Movie Review: Frankenstein (1931) · 3:53am Mar 16th, 2018
I've been sitting on this review for over a month now. I watched it back around Valentine's Day with my dad and wrote up a review of it, but only now have I gotten around to posting the darn thing!
But anyway, let's get into it.
Frankenstein. The classic movie, that practically launched Universal Studios' monster movies and made Boris Karloff a horror star.
What can I really say about this movie?
It's a movie that's left an indelible footprint in popular memory and culture.
It's been referenced, celebrated, credited, and parodied or mocked to hell and back.
It's been 87 years since it first came out.
What can I say about Frankenstein? Is it a movie that withstands the test of time?
...
You can bet it sure as hell does.
Frankenstein is a powerful movie. I was hooked all the way through it. Even from a modern perspective (which I'll get to in a minute) and how some values have shifted, it's still an engaging and fantastic picture.
Part of this is due to the fantastic set design. In particular, of course, is the iconic laboratory that Henry Frankenstein has set up in an old watch tower. Full of all sorts of wonderful electrical equipment, from coiled tubes to towering pieces of machinery, humming and sparking with electrical current... it's as much of a character as the Creature himself! 
Ah yes, the Creature. Played by Boris Karloff in the role that would make him a star, Frankenstein's Creature is nothing less than a triumph of cinema. From Jack Pierce's famous makeup design - neck bolts and square-topped head - to Karloff's incredible, often heartbreaking performance, the Creature is very much the star of the movie, not his maker Henry.
Now, that's not to say that Henry (played by Colin Clive) is a weak performance. No, not at all - it takes a special talent to deliver "It's alive! It's ALIVE!!" and have it be a genuinely powerful, thrilling moment. And outside of the laboratory, Clive delivers other great moments for the character of the obsessed young scientist. (My personal favorite is probably his delightful moment of subdued, but obvious, panic when he learns that the brain used in his creature was an abnormal one belonging to a criminal.) Also helping is that Clive's character is a far more responsible figure than the Frankenstein of the original novel.
There are so many fantastic moments in this movie that I'd love to spend time on. The Creature's first full appearance on-screen is a masterpiece of acting by Karloff. Just the shot of the Creature turning around in the doorway is a great moment, but what comes after it is perhaps one of my favorite moments in the film.
When Henry opens the roof over him, and the Creature gets his first glimpse and feeling of sunlight... the creature slowly looks up, and rises from his seat. Stepping into the sunlight, he raises his arms up, trying to catch the warmth that he can now feel for the first time... it's a powerful moment, one that accomplishes so much without Karloff uttering a single growl.
...At least until the hunchbacked assistant Fritz (no, not Ygor, that's not until two films later) ruins everything. 
This leads me to one of the points I'd like to make about watching this movie. A bit earlier I said that views have shifted since the movie came out, and this really makes itself known in how the Creature is treated.
Ostensibly, the Creature in the movie is dangerous because it has an "abnormal, criminal" brain. This is a departure from Shelley's original text, where the idea of "nurture vs. nature" is made plain - there, the Creature is a blank slate and only becomes a menace when it is continuously mistreated by others, and thus becomes bitter and cruel in response to the abuses of life and the creator who abandoned it.
On the surface, the movie takes a big step away from that concept, with the aforementioned "abnormal brain" idea.
But really, watching this movie? I still got the same message as in the book.
I mean, the Monster's first two kills are almost self-defense. Fritz the hunchback abuses the Creature, threatening him with a torch and a whip - for a horror movie, I got far more chills out of the Creature's screams than I did from him strangling the hunchback... or the doctor (Professor Waldman, played by Edward van Sloan) who plans to vivisect him. I honestly nodded in approval when the creature started to wring Waldman's neck.
I said before that Clive's Frankenstein is a more responsible figure than the one in the book, he still made some serious mistakes in handling his creation. While he is to be commended for NOT judging the Creature by his appearance, the fact remains that he didn't do the sane thing and get rid of Fritz when he kept provoking the Creature... or do more for teaching or caring for the Creature. (Admittedly, it's probably hard to keep a clear head when your newly-made creation is lashing out in a blind panic and is strong enough to throw you around like a rag doll, so I can cut him a little bit of slack...)
But anyway, on to the rest of the movie!
After the Creature escapes from Frankenstein's lab, he wanders the countryside, and meets a sweet little girl named Maria. The two of them end up playing a game where they toss flowers into the water of the lake, watching them float. The Creature's smile of childish delight is a genuinely touching moment...
And then, saddened by the end of the game, he tosses Maria into the water, thinking that she'll float too. When she screams and drowns instead, the Creature flees in distress.
It's another effective scene, one that quite effectively tugs at the heartstrings. Especially in the aftermath of it, when Maria's father carries his daughter's body into town, plainly shattered by the horrible loss of his child. Ouch... 
After the Creature wanders into town and frightens Henry's fiancée Elizabeth (in some ways this moment is actually comic, as the Creature's growl when he confronts Elizabeth sounds... almost kind of lecherous), an angry mob is formed, and the climactic scene of the movie is underway. The Creature attacks Henry, and carries him to an abandoned windmill.
Cue a fiery climax (and another surprisingly emotionally effective moment from the Creature, trapped in the blaze)... and a very brief aftermath confirming Henry's survival, and the movie is done. It's only a 70 minute movie.
As I said before, I immensely enjoyed Frankenstein. It's a short film, but one that doesn't waste a minute of its screentime or wear out its welcome. It delivers several iconic scenes, from exciting to tragic, and well and truly deserves its place as a classic of cinema.
Highly recommended.
And if you'd like to check out The Bride of Frankenstein, that one's pretty good too. ^_^
A golden oldie! Can't beat it ;)
4818067
Indeed, you can't go wrong with this classic!
Oh boy. You went way back for this one. This is a classic film. I remember seeing this as a kid and I was a bit scared, watching it in the dark with my grandfather. He would always tell me about classics like Karloff and Lugosi and he had all the original movies. I didn't read the book until I was in high school and the monster in that one was a completely different kind of scary but both had their merits in the horror franchise. I love older films and go back to watching them every once in a while.
4818212
Hehe, yeah. My dad is a big fan of the classic Universal monsters and a lot of the old movies. It sounds like he could have been good friends with your grandfather, I have to say!
My sister and I had quite the education in Golden Age Hollywood growing up.
I don't remember if I have read the original novel... I did have a copy of Frankenstein at one point, but it might have been abridged. It's been years. But I like both versions of the monster, they do have equal merit as far as I'm concerned. ^_^
Ah, the good old classics! I think there is a Frankenstein in all of us.
4818706
Hehe... glad to hear that you consider it a classic. ^_^
I can understand that. I'm sure we've all felt like an outcast at least once in our lives...