoke from death, he was treated as an experiment, unable to have feelings, and thrust into a stone room. The isolation is what caused the aggression you see, it made him feel scared, and he didn't know how to interact with people. Another film that shared the theme of loneliness is The Hulk. Bruce Banner is using UV Radiation to try and recreate the serum that was given to Captain America, but in the process, turned himself into a monster. Whenever he gets angry, a terrifying monster comes to take his place, scaring away those close to him. Wherever he goes, loneliness pursues, the Hulks frightening nature scaring away all. Bruce winds up isolating himself, in an attempt to prevent causing any more harm.
Style Analysis:
The cinematography in this film included the whole movie being in black and white, and a lot of tight shots on characters faces. For example, there's a tight shot when Frankenstein is talking about the corpse not resting, but waiting for a new life. Next, the editing seems to stick mostly to fading scenes into one another, such as when Frankenstein and his helper were pulling a casket up a hill to the gallows. Most of the sounds in the film were diegetic, such as the humming and sparking of Frankenstein equipment. A nondiegetic sound includes Trumpets and whatnot in the intro. Finally, I feel that the acting in the movie was pretty stiff if I'm going to be honest. The characters could have had some feeling and unpredictable actions, but the way they were played, it was almost robotic. Also, nine times out of ten, I could already guess what was going to happen.
Critique:
Before watching the movie, I had already braced myself for the sadness it would probably bring. I didn't brace enough. The story was full of sadness and loneliness. Frankensteins monster didn't ask to be given a new chance at life, and upon receiving it, he was abused by Frankenstein's helper, and locked in a room like a wild animal. The filming was a bit blurry in spots, but considering the time period it was filmed, that's understandable. I'd suggest this movie to anyone looking for a classic monster movie but has the heart to look deeper into the story.
Frankenstein. Directed by James Whale, featuring Dwight Frye and Edward van Sloan. Universal Pictures, 1931.