Day 5: Frankenstein

5. Frankenstein (1931)
Dir: James Whale
Cast: Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, John Boles, Boris Karloff

"It's Alive, IT'S ALIVE!" a line that always sends shivers down my spine when shouted by the manic Colin Clive as Dr. Henry Frankenstein. Not only a flawless piece of horror/science fiction but an early masterpiece in the dawn of talkies. Combine the theatrical direction of James Whale, with a talented cast, outstanding Universal sets and one of the most inventive novels of the 19th century and you have the stuff that dreams are made of. A stunning piece of science gone wrong and one of the most iconic portrayals of man playing god in any art-form.

Considered a terrifying film at the time of it's premier back in November of 1933, it's amazing that a film made 75 years ago can still leave an impact with film fans today. With memorable scene after memorable scene, including the memorable creation sequence and my personal favorite "flower scene". Frankenstein was not only a Hollywood hit but somewhat of a star-making role for then 40 something actor Boris Karloff who would go on to star in such notable films as; The Mummy (1932), Bride of Frankenstein (1935), The Invisible Ray (1936) and The Black Cat (1934) (Both with Bela Lugosi), Tower of London (1939) and the star of Peter Bogdanovich's fist film, the cult classic piece Targets (1968). There's just not enough words to describe the magic of Boris' screen presence or this film's many accomplishments.



I'm gonna keep this one brief and just tell you that this vintage piece of horror still holds up and I highly recommend you see it if you haven't.

Fright Fact: There's a whole bunch of interesting facts regarding this horror classic, but some of my favorites have to do with the creation of the monster, particularily Jack Pierce's fantastic makeup work.

- The monster was never described in the novel as having bolts in his neck or a flat top, this was purely Pierce's creation.
- The actual color of the monster's makeup was yellow, not green
- Boris Karloff offered to take out some of his bridge work to give the monster's mouth a sunken in look.
- The back brace Karloff wore as the monster gave him permanent back problems
- Thought to be very tall, Karloff actually wore large shoes for him to appear taller, in actuality he was 5'11ft.
- Would go on to wear the makeup three more times in; The Bride of Frankenstein (1935 and Son of Frankenstein (1939)

Horror Highlight: That freaky flower scene, it's only about the first minute of the clip so I don't expect anyone to watch the whole thing.